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Scared by my blank canvas...
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Posted: Sep/02/2008 5:21 AM PST
Ok, I just posted these under my intro. but really need them here (I think). We are closing on our new house next week and I have a totally blank canvas (as in dirt, not even irrigation lines yet!) to plan. I am a novice and quite frankly kinda scared by this idea. We are in Fruita, CO. which is zone 6. The front and back yards get almost full sun all day. HELP!! Any advice is appreciated! BTW, I am already planning on going to the local nurseries to check things out. My plans right now consist of using the front for most of the garden things and having a tree or two and maybe a small planting area in the back. The rest will be sod for my kids to play on. But I'm open to ideas! Jill Attachments:      |
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Posted: Sep/02/2008 5:30 PM PST
Beautiful home, and I know you will do it justice with plantings you choose. Local garden shops and looking at landscaped homes in your area are two good ways to learn what does best in your area. Linda B |
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Posted: Sep/03/2008 6:57 AM PST
Here's what I do when faced with a blank canvas: 1. Drive around and see what other people are doing in their yards. 2. Try to find one or two plants that I "Just Have to Have". Then start looking for plants that will look good with those. Basically "theming" the spaces My biggest tip: START SMALL!!! Work on one small area at a time- don't worry about the rest. Easier to focus one one small area at a time- not so overwhelming both mentally and for the checkbook  I personally would focus on some shrubs and trees first- this is the best time of the year for planting them. Next year you can start adding other plants to fill in the gaps, and expand  Can't wait to see pics of the progress! |
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Posted: Sep/06/2008 8:34 AM PST
I agree to start with your foundation plantings that will hold your beds together winter or summer. Once you decide on the design of your beds and see what foundation shrubs you like best, then you can visit the nurseries. Make sure that you get shrubs that won't grow out of bounds in a relatively short period of time. The flowers etc. can wait till the spring. You can spend the whole winter learning about annuals and perennials. |
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Posted: Sep/09/2008 8:09 AM PST
Perfect time to look a gardening in a new way with drought tolerant plants and natives. Spend your first winter and spring looking a sun/shade and wind patterns. One great piece advice given to me is to have a job description for every plant you use. Reduce the amount of grass. Don't forget to landscape with winter in mind. Almost every gardener was first seduced by flowers, but in time we mature to garden with foliage first. My bias is always toward woody plants. They have more gumption! Good luck. Beautiful view! |
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Posted: Sep/09/2008 7:40 PM PST
I know that now is not a good time to spend money, but you can actually save yourself some money (by not making mistakes) if you could find a reasonable landscape designer and have him/her draw up a simple plan. Sometimes you can get plans for as little as $150 (check with a good local nursery for references). With a plan on paper, you can pick and choose which parts you want to do first. The landscape designer should talk to you about how you want to use the space and what some of your favorite plants are. You can even take pictures of other yards to show him/her or cut pictures out of magazines, show pictures from books. That's what I did for my SECOND house and it was much nicer that someone did the thinking for me. Now I will say that I didn't use every plant that was spec'ed in the plan ... sometimes I found plants that were LIKE them (that is, plants that liked the same conditions) but were more to my taste. |
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