Need Inspiration for this Spot (Help Me, Please!)

I have this flower bed on the other side of the driveway in "no man's land" as I call it. It has excellent soil, as it's had lots of amendments added to it. It gets shade from the huge oak tree on the other side of the driveway, but it gets the horrible hot western sun for much of the day. Anything that grows too tall leans to the west sun. The heat from the driveway also heats up the area. I'd like to plant natives and drought tolerant plants in it, but need to come up with some kind of plan as everything I've put in there so far has just been placed willy-nilly. This is what's in there so far:

Butterfly bush (at the curb near the street)
Esperanza
4 Nerve daisy (near the curb at the street)
Daylilies in various places
A balloon flower plant
1 Firecracker plant
1 Rudbeckia plant (thanks to Sheila!)
Pink Ruellia (the short kind)
May Night Salvia
White Gaura , which I think is dead now
Schoolhouse Lilies
And a few other things that I can't remember now

It's an awkward shape, sort of a triangle with one long straight side about 15' long and about 10' long on the street side. Then there's the weird side!! It narrows to a very tiny point at the tip, closest to our house.

Any suggestions?? Placement/design ideas would be welcome as well.

This picture is taken from the tip looking out to the street facing north. West is on the left and east is on the right.

I also forgot to mention that the "groundcover" you see in this pic are actually weeds! LOL

What about some of these (I have ordered these, don't know how they'll do)

Liatris
Kniphofia
Echinaecia (these are great - I have After Midnight, Summer Sky, Kim's Knee High
and Razzmatazz. I've ordered Coconut Lime and Tomato Soup.)
Gaillardia (I have Oranges and Lemons and have ordered Frenzy and another I can't
remember the name of.)
Helenium (not sure how these will do here)
Stella D'oro daylily
Achillea
Santolina
Agastache
Penstemon
Verbena (I don't have many to choose from that will come back here in 7b, you'll
probably have a larger selection there)

Probably more suggestions than you wanted!


This message was edited Feb 15, 2009 2:25 PM

You might like to try some cupheas. I've had great success with the bat face ones. Also for some variation on form, the firecracker yucca is nice and is drought tolerant and will take the afternoon sun without a problem. If you'd like a living ground cover, try ice plant.

You might also look at Cheddar pinks, a dianthus that has a really different blue/gray leaf. I read an article that says it's short-lived, but mine are on their fifth year and going strong. It spreads well, and is evergreen.

I cannot, for the life of me, grow ice plants!! Every single one I've had I've managed to kill! LOL

I do have echinaceas, butterfly weed, and more Coreopsis seeds to plant still. I also have a creeping phlox up in the tip and a creeping veronica down near the curb.

It's a great area for a couple of large boulder, rock, feature. Also a great little area for a small lilly pond. Most of the water plants like the sunny area. As much as I hated wasting "dirt" space, I put this little lily pond in the front area, and made a star design around it with bricks filling in with gravel. It added some texture and interest to this area. I used things I had on hand. The fun thing is, it's easy to change things around.
I'll bet your going to have fun with that area!
Rj

You can't go wrong with Salvia greggi (Pink Preference is my favorite).

Carla

How about a nice Variegated Agave for the middle? Would change the texture as someone else stated and add nice colors.

hi-
just ramble, but I think a birdbath and/or birdhouse on a pole would look nice in there. They would both add height, and they will look nice no matter what kind of sun they get, or don't get, lol...they also soften and personalize any space, in my opinion.

I also have a thing for monkey grass as edging. It makes a nice evergreen border edging, and also will cover up and disguise your plastic edging and it being different from the brick edging.

I used it here in my curbside garden, and it sure helped "fill it in" quickly...as did the buttercups.

Buttercups can be invasive, but in a situation where there is concrete on all sides, it is not a concern. If you planted any, they could only wander on one side, and they could easily be mowed over, if they did...

I also am totally with RJ...boulders! I have two in this curbside garden, although only one shows in this picture. I've gotten more compliments on those boulders, than any other part of that, or any other one of my gardens.

Here it is a little more grown...you can see that the monkey grass sorta disappears, but sure helps add some "bones" in winter...as do the boulders.

here is a better view of one of the boulders coming from the flip side from the sidewalk perspective...I also planted pavers in front of the boulders. It makes a really nice place to sit for a second, and I've even notice little things that give away that other people have enjoyed sitting there, too!, lol...

Even if you aren't going to sit on yours, pavers can be a great excuse to try all the wonderful little "stepable" groundcovers.

In this picture I used mazus reptans. I'd also highly recommend any or all of the plants I used in this border, especially that walker's low catmint you see with the blue flowers next to the boulder.

