help please i don't know what to do or where to start

hello, my husband and I are buying a house in Pueblo, CO and our front and back yards are dirt and only dirt. The house is new and beautiful but you can't even get past the dismal quality of the yards before you even see the house. I'm thinking about doing gravel landscaping in the front and probably part of the back because it's simple and you can't kill a rock, but I would like something in the back yard I can be proud of. The only problem is I'm new at this and never had much luck at indoor plants, they always died. Can you grow lavender and roses (my favorite flowers) in this area? What about a fruit tree? (my husband wants one) Should I even attempt it or would these die at my hand? Also, are there plants that I wouldn't have to plant again every year that are pretty? As you can see I don't know much about this, all I know is that I would like some white and purple plants, maybe even a pretty tree, that would grow well near a 6ft fence that would be easy to care for.

Hi, hope you have many years of happiness in your new home. In lots of ways, a blank canvas is best for your landscaping as you are not trying to undo a bad job done by someone else, but it also has it's problems, to start any garden, you need to find out what type of soil you have, being newly taken from the builders, you will have tons of debris left under top soil, from the construction work, depending on the landscape you are looking for, then you will be digging up stones, wood cable etc every time you go to plant something, so firstly, you need to do a soil test, this will tell you if you have acidic soil, neutral soil or what, so when you find that out, then you know what type of plants, shrubs, trees even grass you will be able to grow, all plant types can require different soils, a cheep test kit can be bought from DIY or garden store for the home gardener to do the test.
Before you order gravel etc, I suggest you take a picture of your house, enlarge it, lay it under a sheet of paper that you can see through then start to draw shapes. circles and squares for beds, driveways windows so you know where you want your roses to grow and lavenders if you can in fact grow them, this allows you to do colours, perfumed plants and shaped plants to enhance the appearance of the house, you dont say the size of your plot, so this helps if you get measurements to add to your drawing plans and allows you to budget for gravel, lawns, trees, manure/composts to ad to your soil to feed, enrich and help retain moisture. to be absolutely honest, you will never make a garden in one year, but if you work at the preparation and the hard landscaping that first year, it saves you time and money in the end and prevents costly mistakes by having to undo things you thought were a good idea while desperate for plants only to find they are in the wrong position the next year. I would also go to the library for right now, get hold of some books on landscaping, what plants can grow in your area, look at pictures of mature beds and borders so you become familiar with all the coloured groupings and textures, the best time for planting a garden and stop plants from dying on you, is early spring and early fall, due to the soil getting warm but not too hot and dry, or some heat is still in the soil in fall, but the heat is away from any sun. you dont say your zone so everything depends on this also and IF you could send in a photo of the plot and house, we could also help you more. By the way, Roses can be grown just about anywhere, IF given the right care, Lavenders can too but they like well drained soil, some sun and drier conditions so you just could be lucky with your area. Good luck, get back with more details and sure we can help even more. WeeNel.

You might check out www.highcountrygardens.com and www.yuccado.com They both have lots of great selections for dry climates. I think they're both in warmer zones than you are, so some of the plants they sell may not be hardy for you, so make sure you check the hardiness before you buy anything. I have no idea what zone Pueblo is in, but if you're warm enough then I think lavenders will do OK, they like dry climates. But I know there are parts of CO that are too cold for them so make sure you're not in one of the cold parts first before you plant them!

Thanks for what info you could give me already, knowing that it's not going to be a weekend project makes me feel a little less overwhelmed and the idea of drawing designs on pictures is a fantastic idea. I live in zone 5b I'm not sure what that means, but that's what the computer said anyway. I wish I could get a picture uploaded but I can't find the charger to my battery for my camera. But my yard is dirt and flat and approx. 50ftX25ft in the back not to big but big enough for me. And I'm not sure about the front but it's pretty small...

This message was edited Jan 29, 2008 6:36 PM

My wife and I just moved into our newly built home. Working with a clean slate is tons of fun. Here are some questions you can ask yourself before installing any plant material on your property:
1. How big do you want the plant material to get?
2. How much sun does the area you are looking to install your plant material (determine also direction of north then look at the shade movement)?
3. What kind of winter weather / wind does the area get (just because it is hardy to your zone doesn't mean that it can take the full brunt of the winter)?
4. What kind of soil is in the area (pH is good, but soil type (clay, sand, etc.) is better when dealing with general landscaping plant material)?
5. Does the area hold water or drain quickly (soil type can determine this, but elevations of the existing grade is a key factor)?
6. How much maintenance do you want (no landscape is maintenance free)?

