This weekend kiddo and I are going over to my grandparents house to help spruce up their backyard. They moved into this house in a retirement community a few years ago after living most of their lives on acres of land. This past winter they lost a lot of plants (thanks to the hard frost we had), so I'm going to come in and add some new life to this little piece of space. Among the dead are a palm tree (which my mom and I are kinda happy to see didn't make it), a fern from mine & hubby's wedding, and a geranium (shocker right? What person over 70 DOESN'T have a geranium?!)
What I'm struggling with is trying to find a nice mix of plants to fill in the space- that I can afford! Sure, it's easy to stick in a bunch of cheap annuals to brighten up the space- but they'll die! And we'd be right back to this in a few months.....
I'm also going to be adding some edibles to the space. I got a few extra tomato plants from kiddo's school garden project, along with a lemon cucumber plant, and I'm thinking they could use some herbs too.... basil, rosemary, maybe a sage.... 
So, my question to you would be: what do I do? If you had limited funds, how would you go about sprucing it up? Keep in mind it should be low maintenance, and there is a drip system in this space that I easily manage the watering with. Any ideas are welcome! (Pictures are courtesy of my mom- Thanks mom!)
You need some height to cover those fences! Maybe you could train tomatoes and green beans or something against them? Tall & slender shrubs like Nandina would be nice, or bamboo in pots? Annual vines like morning glory, moon flower? It has nice bones. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteSomething for height sounds good to me, too.
ReplyDeleteCan you do Hyacinth beans in CA, Carri? (I'm never sure about what will grow there or what will grow too well and become a PITA.)
If you do figure out some kind of trellis - bamboo or woven twine- you could let the lemon cucumbers climb against the fence, too.
When your grandparents lived on the acres of land was it woodland or farm or orchard or what? Are there small-scale plants or shrubs you could add that would refer to the past in a happy way, without overwhelming the present?
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I've never tried growing hyacinth beans before- but it's on my list to try! They're beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThey lived in the country- farm lands. They ran a dairy- so it's mostly cows and corn that they saw! My grandma used to line every walkway with bearded irises (some of them are in here now that she brought over). I'll probably have to move a bunch of plants around. The most important part is that it is easy for my 82 year old grandpa to maintain, as my grandma was recently diagnosed with ALS and is no longer walking. This is kind of for her- I want her to have something pretty to look at from the window.
I like that kind of fence where each neighbor has sections of both the good and bad sides.
ReplyDeleteI do think I'll be adding a small orange tree for my grandpa- I think he eats an orange a day! Perhaps that's where I get my citrus addiction from :)
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to tell exactly how much light it will get from the photos, but I like the nandina idea. Plus a red trumpet vine could be pretty and they cover a lot of space (you should be able to find them in a gallon size. If it is sunny enough, salvia, coreopsis, gaillardia, Santa Barbara daisy take up a ton of space and fill in quickly. I've seen many in pony packs this time of year.
ReplyDeleteAlso now is the time many nurseries have to mark down some of their spring stock that is looking a bit shabby. You might try to strike a deal on something that just needs some TLC. But I must admit my answer often depends on how I'm asked. If someone comes up and starts degrading a plant and complaining about the price, I get offended. But if they merely ask for a discount on something that is a bit past prime, I am much more likely to do it.
I second the mark down plants at the nurseries. Great time of year to get a deal on some spring perennials.
ReplyDeleteA couple of trellised plants, be they flower or veg would look great against the fence.
It wouldn't hurt to do some cheap annuals now while you take time to get ahold of some perennials. Perhaps an online plant trade to get some?
ReplyDeletetake a look at dwarf yellow and purple barberry. great fall color - requires only a snip ro two to keep it in shape (no shearing necessary) - for a skeleton - look at some dwarf pines or spruce (frontyard nurs has a ton) all of these should be reasonable cost and little maintenance needs. dont forget to add some medium/largish size rocks so you can add some veticle dimension. maybe a weeping cedar along the fenceline to break up the fence.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started my garden with little money I would go to the home improvement stores and look for inexpensive gallon perennials that could be divided when planted. Like dietes iris or daylilies or agapanthus. You can sometimes get three or four plants for the price of one and they will eventually make a full bed!
ReplyDeletePetunias. Lots of petunias.
ReplyDeleteWell besides dividing your own plants and growing things from cuttings, another option would be freecycle or craigslist for free plants. I have an entire jar of hyacinth beans if you still want to experiment with them. (they are the purple flower variety).
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