Landscaping in neighborhoods

I am not sure how many of you have lived in a neighborhood (this is my first), but my wife seems to have concerns (all valid) about us doing more landscaping than perhaps the next residents would either:
a.) want to take care of or
b.) that they'd have less yard (grass area) as a result of our expansions.

I figure in this economy we're going to be in this home at least 10 more years, maybe up to 15 before we move into our next house - preferably in the country with a couple of acres. Do we need to really be thinking about the next 'tenants' and whether they may or may not like plants, and whether they may or may not have kids - or should we just enjoy ourselves and have at it (within reason)?

I started to expand one of my back beds this year into the backyard (maybe by 4' out of the 'woods' - where nothing grows well but the trees) and we doubled the size of one front bed near the road. I'd also like to continue to landscape the front yard, building additional beds. Luckily the bulk of what I grow is tropical in nature and thus can be easily removed seasonally and re-covered with grass. Most of you have likely seen parts of my yard - it's bananas, cannas, EE's, Brugs, and the like. There are few "permanent" additions - just a few property line bushes, several crepe myrtles on either property line, and a windmill palm.

Just curious what you all think about this - and if it's ever been something you've thought of. I'd like to think I'm making the property more attractive, but as you all know - it can also be a lot of work to keep looking nice (especially with HOA rules in place).

Thanks,
John

This message was edited Nov 24, 2008 8:06 PM

Here's an example of the expansion... took a kidney shaped bed and made it much larger in the spring. This fall, as we were digging most stuff up, we "mirrored" it into the yard essentially doubling the size yet again. I plant to make this my banana-bed next year. Here is the bed after we expanded...

And before... I liked it. But it may be more than others would like. Maybe I worry too much now that my wife mentioned it.

Honestly you can scare people with to much landscaping. If your going to be in the house 10-15 years don't worry about it. If I looked at your house I would think, "cool". Next thought would be does this come with directions? I'm not digging all that stuff up and bringing it inside. LOL.

I'm helping out someone in my neighborhood with a yard gone wild. They are just clueless about what they're growing or what to do with it. Former owners planted everything. Some time in Jan. I'm going to help them prune up some stuff and rip out a couple of beds and replace them with lawn. They're better off with more lawn than beds. LOL. Nothing really special in the beds.

Yeah I can see where new owners might find it a chore. Might just have to consider de-landscaping before we move, or at least make it known when selling we're willing to lay new grass. It'd certainly be easy enough to do.

Plus I want to take most of my bananas and such with me - I'm not giving all of those up for free :)

I wouldn't worry about it either, K, if you're going to be there even 5 years more. Besides, if all else fails, when it comes time to sell, just fill those beds with azaleas. :)

It looks beautiful, by the way.
Deb

Thanks, I'm just a worry wart. I appreciate the posts - now I can just have fun :)

It looks wonderful, don't fret about it. I have a hang up when I sell home and never let real estate agents show it alone; DH or I are always there to answer questions. My home in Columbia had a 1100 (at least) gallon Koi pool and close to 1000 plants in the garden; not one person ever asked about it. Unless you have little kids like Corey, lawns are becoming less important as they are no longer considered *green*.

Good point. It does depend on the buyers.

We were in our last home 23 years. We sold and moved 9 years ago. Our landscape was beautiful and that was really the reason the home sold on the day it was listed when there three other homes just like it at a cheaper price. The purchasers were both doctors. We walked the landscape and garden with them. We also gave them our phone number in the event they had any questions. I had over 25 roses, cannas and amaryllis. I had an extensive plot of irises. I did take some bulbs but they were aware. I even had that written in the listing and the contract. Well they called several times but they were not a problem. Then after 5 years in the house they invited us to come down and meet her parents from Romania. They said the landscape was still beautiful. When we drove in front of the house I gasped. The total front yard was destroyed. All that was left was grass. Then we made our back to the rear yard and again the majority of everything was gone. They stated they let the landscape people go the first week because they wanted to do it themselves. The landscape people were mow and blow guys but that gave me time to "Garden". All the roses but two had died. The amaryllis had multiplied and were everywhere but not healthy. The vegetable garden was a bed of weeds. The reason for the long spiel, just do not go back. Just keep your most beautiful creation in your memory bank. LOL.

