shady or sunny?

Hi Theresa,
Lots of afternoon sun. Pretty much west. The rectangle for planting has the sidewalk on one side and the porch on the other, lenthwise. Thank you.
Nancita

Do you want the short - tall - short arrangement so that it looks great from both the street and the porch? Are you an experienced gardener, or relatively new? Do you like a very trimmed look, or do you like a very neat and tidy look with no maintenance? Walking around your neighborhood or city, do you see any plants that you really like? Is the porch raised, or ground level? Do you like color or variegated leaves?

Hi Lynne,
I am very new to gardening. I lived in Massachusetts so everything pretty much had its season. Not that I was very knowledgeable there but this is more challenging, I think.
We think the tall, short, tall thing might look nice from the street, as well as the porch. The porch is one and one-half steps up from the sidewalk since th city re-did the sidewalk. Friday they planted sod in the rectangle planting space. They were maybe concerned someone would fall into the area.
I love all the tropical, no maintenance around here. Anything from palms to flowering plants, it doesn't matter.
I might add the whole driveway/side of the property was cemented when we bought the house. We had the city cut a 14" x 15' swath in the cement along the prop3erty of the neighbor's concrete fence. It's southwest. We want to put something to hide the fence and be no maintenance. What about palms there? What ones?
Thank you for any suggestions. I really appreciate it.
Nancita

Hi Nancita,

I am new to Florida too, moved here from the Chicago suburbs in November. But I am an experienced gardener who is learning fast thanks to this forum and other forums such as the Florida gardening forum. Somehow from your first post, I assumed that the area to be planted was parallel to the porch. Is the area to be planted perpendicular to the porch? How tall is the fence?

Hi Lynne,
Isn't Florida great?
Sorry, I threw the second planting suggestion in the same post. Not a good idea. The original post was regarding the planting space running parallel to the sidewalk. The seconde request I sneaked in was along the side of the driveway. The neighbor's fence is about four feet, five in places. It's a mess. That's why we want to cover it up.
Thank you again.
Nancital

Hi Nancita,

My suggestion for the area in front of the porch would be Indian hawthorne as the tallest plant. I like it because it is everygreen but you don't have to constantly trim it.

As the next highest layer, I suggest variegated liriope. Again, no work.

For the shortest area, I suggest either Blue Daze or lantana. I think all of these would be available at a Lowes or Home Depot. Please look these up and see what you think.

For the other area, I'm not as sure. How about some hibiscus in front of the wall?

Best regards,
Lynne

Hey Nancita,
Why not visit a garden center or botanical garden in
your area for more ideas and an upclose look at what
you might like. Not necessarily Lowes or Home Depot
but a plant nursery or family owned garden center.
They usually have more ideas and know more about local
growing conditions. Look through some old issues of
Southern Living Magazine, usually available at your
local library. Good luck.

Brenda
Harvey, LA

Here is a link that might be useful: Community Webshots

Sorry I haven't replied to your suggestions. We (fortunately?) discovered a cistern straddling our property line and have been busy trying yto configure a downsized version. It's a LOT of work but we hope it will be worth it. I will take both suggestions after this project. Thank you for taking the time.
Nancita