Hi, new gardener could use some input!

Hi everybody! I have been mostly lurking & soaking up words of wisdom this past year. I have a house that was built on an acre of field, I've been working on getting trees planted & some stone walls. I built a raised bed with fieldstone on the side of the garage, facing south, in endless sun all day till sunset. Most of my plantings are shades of purple, yellow, charteuse and some burgundy (the house color has faded to a pale pale yellow, I needed some pop). So do I stick with this color, plant a purple or burgundy vine, or do I plant some pink climbing roses? A little pink has crept in the plantings with the burgundy plants. I just want everything to look harmonious but not boring, but pretty. There's nothing on that side of the yard yet. The area is about 20 feet long by 4 1/2 feet deep. I have plenty of room for a trellis between 2 windows and also to plant on either side of the trellis, framing the windows. ANY suggestions will be so appreciated! The style of the house is federal colonial, so I stayed away from cottage type gardens in the front. thanks in advance for any input!

Can you post a picture of what you have so far? It'll be much easier to visualize the current color combinations and think about what might work that way.

this is the front. You can't see them here, but in the front yard there's a sugar maple, a red maple, an ash tree, and you can just see the redbud tree on the very right of the picture. I think I was standing between the maples. I would like to change the color of the shutters to sage green eventually, and put a portico over the front step.

Here's the area to be planted...no trellis yet, but I was thinking of putting one between the windows.

This is a closer picture of the front, where I planted fragrant abelias in the back (they're babies, you can't see them yet unless you're a foot from the wall) and dwarf midnight weigelias, they're burgundy with hot pink flowers, and some purple creeping phlox, and gold creeping jenny, a dwarf alberta spruce on either side of the step, and on the left a Harry Lauder walking stick & another alberta spruce, plus some sedum, which I might move. I'm sorry for the triple post, I don't know if I can get more than one picture in at a time.

Hi Lynne
Your house is lovely.
I would definitely put a trellis up between those windows and grow climbing roses. Perhaps you would like the josephs coat variety which changes color from red to pink to yellow. You could mix in clematis which come in very many different colors.

I agree, having something to add some height there would be very nice, but the bed's a little narrow and with the windows there I think it'll be tough to put in tall shrubs, so a trellis with a rose would work very well.

It didn't even occur to me to make the area deeper! (smacking forehead!) I read that zepherine drouhin roses are hardy enough that maybe even I can grow them. There are so many choices I get overwhelmed. Those Josephs Coat roses sure are pretty, I'll look them up (see if the description says yes even Lynn can grow these!) lol I have seen pictures of roses & clematis growing together, and I think it looks beautiful, but I'm not sure I can pull it off. It's just such a blank slate, I get confused. The whole yard is a big blank slate. Thanks for your input! I'm going to check out Joseph's Coat right now! And get a trellis!

I think the Joseph's Coat is too red, I don't have any red. Oh well, thanks for the input, though. I was reading all those color echoes threads & maybe I should stick with the purple & yellow??

Yellow and purple are complimentary colors (oppose each other on the color wheel) and will provide the most pop due to their contrast. Typically a three color palate provides more interest and you have a yellow house; however, green counts. You might consider leafy options that are bluish green or deep green (versus bright lime) to mix with your yellow and purple.

If you are interested in roses, I newly tried Canadian Park roses last year and was really pleased with how they survived the winter and handled clay soil.

Thanks, Duck. I'm just getting frustrated, and overwhelmed. It's just a big blank house on a big blank field (I don't mean blank as in a swear, I mean as completely without character or interest). I don't even like the colors of the house, it looks like a big bumblebee! I hate yellow & black together,which is why I stayed away from red, Stormcloud, I hate yellow & red & black together, but at least the house color faded from bright yellow to a nicer softer yellow. It would be so much easier if the yard or house had any natural contours at all, it's all a big square. And I feel like I make mistakes at every turn. Some areas are looking more "interesting" than others! hah! i should have stuck to a pre-fab plan from a garden site. The say gardening is a journey, well 'm in pre-school! lol Well I'm gonna need some chocolate to cheer me up over here!

If you are looking for purple and want to hide some of the house, how about something taller like lilacs mixed with butterfly bush. Shrubbery is a lot less work that gardens and can hide a multitude of sins. One of my favorite books advises that you need to build your bones before you can put on muscle ... plant your trees and bushes before you start on the flowers.

Somebody say chocolate? Yippee! I'll have some with you, so you're not alone.

Our gardening journey is FULL of mistakes. As long as we learn from them that is a good thing.

I agree with Duck_ get the bones in. See I've learned from my mistake. Have I corrected it? Not yet.

