Suggestions for my front yard?

Hi guys!
It's going to be a year we have bought our house; I've done lots in the backyard, but the front yard (except for front porch flower beds) hasn't changed much.

The whole front is shaded by deciduous trees, and although it's West facing, its pretty shady in there most of the day. I placed that large terra cotta pot you see there in hopes I can find some nice accent plant to plant in it. In the picture you see some Cyclamen but that's just temporary until I can figure it out...

I'm looking for something to break out this green scene, something in cool colors (pink, blue, white, etc), but that could give it a little "pop". I've thought of Azaleas, but their blooming season is so short!

Any suggestions are welcome, as I'm really struggling with this one!!! Thanks!
Roberta

That pot is beautiful. What about three of them on each side of the stairway going up the slope. Sorry I don't know what grows best in your zone way down South, but there are going to be many choices open to you. Just a thought.

That IS a pretty pot! I love the splash of color!

What would you think of adding something with burgundy foliage to blend with all those beautiful greens? Maybe some heucheras?

Roberta:
Maybe you could use that beautiful pot for a seasonal display. Pumpkins, colored corn and gourds with a scarecrow thrown in would look really nice right now. You could put poinsetta's there for Christmas, and figure out by spring what you'd really like to have there. (Don't forget to plant bulbs now for spring color!) I would suggest petunia's. There are a large variety of colors, some are bi colored, they are easy to maintain, non invasive, would love your climate. You might want to drive around and take pictures of what else is growing in your neighborhood. That would give you an idea of what grows well in your exact climate, and Hey, you might meet some of your neighbors. Anything you can't identify, I'm sure our fellow DG'ers would be able to help with.
Beautiful house! Is it a Craftsman Style Home, do you know? I'm a bit envious of all that shade. I'd plant ferns and hostas to bring in different shades of green too. You lucky gardener!
Hope my suggestions help.
Walk in Beauty!
SingingWolf

I agree, beautiful house and garden, Roberta!

I like SW's idea of doing seasonal things in the pot for now until the perfect thing comes to mind. Would Salvias be to your liking? There are a lot of them in the colors you mentioned that will grow in bright light. Peppered throughout the landscape, spring, summer and fall bloomers would give you some color.

I would love to see some of those big blue Hostas going up the stairs. A Brugmansia would be a great counterpoint for the tree fern, and their bloom season is pretty long. You could also plant some purple Clematis to climb up one of the trees. Over all, I wouldn't break up the green too quickly - it looks lush and cool, just add a splash of color here and there.

Who is that in the doorway?

I love your house - I do think a bright pop of color would look beautiful ~

http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/cgi-bin/searchstuff.pl?Botanical=Dicentra

Dicentra bleeding heart does well in the shade and blooms spring thru summer... look at candy hearts - I think the lacy blue foliage would stand out , especially with your house color.

Just a thought - also the white blooming is beautiful, I had 3 in my backyard in OR and they were so pretty.

Red . . . that looks like a little boy stretched out on the porch and drawing or some such thing. What a cute pic to add to family archives.

How about impatience and coleus. I'm not in your zone but I think they would work, or maybe you want something bigger. Camelia maybe
I love your house.
Linda

Hi everyone, I didn't log on over the weekend and was thrilled to see so many responses! : )
Thanks for are the compliments. We bought our house last November as a total fixer-upper, and we've come a long way! And yes, Twincol, it's my son you see up there, he's hugging the dog!

Hostas and Bleeding hearts were right on, as far as what I'd like to have there! Unfortunatly, I did try both and they died, it's just too hot over here for them. I have a hosta now in the fridge in the hopes I can "fake" a winter chill for her.

Singing wolf, I did plant some bulbs there, I've got some fall crocus there, hopefully the trees and ivy won't be too much for them to compete with! (the soil is packed HARD, I counlt get to ammending it so far).

Jungleman: I love Brugs, and I have a few scattered through the garden! I wonder though, if this isnt too shady for Brugs....what do you think? I've tried Clematis and it just hated it there, so I had to move it to a sunnier location.

Yes, guys, it's hot here but that front yard is very very shady! It bugs me that most of the beautiful woodland plants I'd love to have there will not survive our california heat/lack of winter chill.

I will definitely look up Salvias Kathleen, I didn't know there were any that would do ok in shade. I also like the heucheras and camellias too.

Please keep those wonderful ideas coming!

Roberta : )

You could also try some native irises, Roberta. They're really pretty and come in purple and white, I think. You might see if there are other native woodland plants that will take our heat. www.laspilitas.com has a good database of plants, or try http://www.californianativeplants.com/

Here's a link to a list of shade tolerant salvias: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=3257672

Your bleeding hearts might not have died--they go dormant in the summertime but watch for them in winter/spring, they may come back. I'm not sure when they start to come back because the ones I tried actually did die, but I wouldn't necessarily give up on yours yet.

I love plants that resurrect! My blue-eyed grass does that. It's so exciting when you're not expecting it.

They usually come back early Spring (if they are going to)

I hope so, I love bleeding hearts!
But again...I need something to look good year out (of course not BLOOM year round!) but that will be a nice accent for this front yard...
I was thinking about it yesterday and Hydrangeas came to mind...would that be a good option?

Oakleaf Hydrangea would look good and takes the heat pretty well. You also get the benefit of it's burgundy foliage in the fall.

I'd put a red weeping Japanese maple in that pot but that's just me. I can't resist a maple. the only problem with it would be that the pot comes in at the top which would require some wrestling when you needed to root-prune it. Perhaps a pot in the pot with the maple in it?

Loropetalums come in some very cool colors and the burgundy ones are beautiful. You can keep some of the burgundy ones little with easy pruning and I've seen them grown as standards with other plants at their feet. Ligularias come in a beautiful purple color too although they do demand some water. The spotted farfugiums also give a pop to the garden and tolerate regular watering without a problem.

You do have a beautiful house though and I like it the way it is.

Norcal, I love hydrangeas. Do you think an oakleaf would do ok in a pot? I heard they get pretty big?
Doss, great idea on the maple! I have a jap maple tree and I really like it, but it's very large (10ft or so) so I never even thought a could get a little one for the pot. I had never heard of Loropetalums, I checked on plantfiles and I do like them a lot, especially the ones with burgundy foliage.
I've also been thinking about farfugiums (you are a mind reader or what?!). I could divide some of mine, sounds like a good option because of the bold leaves (although they're...green! lol)

There is a red ligularia called Marie-Britt Crawford. Could you get ahold of a spotted farfugium? They are so pretty. Another option in the pot would be a large fern. Not a lot of color but great texture.

Bummer I just deleted my post! Anyways..I love marrie-britt! Very neat foliage. I do have a spotted farfugium, that's a pic from last winter, so now it looks nicer. I like it but I'm not a fan of yellow. I prefer marri-britt! : )

THat's a pretty fern that goes with your farfugium rob.

How do you feel about purple? I don't know how big that pot is, but Plectranthus "mona Lavender" gets about 3 feet tall and wide , and does well in shade or filtered sun. It is listed as a short lived perenial. From what I've read on DG, they are reliable bloomers and are very easy to start from cuttings. Mine gets afternoon sun and is beautiful! I'm working on cuttings for my shade garden.
carol

Carol, those are very pretty! I love finding out about new plants!

There's a dwarf hydrangea quercifolia named Sykes' Dwarf that grows to 3'-4' tall, spreads to 6'-8'. Too wide?

This message was edited Oct 18, 2008 4:41 AM