Note to self, never drive down the road after selling. Good point also about making sure what I do plan to take is a well known fact ahead of time; I remember that being mentioned before too.

It's good to hear reassurances on this. Both my wife and my mom had raised the issue, though only at mention. Still, it made me start thinking about it. We don't have (or plan to) have kids, so 'green grass space' isn't a concern for us really. I think if we end up selling to folks without kids, then the landscaping will likely add value as a sort of tropical-haven. I've already decided I'm going to focus more on what can stay in the ground, so it'd mean minimal work for any future residents.

And luckily I've got a straight source for daylilies - mom grows them commercially in Irmo.

Thank you all again.
-John

Whoa! You have a family member who grows daylilies..commercially??? Now that's what I call a source! The kind I dream about. :)
If you ever need to get rid of any daylilies, I'll give you my address! LOL.


I also made the mistake of going by our "old" house once about a year after we moved out. Sad.
Deb

After many. many old houses over the years I have learned to get personal with the individual plants not the landscaping. I have always taken as many as I could when I moved. They were usually already transplanted into pots before we listed the house or at least marked as not transferring with the property.

Of course, as the moving truck pulled off I was still lagging behind taking as many cuttings as I could grab.

LOL, I had to rent a U-Haul truck just to move my plants from the apartment to the house. I don't even want to think about the next move - unless it's to Florida. Then I might settle with starting over again.

Deb I might start growing some next year - they'd be good for ground cover I think. You have one in particular you're interested in? I can see if she has it. I am not sure how the naming of Daylilies works honestly; I know all the Iris's have names, she does those too. I'm going to be trying my luck with bananas over there next year - and maybe some Upright EE and Gigantea too. Lord knows I'm going to have enough of the later - might have to give the things away.

I have plenty of day lilies because all the rehab I do in conjunction with landscapers and I only do about five a year but I am always coming home with agapanthus and day lilies because they were on their last day and the owners wanted them out. I am sure they are all Del Oro [sp] or something like that. Have not seen them bloom but that is the favorite weed day lily they plant around here because it is cheap. I rescue them, then I separate them, disinfect and then plant in my holding garden. The day lilies are growing like weeds in my holding garden but in the landscape they just wail all day long. Maybe your mother can give me/us a heads up on what her secret is to growing day lilies. I need to give some to the schools or someone but I need to tell them how to grow them. Remember, I am in Las Vegas, Nevada where it gets very hot and no humidity. The coldest we get is in the mid thirties except for unusual years like two years ago. All of us in the Southwest go clobbered with the freeze and SNOW!!!!!!. I have great soil because I had special soil brought in when we built and then have composted. I have never been to South Carolina but have a few friends that retired there. Sounds like a beautiful place. Unfortunately, I get cold if it gets below 80 degrees and above 10% humidity. Have a great Thanksgiving from Las Vegas to all our DG friends. This is my front landscape from the stereet view.

That's a great shot, I didn't know you could keep things so green and lush looking in Las Vegas. I haven't been there in years, but I guess in the city where there is water things can get pretty lush (I know the places on the strip tropicalize everything for 'the' look). I dream of a warmer climate. We're not so bad here, but it's enough to keep my hobby at bay 4+ months a year, which is too much IMHO. I swore to myself I'd make it to Hawai`i and grow to my hearts content, but getting married changes things. I think we could possibly move to the likes of Florida one day, though I'll admit the Hurricanes concern me. But we're at risk here too I guess, so tit-for-tat on that. It takes a special breed to move just for the plants, LOL. Though I suspect I wouldn't be the first.

Skwinter: Wow! Lovely front garden! I'd not have guessed that to be in NV. Lush!
Keonikale: Is your mother's place open to the public? I'm in the Irmo area pretty often and would love to check it out!

