Landscaping Ideas?!

@Starlight4leah aren't you in Gilmer? I am just north of Tyler in Lindale. I am zone 8A. Click on the link, then click on east Texas.

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/#

so lucky said:

If your mom like purple, maybe a purple clematis or two planted on that archway would be nice. They like full sun but need their roots shaded, so you would want to plant low growing plants with it to keep it happy. Maybe the lavender lantana? I bet it does great in Texas. You can get marigolds in a pale yellow that would look good with purple.
You could use the arch as the focal point of a garden area, and extend it back towards the house.
I would suggest you get the OK from your landlord before you take out any permanent plantings. Those cat scented ones are a pretty common one, boxwood, I think. They also can be pruned back to make a more appealing planting.
Lavender may take a while to get to a good size, and lilacs grow pretty slow and sometimes sparsely. Check pinterest for front door garden ideas.

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Our landlord is fine with it,mthey actually hate the bushes that are there now and said to just rip them out. That is a really good idea with the archway. Thank you so much.

Smart Red said:

Howdy, @Starlight4leah! Glad to have you growing with us.

Those 'cat pee' smells last only as long as the bushes flower -- very early in the spring. Otherwise they are a nice, easy to trim shrub border planting. I would carefully reconsider the burning bush. I have a couple myself, purchased before I learned that they are an invasive in many parts of the country. Check your area out first. There are a plethera of other beautiful and even flowering shrubs that you might want to look into.

So lucky is right! You might want to go more for container plantings until you know what is allowed by your landlord as well as how long you might stay. It is easy to sink a lot of money into a beautiful, 'easy to care for' yard.

Clematis can be planted in a container and still grace that archway for many, many years. It looks to me as if a goodly amount of pruning will make a big difference in the yard and foundation plantings. Then you can add annuals to the front for colorful borders.

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We are actually in the process of purchasing the house, and the landlord is ok with everything, as we have already discussed it. Thank you for your advice.

baymule said:

@Starlight4leah aren't you in Gilmer? I am just north of Tyler in Lindale. I am zone 8A. Click on the link, then click on east Texas.

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/#

Click to expand...

Yes I am in Gilmer, thanks for that link.

What fun! Having a relatively empty palette to plant is something I love thinking about.

Start slow. Take care of the lawn and any existing plantings by pruning.
Become a master mower and learn when to NOT mow, like right after it has rained.
Read up on local weeds and learn to control them! You are almost in the tropical zone, and there are scads of plants that YOU can have as a perennial that will die in my Illinois winters. There are Also plenty of perennials that do ok where I live, BUT will become invasive where YOU live. You might also be able to keep vegetables growing year round, like tomatoes. I know that my SIL, who lived in FL, used tomato plants outside of the bathroom window, instead of curtains.
If you want a plant, Read UP on it! I am ripping out my two thorned blackberry bushes. They spread and the thorns hurt and the birds have been getting ALL of the fruit! The zone 8 cally lily that I bought for my DD's yard will be just an annual, but it could be a perennial at your new property.
MAKE yourself read the tags on the plants that you buy.
Your local University AG Extension office can really be helpful in guiding your purchases. They will tell you what are local native plants, and those are virtually carefree. Plants from other continents can make you babysit them, and then up and die on you.
Enjoy! Gardening is never ending...and that's what makes it fun.

Here is what our yard is looking like so far! We have made our garden for this year, as it is just a small one, we got solar powered lights, windmills, bird feeders, and lots of flowers that were all on sale. We only had enough material to finish one half of the porch and we still have to get two more stones for the one side, but it is coming g along beautifully. Pictures do not do it justice. Our garden has 2 1/2 rows of zucchini, 2 bell peppers, 2 cucumbers, 3 rows of tomatoes, and 2 rows of squash. Next year we are making a much bigger one out in the side yard, and plan to have fruit, and many more veggies. We were lucky to only have spent around $35-40 on all of the veggies, and there was 3-5 flats of veggies. We got all of the flowers for %50 off or more. We are very very happy with what it is looking like compared to before, it really needed this 'pick me up.'

Everything looks beautiful! Good job! Love how you didn't spend much.

Mary

Looking good, Starlight4leah! You should be proud.

I like how you put newspaper down for your vegetable bed. I am doing the same with cardboard this year.