Landscaping Part 3 - Plants

My favorite part of the job was picking the plants. I chose plants that I thought would be easy to care for, plants that looked interesting, and others that were suggested to me by Michael Hannan (Rock Chalk Lawn Care and CBIZ) Michael has been a great resource for bouncing of ideas. Michael works with Holly and has been able to carry over his lawn care business from college while working at the firm. Dos Luis' did the install and layout. All I had to do was buy the plants. I really had no idea how many I needed. I thought about a general area where the plants should go (front, side, patio) based on sunlight. I typically bought 2, 3, or 5 or 8 plants. I didn't even talk to Luis #1, but he put them exactly where I thought they should go.

East front side of house (mid Sept 2009) (no change since June)

We have 3 rose plants (double knockouts -red and pink); marigolds, pansies; dwarf Hinoki Cypress; boxwoods; China girl holly bush; Lirope aka lilyturf (variegated, silver, and normal); blue spruce (trimmed into a globe); some grass growing in a pot I have left at the front door which was never planted. I like the grass and have left it.

East side of house before painting (mid June 2009)

Shown from left to right is the American Holly we left; some hostas on the ground; more lirope (3 varieties); a repurposed azalea; a bush called Mellow Yellow in the middle (can't remember the type).

East side after painting (Mid Sept 2009)

This view shows the weeping evergreen (can't remember what it is exactly), the hosta to the left is huge and blooming during this time of year, on the right of the evergreen is an azalea from Mark Winiarski. He gave me a pink and white variety that I have placed in the front of the house. Also on the right, but difficult to see, is a plant called Black Lace that isn't doing well. It has this great purple/black foliage and interesting leaves. I may move it next year.

West front side of house (mid June 2009)

Left to right: Lirope, boxwood, Meteris Naturalus Gas (extremely drought tolerant and good for zones (1 -12), China Girl holly bush.

West front side of house (mid Sept. 2009)

This is an expanded view. I rescued this weeping tree (maybe a puss willow) from Hank and Sarah's house. They replaced it with a nice looking Sumac. Anyways, I pulled up the old ground cover which had grown into a 4ft W x 2ft H x 3.5ft D bush. I was happy to get rid of that ugly thing. To the left of the weeping tree is a China Boy holly bush. Apparently you need a male variety so the females get pollinated and produce those great red berries. At least that is what the garden center guy told me so I would buy another plant.

Patio area east side (mid June 2009)

All I know about this area is that there are some ferns. The rest were suggested by Michael. I agreed because they were cheap and looked good. The tree (which I am surprised lasted due to the major root damage it received during the building of the wall) is a white flowering dogwood.

Patio area south east corner (mid June 2009) Goal = Japanese style garden area

Some ferns (Painted and regular Missouri ferns) and a Japanese Maple rescued from Sutherland's for $20

Patio - Lady of the Water / Herb garden (mid June 2009)

At this point in time we have 4 basil plants (2 sweet, purple, lemon); pineapple sage; spearmint; peppermint; thyme; Greek oregano; 3 chives (2 garlic, regular); curry plant (smells like curry); 3 rosemary

Patio - Lady of the Water (mid Sept. 2009)

By September we added: Large leaf basil; lime basil; lavender