Jan

Chocolate cake & coffee for breakfast! Might not help, but it sure doesn't hurt, Jan! Duck I'd love the name of that book! I have magazines that are dog-eared, I read them over & over! I did read to get your "hardscape" done first, and we built the stone walls (took a whole summer, a least) and I planted about 19 trees and maybe 20 shrubs, but it barely made a mark on the field! A lot of stuff is still small,just babies, and I lost 3 trees (my own fault, that was before I learned how to take care of them). We tore out the contractor sidewalk & put in a curved one. I love your suggestion of lilac & butterfly bushes, I like to watch the birds & butterflies. I'm going to extend an area on the side with another tree & some more shrubs and I can use those. I want a mix, I don't like the look of a line of arborvitae. I tried to place the trees for shade & privacy & a windbreak. I'm also trying to plant a mix of faster & slower growing things, because I read that faster growing trees have a shorter life span, and I don't want to be back at square 1 in 10 years! I'm trying to do a mix of evergreen & flowering shrubs that flower at different times. I planted a caryopteris & i go out & glare at it every day, with my hands on my hips, thinking shouldn't it be flowering now? lol I can imagine what the neighbors think I'm doing, glaring at the plants.
Ok, maybe those are kind of big goals for a beginner. I sound like a nut. I need to be patient. Where's that cake??

I'm worn out just reading what you've done already. Need more chocolate!!! (gracious - it sounds like I eat chocolate all day long - not true only part of the day LOL) Sounds like you are on the right path though.
We do tend to "talk" to our plants don't we? Either as a thank you for looking so beautiful, or giving us food to eat, or WHY aren't you doing what your supposed to do?
Happy hunting for the perfect combination for you.

What state are you located in?

I think most landscapers would suggest some vertical plants - the trellis suggestion is meeting part of that need. You are going to have fun - don't fret or sweat the small stuff! If you aren't changing things you aren't gardening. Please enjoy the journey. There are no right answers - just the ones that please your tastes. There are many helpful, knowledgeable gardeners on this site.

Well said, Peony.

I'm in MA, JanLynn. I've been to WI, it's very pretty & green there. Peony, once my trees grow they'll be vertical lol Hey I do have an arbor waiting for a spot...nowhere to put it now, it would look silly in the middle of a field. I bought that thing way too soon! I'll definitely put a trellis in, probably can't plant it now till next spring, though.I'm going to put another tree on the other side (not the one with the trellis...see, in my mind it's finished! the trellis isn't even there yet!) and this tree can be fast growing, it will be with some (tiny!) pine trees (I was thinking either a purple flowering plum, or a yellowish tree, like honeylocust ) and tall shrubs there, for privacy. Ok, now I'm rambling...thanks for your encouragement guys, and you too, kwanjin! It really helps!

Prairie fire crabapple tree is a beautiful tree that gets to be about 20-25 feet tall. It's a really pretty deep purple with the prettiest dark pink flowers in spring. I have two in front of my house and really like the effect. I had your same problem--we built our house ourselves and had 5 1/2 acres of nothing but dirt for our yard for starters so I understand how overwhelming it seems at first. One thing I did that helped me a lot was draw everything out on paper. I showed the house and then started adding trees so I could carefully plan out the mix I wanted. I used the crayons I keep for my grandkids to color each tree the shade it would be and depicted all the evergreens so I could make sure they were spread out fairly evenly across the property. You'll be surprised at how much better things will look once you have a few trees growing around your house. I also did like you--put some fast growing trees and some slow growers. And not all fast growing trees will die in 10 or 20 years. I have some fairly fast growing oaks that are beautiful. They are 3 to 4 years old now and are approximately 15 tall. Leyland cypress is a fast growing evergreen (mine are already about 20 feet tall). I also have some tall shrubs mixed in with the trees and they look real nice (mock orange is one of my favorites). I can go back later when I have more time and money and make flowerbeds around these shrubs if I decide to. BTW, I made plenty of mistakes along the way but most plants are forgiving about being relocated as long as you do it while they are dormant.

Oooh, I love praire fire crabapple! I saw one near work one day and just love it! Then I came across one at a big box store, but it was sadly neglected. I didn't get it. I would just cry, Naturelover, if I had 5 times the area to deal with!! I'm impressed with all you've done. So where do I find an oak tree? They're not sold in regular garden centers, are they? People always tell me "you don't want oak, they're so messy." I don't know what everyone has against acorns lol but I would put it in an area that could be left to it's natural way. Leyland cypress is very pretty, but not tolerant of zone 5. Oh I was doing the same thing with the crayons once, and my husband made fun of me! I'm no artist, he thought it was one of the kids' scribbles! He got me some landscape software for the computer, but it was beyond my technical skills too lol Plus, I need to see the front, and a lot of those programs you're looking down, which would be fine if I hovered above the house all the time, but I don't. Oh well. I have to go stand across the street & get the full view.