Old, but new to gardening, would you like to help ?

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:28 pm Post subject: Old, but new to gardening, would you like to help ?
I am a 68 year old man and I can tell a rose from a pine tree. The rose has thorns. lol Seriously I don't know much about flower gardening but I love to build things. My project now is to build/plant a flower garden in our back yard.

I have been in the process of retiring from my commercial art business for the last 3 or 4 years. We have lived in the country for many years. My son-in-law says "that I have to move on every few years because I have built something on all of my land. We just moved from a 10 acre property to a house in Waskom, Texas. Actually it is not a single family dwelling, it is a duplex. The 10 acre property was just too much to take care of and our plan was to remodel and move into the duples making it a single family home. We added a 24' x 33' garage with a small workshop. We also added a 24' x 12' garden room on the back of the house. We also made an 8' x 16' foyer on the entry.

There are only my wife and I, we really did not need all of the room. She took over one of the rooms that was part of the other side of the duplex for a sewing room. We are planning on using the remaining rooms, a living room, bedroom, bathroom and a kitchen as a bed & breakfast.

Now we come to the back yard. The half on our side of the duplex is about 60' wide and 35' deep. At the back is 60' x 30' of "raw" woods & brush. There are other houses behind the woods. We plan to leave the woods alone, except for a narrow path leading to the city park. We have made a small yard and patio for the bed & breakfast. The rest of the other yard will be mostly lawn.

Sorry to be so long but here is the question. All of the room that I have to build in now is the 60' x 35' area outside our garden room. It is mostly in the shade of two big oak trees. I want to build a "secret garden" in that area. I want to do it real nice and pretty. People who visit our bed 7 breakfast will be able to use the garden. If someone is interested in making suggestions, I have pictures at:

http://www.waskomtexas.com/237/

I have full sun in my yard, so I have limited knowledge of shade loving plants, but Hostas, bleeding hearts, ferns, astilbe, impatiens, begonias should do well. If you have at least part sun, hydrangea, azaelia, rhododendron, glory bower vine and peonies will be options. A bird bath, bird feeder and small bench might be nice touches to encourage lingering for a while. Good luck with your Bed and Breakfast. I always thought that it would be fun to run one. What a great way to meet people!

From your photos it looked like you did a great job matching the brick on your house- that's often a problem when adding on to a brick structure! I love the idea of a secret garden (actually, I love the idea of ANY garden :-)) You might consider adding a small pond with a little waterfall going into it- it would add lovely sound, and it brings in lots of birds and wildlife. We have one, with a little stream and a bridge going over the stream. It adds something to structure the garden around and mosquitos don't breed in moving water so you wouldn't have to worry about that (I hear that down in TX the mosquitos are big enough to fly off with your car if you don't lock your garage...)

If you are running a business I would hire a professional and do it right. You could take some classes or join a garden club so you can improve and change things in the future.

You're practically in Louisiana, aren't you? You're in luck- acidic soils most likely. Are there pines nearby? That is a good way to tell. If this garden area is going to be in full shade, esp. as the trees get larger and larger, there are some great shrubs that could be used as standards. Some of the hollies love acid soils; others aren't picky. There are beautiful hollies that are a far cry from the old Chinese holly with its deadly spines. They are available in various heights and shapes, and most have red berries part of the year. And almost any will tolerate shade, although some sun will result in thicker growth. In total shade, leatherleaf mahonia is striking, and tough. Nandinas (any except Nana) will take shade and also have red berries. (Nana dislikes the Texas heat.) Japanese maples stay small and have absolutely gorgeous foliage, but they must have total shade, particularly from mid-morning till dark. Aralias are shade-lovers. Ferns of all types would make it cool looking. You could hang Boston ferns from tree limbs. They can get very large with age. You might want to put your color annuals in containers so you can move them around and move them out or exchange them out when they aren't at their peak. We are somewhat limited as far as color shade annuals, but impatiens, caladiums and coleus are obvious choices. Persian shield should do well.
Please contact your county extension agent for advice, and if he or she is not a plant person, ask for a referral to someone who is. With birdhouses, benches, a sundial, and statuary, I'll bet you come up with a beautiful retreat area! DON'T TRIM THOSE TREES!