(And for the record, any time anyone has a daylily they don't want or need, specially red or yellow, I'll come get 'em! LOL.)
Deb

Deb, it is. She only does it on a small person-to-person scale. She's on Broad River Rd between Irmo and Ballentine. See Google Street View (kinda freaky what Google's up to these days); but this is the field she's growing everything in:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=10350+Broad+River+Rd,+Irmo,+SC+29063&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=44.60973,114.257812&ie=UTF8&ll=34.118113,-81.201483&spn=0.00143,0.003487&t=h&z=19&iwloc=addr&layer=c&cbll=34.117153,-81.20155&panoid=5X30I25PK2iAaubWgynvVA&cbp=12,393.1466208793925,,0,5

It's hard to miss them in the selling months; they usually have their sign out. My brother sells a lot of vegetables there as well; which has become his job in all honesty. He farms about 5 acres across the road full time now. Mom's main focus is Iris and Daylilies; I'll check tomorrow to see what all kinds she has. I've honestly never paid much attention, I didn't care much for their gardening until I was out of the house - probably because I spent many of my teenage years on weekends helping clear that land and then building those beds. LOL, it wasn't my favorite way to help around the house at the time.

Thanks for the compliments. In order to accomplish this in Las Vegas you use drip irrigation and a whole lot of mulch. I purchase it by the bag because it is easier for me to spread where it is needed. I have been using the mulch for 8 years so my dirt is black and holds water. I also have large trees and the canopies protect the landscape. If your mother needs a free helper, I will come help with the irises. They are my favorite flower and I have at least 50 varieties. I purchased most of them from Wayside or a farm in Oregon. I think I know where each one is planted. Starting last year I made up a map just to keep track what was where. Believe it or not we had rain all day. Over 1/2 an inch. You must remember we only get about 3 to 4 inches a year. Have a great Thanksgiving.

Give up a prayers for all the individuals in the United States that are unemployed. Wish I could help everyone of them. We as a family, including the grandchildren, are taking on a family to make sure they have food and their rent and utilities are paid for the holidays. They children always get toys from some charity but we think this is more important A lot of our friends and their families are doing the same. When you call they ask how many families do you want. We asked how many are there. They said thousands. The picture is a coleus and aslium combination in a large pot. I use a lot of pots here that way I can develop my own environment.

Hey, Keonikale, I know your mom's place, but I have never stopped in. She has a good reputation, I have heard others speak highly of her plants. There are a couple of other nurseries out that way, too. If you can get a partial or full list of what she has, please let me know. I live near Irmo in Whitehall and I bank near your mom's place.
Thanks in advance

Lorie

I'll see if she can give me a Word doc of it one weekend, I can then PDF it. Eventually they want me to build them a website, I just haven't had time yet.

She said she's got close to 300 different types of Daylilies, and more Iris varieties than I could count. I didn't realize she had that many types. I'll try and get a list though. She said she opens April 1st. :)

Christmas is coming; give your mom a website. :-)

I build websites, Keo, I might be able to do a basic site for her and take it out in trade???

BTW, the landscaping that you are doing in your yard is gorgeous. And do not worry about whether someone thinks you have too much landscaping, do what you enjoy and make it the way that you like it...- you are the one living there and you need to have fun designing and playing. If it was a rental house or a house that you were not going to be living in for long (say 1-2 years) then I would say do basic, easy care plants. But if you are going to be there for 5+ years, do it to express yourself.

The stupidest thing that I ever did was to get my house all fixed up, new paint job, new deck, redid the floors, and then sell it. I never got to enjoy the new paint job, sit on the deck for several seasons, and only ever got to see the floors when someone else's feet were walking on them. How I wish that we had improved the house so that WE could live it it nicely rather than put it off so that the next person could come in and live in it (and they tore down the deck, repainted the wall, and laid wall-to-wall carpet)

We also only had 2 years to enjoy the wonderful landscape that we put in - it was just getting good when we moved (and it was a huge selling point with the house because it was very nicely done)


So think of it as Mental Health Therapy - How much would you pay for that?
If you do not plant the plants that you want, in 5 years you will still not have those plants, nor will you have derived any enjoyment from them. So why wait? Plant them now and if in the future you need to sell the house you will have gotten years of enjoyment, the folks buying it will make that house their own and they can have the fun of making their own yard and garden the way that they want it.