It is in non-stop bloom the entire summer, and the butterflies LOVE it!, and are always on it.

this is the mazus in bloom:

darlindeb posted this picture a while back, and I saved it. This is NOT my picture, but a great idea!

It is "holey rock" from Oklahoma, planted with various plants and creeping sedums. I think it looks great, and I tried something similar in a different section of my garden.

Your curbside garden looks great. I also like the holey rock with the sedum.

Irwells-
thank you! :0)

In my stretch of the curbside garden, in case you may want to consider any of these, I went heavy on the:
daylilies
iris
catmint,
buttercups
obedient plant
carpet series roses(coral)
and ornamental oreganos(several kinds)
and then also the groundcovers:
mazus, blue star creeper, and the name escapes me on the other one at the moment...

I recently added the purple trailing lantana, and a clematis to go up the mailbox.

seedpicker_TX Love how "put together" your bed is. How long does the mazus bloom for? I think that OK rock looks great. Hmmm do I have to go to OK to get it?
Germander is another low evergreen edging. I like ornamental grasses. They can take the heat and provide height and movement. Also look very nice when backlit from the sun.

I have a semicircular drive, so I understand your plight. The semicircular drive has a tiny strip of planting area (that I have fully filled with plants)

This is what has worked well.

dwarf crepe myrtle http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/3015/
indian hawthorne http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/51731/
pinks (dianthus) of all kinds
salvia multiple varieties
roses of all kinds
veronica georgia blue http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/76872/
creeping phlox subulata both blue and candy stripe http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/49968/



PS, ice plant is difficult to grow in DFW. I think it requires drier conditions. Our relatively wet winters and springs kills it off. In California, it is a pest plant, but I can't grow it well here either

This message was edited Feb 16, 2009 11:42 PM

bananna18-
it blooms for well over a month in its grandest display in Spring, but also blooms again in Fall, and periodically all througout summer.

It requires more water than the other plantings, and I've often gone to that bed just to water it, and left the others alone...just an fyi

no- you don't have to go to Oklahoma to get it :0) I got mine from a rock yard down the street. They sell it by the pound/ton, and mine ended up being only around $20, so I added a second one, and gave it as a gift.

collin-that's it!...veronica 'georgia blue'...that was the groundcover I couldn't remember the name of, in my previous post :0) I noticed a couple of days ago that mine has really grown since last year, and is already starting to bloom. great plant

I've had no problems with ice plants, but then I usually squeeze them in a tiny pot where the roots are pretty restricted and I don't usually water them, either...just let the rain, only...

I've never tried them in the ground...guess you could amend just that spot with tiny pebbles?

I tried that with lavender, though, in that front bed, and they still died a slow death. Here is a picture of Lutsko's dwarf Spanish lavender before it croaked. I replaced it with kent beauty oregano with sparaxis bulbs planted underneath. That is working much better :0)

Thanks for all the great ideas! I've been trying to talk my DH into adding a bird bath or something like that, but he's been anti-bird bath because it also attracts squirrels. I have a trellis that I might put in there and maybe plant a vine that wouldn't grow too wild or high. I have a shepherd's crook that I could stick out there, too, and several bird feeders and/or a bird house. You guys are great for ideas!!

Seedpicker, what rock yard? I'll check it out next time I'm in Dallas. I know I've seen rocks like that somewhere, but can't for the life of me remember where.

Lynn

Stephanie-
one tiny word of caution...a bird FEEDER will cause lots of the birdseeds to drop below into your garen soil, and cause lots of millet weeds to sprout...

A bird HOUSE would be the better option *wink

as for a birdbath, I don't think I've ever seen a squirrel drink at ours. But, hang a hanging basket, or try to plant bulbs, and there they are! Worse yet, put out birdseed...ours are always trying to raid the birdseed... ;0)

Lynn-
It is on the east side of 75, between Springcreek and Legacy, on Avenue K(the old greenville ave), just before you get to Legacy, if you are heading north.
I think the name is CSS..for concrete and stone supply...but I could have the name wrong...it is CCS, or CSS, or something like that.

That's great, it's right on my way home. Daughter #1 lives off of NW Hwy and Preston, and I go home 75 after I've been over. Although, it looks like the construction is going to be constant for a few years from what I read in the paper a while back - the 121 interchange and around McKinney.

Lynn

The rock yard is in Plano, before you get to Allen or McKinney, but you are right...you'll probably hit construction traffic after that.

Sometimes they have a great selection of those rocks, and sometimes, not...you might even want to ask them to be sure and order some before your next visit, so you'll have a good selection. :0)