I would love to help more, but I am not familiar to the Colorado region so I will not recommend plant material. One thing you can do is take a Sunday drive through the area and look at the neighbors houses. Find plants that you like, take a picture (unless you feel this may cause a stir among the homeowners as you case the neighborhood), and look for that plant. Also, you can get a good qualified landscaper or landscape designer come to your house for design consultation if you are completely stumped.

Stone (i.e. river gravel) out front sounds like a great idea. You can create spots of stone and mulch in different areas if they idea works for you. Try putting in a boulder or two to contrast the size of the small stone. If you find that a 'fruit tree' won't work you could always use a 'fruiting tree' or shrub...one that has great berrying in no particular season.

Just remember...have fun!

MIGHT RIDE AROUND THE AREA AND SEE WHAT ELSE SEEMS TO THRIVE WHERE YOU ARE. ALSO, IF PEOPLE ARE OUT AND ABOUT, ITS A GOOD WAY TO MEET THEM. THINK PLANTS NATIVE TO YOUR AREA.

ONE BOOK I READ SAID THE FIRST YEAR SHOULD BE ABOUT STUDYING LIGHT PATTERNS AND JOURNALING THEM BEFORE DETERMINING WHAT YOU WANT WHERE. IT ALSO IS INFORMATION YOUR LOCAL NURSERY IS GOING TO ASK. AND FIND A GOOD LOCAL NURSERY, IFEEL FORTUNE HERE THAT I CAN GO TO ONE OF OUR NURSERIES AND FIND FRIENDLY HELPFUL PEOPLE EACH AND EVERY TIME I GO. TAKE PICTURES, OR PAY FOR A CONSULTATION, IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY YOU SAVE IN TIME AND UNSUCESSFUL PLANTS.

IF YOUR SOIL CAN BE AMENDED TO SUPPORT SOME THINGS, START THERE IN YOUR FIRST YEAR. IT TOO IS WELL WORTH THE TIME ANY MONEY. I HAVE PREPARED BEDS AND ALLOWED THEM TO "REST" BEFORE PLANTING AND HAD WONDERFUL SUCESS.

TAKE "BEFORE AND AFTER" PICTURES TO GIVE YOURSELF SOMETHING TO LOOK AT AND PLAN WITH IN THE WINTER MONTHS. IT WOULD ALSO BE A NICE THING TO LEAVE OUT IN THE EVENT YOU HAVE TO SELL, IT SAYS TO A POTENTIAL BUYER THAT THE PROPERTY HAS BEEN LOVED.

GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY!

I am moving to the Pueblo area in a couple of months, and have a similar issue - we are building a new house, on a large piece of land.

Here's what I suggest - hire a landscape architect. The L.A. will draw up plans for your yard, to scale, and make a detailed list of what to plant where. You can either have the l.a. then do the landscaping, or, for a small fee, s/he will turn the plans and drawings over to you, and you can plant things one or two at a time, yourself.

I know lots of people that have gone that route. The expense can then be spread out over time, you have weekend projects, and your property will LOOK expert (because it was planned by one), and be completely harmonious with your climate and soil conditions. You also get the satisfaction of having done it yourself. And save on the cost of labor.

My daughter is a landscape architect here in Illinois. She charges ~$400 for a full plan (4 sides). It will probably cost more if you want to include a future patio or retaining walls on the plan also. It seems like a lot of money, but like frogsinmygarden said, you can do a little at a time. Be upfront with the architect that you just want a drawing and plan on doing the install yourself. They'll appreciate it. There's nothing my DD hates more than customers calling her out to their property just to pick her brain for freebie ideas and suggestions and not following thru with a plan. You may want a landscape company to install any trees though. That way they're planted right and guaranteed for a year. Trees will be your biggest expense outside of any stonework or patio you might want in the future.

Just a tip from a mom who hears all her DD's horror stories and frustrations.

Diana