Cheers
Lorie in Whitehall

Thanks Lorie, I agree with your thinking completely. I let other folks get in my head on this stuff. Even my dad said today I should try and not be tacky when we were talking about my plans for spring, expanding the beds, etc. Tacky? It's not like I'm putting pink flamingos all through my yard, sheesh. But he's never really gotten my tropical-vibe either; I suspect the jungle look isn't his thing. If/When I live in a warmer climate one day, well if my back yard has grass I'll be surprised. What I'd give to be able to grow things like pothos, monstera, my gingers, hibiscus, heliconias, tree ferns, Bops, and oh - a nice big Travelers Palm. I'm building my collection, I just need the climate.

As for their website. I'll eventually get to it when my schedule isn't as busy. I'm the Web Director for SCETV, and I maintain my own two sites -- sooo it's just a matter of finding time I'm not already tired of all-things-web development, LOL. I have promised them I'll build something sooner than later - I tried years ago to get them to do it, but they weren't interested at the time. Go figure?

Thanks again for the reassurance on the landscaping.

-John

Go for it, K! (Oh, to have a big Travelers Palm!)
I'll check out your Mom's place when I'm in Irmo in spring. :)
Deb

skwinter, I love your landscaping! What a feat in Nevada, too.

keonikale, why not add a greenhouse so you could grow tropicals year-round? By the way, I agree with those who encourage you to follow your heart with the landscaping.

John, did your family originally sell azaleas, lots and lots of azaleas? I believe I remember an azalea farm in Irmo with your last name. I gave them a lot of business when I lived up there.

There's a Derrick right up the road a mile or so from my parents that sold Azaleas - he was also the guy that did that huge Christmas light setup. We're related, but it's more distant according to my Dad, the genealogy buff. My folks just sell Iris and Daylilies now.

Fleurs, I have two temporary greenhouses, but given our HOA rules I doubt they'd let me build a large GH in the back yard. Plus, considering the cost I'd be more inclined to wait until my yard is larger - where I'd enjoy it longer. I'm still collecting new things for the yard this spring - hope to take two weeks off work just to plant this year. We greatly expanded the back beds too - it's really going to be jungle-like back there this year :)

Please supply before and after pictures.

Right now it's a bunch of dead looking bananas and leaves, LOL. Looks like a compost pile with a retaining wall. I'll post a few below, even though it doesn't look like much now.

This message was edited Jan 26, 2009 11:19 PM

This is the before - last Fall. So before you see the next shot it'll give you an idea of what it looks like when it's pretty.

Blue line is where I've expanded the top. It's more area than it looks like in the photo.

And the bottom. Lots of new area here too. The wall at first made me a little nervous, but I think given the steep terrain, it'll really be a good thing. Plus it connects the two retaining wall beds we built right after moving in. About 4.5 tons of retaining wall - I've done my share of moving those darn things.

And a view looking up... I'll be sure to post again once it's growing good next year. This is all the expansion we're doing from here on. I think we're about out of room.

Thank you all again for your comments in this thread - I still get nervous when landscaping, so this thread is a nice reminder to chill out and stop worrying.

But it will be so fun to see the after photos. I did a complete make over this last year and had great pictures before and after....If I ever get the 5 projects I am working on now finished, I will send pictures. I know, do not do 5 projects at a time, DUH.

I am retired and never been to South Carolina. I am 66 and work like I am 40. I could come out a give a hand. Just to see what that end of the country does and feels. Good luck on the design of your new garden...I have changed mine three times in eight years.. Hope you do a better gardening plan so you do not need to change it. Love and Hugs. The loves and hugs are from the bird watching group...LOL.

I like the rocks - I wish we had more of them here. The really add something IMHO. You can look for an entire day and not find a rock here in Lexington. Ironically, I spent my younger teen years on the other side of the lake throwing rocks out of the fields to help them plant veggies and plant corn. LOL, funny thing is, we threw them into the woods for years. Of course then they cleared the woods to make the field bigger. So I have officially thrown every rock in my parents fields twice.

That's such a huge difference. Might want to figure out a few evergreens that look tropical to mix in with your tropicals. Wouldn't look so stark durning the winter.

Definitely agree, we have kinda become fond of the Arborvitae's and Gold euonymus around the front of the yard - we might should mix some in back here too in the spring (so as not to dig up anything in winter). They have a semi-tropic look to them and are both grow well in our soil. In fact, we used them in the expanded bed, seen in the photos I posted when starting this thread.

This message was edited Jan 27, 2009 1:38 PM