I found these when I googled the astilbe! I love these plans: http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plans/shade/easy-care-summer-shade-garden-plan/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, describe your space a little- my father does landscape/commercial irrigation design projects and it's something I have been thinking about getting into. I am pretty familiar with the plants in the area. What direction is your space facing, and how much sun does it get. It could also be a matter of when you plant things. In this area I have had success planting flowers and hydrangeas in early spring, and trees/shrubs in the fall. June/July/August is all weeding and watering for me.

I have a standard brick house here with boring holly, straggly azaleas and lots of liriope. Can't stand the unruly liriope and there's lots of mulch to cover. It's all pretty shady as we have a large tree in the front yard.

Would a nursery come up with a landscape design? I'm actually a decorator on the side and it burns me that I can't come up with a plan for my yard. I'd like it to be whimsical and not so boring.

There is at least one nursery near where I live (Bowie) that has a landscape designer on site. I think people in DC are in love with liriope and I just honestly don't get it. The holly and azaleas probably looked nice at one point but they get old and aren't trimmed properly and it looks bad.

What do you think of a hydrangea/hosta combo, maybe with some ferns and astilbe mixed in? That's a mix I see in shady spots that I find pretty attractive usually. Probably because they are hard to screw up/kill.

The Holly is actually good and it's the only thing I'll leave. Its a nice row in front of windows. I do love all of the plants you mentioned! I've been trying to figure out how to get hostas into there. I planted a rhodedendron last year, but it hasn't taken off. I was hoping it would get large and take up some room. The bed I'm trying to fill is pretty large (spanning from Hollys at the window to the base of the large tree).

I've never heard of astilbe but they look very nice and it says they tolerate clay well.

Thank you for your help!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, describe your space a little- my father does landscape/commercial irrigation design projects and it's something I have been thinking about getting into. I am pretty familiar with the plants in the area. What direction is your space facing, and how much sun does it get. It could also be a matter of when you plant things. In this area I have had success planting flowers and hydrangeas in early spring, and trees/shrubs in the fall. June/July/August is all weeding and watering for me.

I have a standard brick house here with boring holly, straggly azaleas and lots of liriope. Can't stand the unruly liriope and there's lots of mulch to cover. It's all pretty shady as we have a large tree in the front yard.

Would a nursery come up with a landscape design? I'm actually a decorator on the side and it burns me that I can't come up with a plan for my yard. I'd like it to be whimsical and not so boring.

There is at least one nursery near where I live (Bowie) that has a landscape designer on site. I think people in DC are in love with liriope and I just honestly don't get it. The holly and azaleas probably looked nice at one point but they get old and aren't trimmed properly and it looks bad.

What do you think of a hydrangea/hosta combo, maybe with some ferns and astilbe mixed in? That's a mix I see in shady spots that I find pretty attractive usually. Probably because they are hard to screw up/kill.

Anonymous wrote:PP, describe your space a little- my father does landscape/commercial irrigation design projects and it's something I have been thinking about getting into. I am pretty familiar with the plants in the area. What direction is your space facing, and how much sun does it get. It could also be a matter of when you plant things. In this area I have had success planting flowers and hydrangeas in early spring, and trees/shrubs in the fall. June/July/August is all weeding and watering for me.

I have a standard brick house here with boring holly, straggly azaleas and lots of liriope. Can't stand the unruly liriope and there's lots of mulch to cover. It's all pretty shady as we have a large tree in the front yard.

Would a nursery come up with a landscape design? I'm actually a decorator on the side and it burns me that I can't come up with a plan for my yard. I'd like it to be whimsical and not so boring.

PP, describe your space a little- my father does landscape/commercial irrigation design projects and it's something I have been thinking about getting into. I am pretty familiar with the plants in the area. What direction is your space facing, and how much sun does it get. It could also be a matter of when you plant things. In this area I have had success planting flowers and hydrangeas in early spring, and trees/shrubs in the fall. June/July/August is all weeding and watering for me.

Where do you find a landscape designer?

I love to garden, but have no direction. I'm not from here and don't know the plants well. Everything I plant dies and the layout we have now is horrific. I would love to pay someone for some drawings of what should go where.

We have some ideas for a landscape redesign. Is it worth it to hire a designer (for design drawings) or go straight to a landscaping company who will take care of both design drawings and construction design.