PJ - I am tired of the cold and am itching to get out, too. Pictures and photoshopping are wonderful tools to use. You've got a great start. Love that purple door! Surprisingly, the green really stands out more than the white did. And I think the grey garage door looks good. Look forward to seeing more pictures from you in the future.

Wow -- I love everything you've done. The purple front door and green foyer are WONDERFUL. Whoo hoo! And what a difference the grey garage door and trim are going to be. It makes the house look very elegant. Love the stepping stone idea with frog fruit around them. What is the purple plant blooming on the left in the back yard photo? Can't wait to see more. Keep us posted as your design work progresses. I love seeing new landscapes :-)

Love your house. One suggestion that won't break the bank--since you have a black lamp in the front and it looks like a black doorbell, change the doorknob and deadbolt to black to match. It would look really good against your purple and go with your wrought iron trellis in the front.

Carla near Austin

Great Job PJ! The purple is a fun touch and gray is a good neutral with purple and green. It definitely pushes the garage door back which is what you want.

One of the fastest, easiest, and cheapest ways to improve the hell strip is to add a few ornamental grasses. Try some fine textured grasses like adagio and mexican feather. They are often on sale at the Lowe's near me. Don't plant pampas grass, it gets too large and difficult to deal with.

We love to follow progess pics here, so look forward to more.

Thank you for your kind words and suggestions!
Cdp, brilliant! Black door knob and dead bolt would really look good. It's a quick fix too!

Rock Oak, I don't think Pampas grass would fit in my hell strip. Feather grass and red yucca look to be my only hope. They don't call it the hell strip for nothing. It looked truly hideous after the month of 100's in August 2010. If it weren't for the lantana, hyacinth bean on the mailbox and the kidneywood trees, it would've looked like a tiny vacant lot of weeds.

roselee, that is good old fashioned hyacinth bean. I plant it to clean(a decontamination plant),fertilize and give me an idea how a vine would look in an area without being permanent. It really worked so I put a big lattice trellis behind the brown pot. Hyacinth bean also on that big wooden trellis along the side of the house. That big ole trellis was built to hold an American Wisteria that is rather small right now. It's about 3 ft from the house so I can control the vine with mowing and don't get a big build up of moisture on my house wall.

I'm so excited about coming up on my 3rd year for my landscape, when plants really get going. I also did a really big hedge bed between my yard and the neighbor's. It has an open french drain of river rock. The trees should really get going finally. I managed somehow to make it appear as tho a path curves around to the gate. It was an accidental, but nice, layout. My front yard is pie shaped and small. I've never had that before. It's a real challenge.

Meanwhile, where are YOUR garden pics??? I need something green to look at! :)

Here's a link to the update I posted last summer. A two year update also. I used zebra grass and feather grass so it should be good for some ideas for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Update

rock deer, I love the gravel. The grass does look really nice.
That buried pot makes for a lovely focal point.

I stayed away from mulches so the wildflowers would spread. Unfortunately, heat and free roaming dog urine made them ratty looking. Even the xeric perennials looked ratty. I think some type of mulch (gravel or wood) would really help my hell strip.

There is a good chance I'm going to copy a bunch of what you have so don't be surprised! Great job :)

Hey PJ. Everyting looks great. Love seeing your dogs too. How are your boys doing?

I moved into San Antonio early Nov. 2007

In the beginning:
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Sept 2008
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March 2009
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April 2010
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Here is my new "child". Here name is Maeve and she weighs 6.5 lbs.
Christmas eve of 2009 I had to have snickers (the cocker) put down.{{gwi:636182}}

Kathy

Kathy is definitely champ of yard transformations.

Kathy - Love seeing those pics every time. Your dog is so cute and I'm sure she's a great companion for you.

PJ - I used ideas from all over town in mine so copy away and add your own touch. Shopping centers and restaurant parking lots are my primary source of inspiration.

The zebra grass is brown now, but still looks really good. The feather grass is green so that helps a lot.

The gravel was already there so "all" we had to do was clean it up. That involved sifting out 18 years of dirt and leaves. Our county has free mulch so we use that in other areas too.

I have a spot for wildflowers in the back yard. It's beginning to fill in so may have pictures this year.

Here's another thread on updates I also posted last summer.

Here is a link that might be useful: More updates

Plant maven you are on fire! It didn't register how fast you did that until now. I'm so impressed. Your back yard is all full of flowers too.

Adorable puppy I'll bet it has a lot more energy than a Cocker! I'm guessing Maeve is either a chihuahua or a terrier?

I lost my old girl(Clemie) in July 2010. That puppy in the picture (nose pressed to the ground working up to digging arrrg!)kept Poppy (other dog) from getting too depressed.
His name is Cajun and he's NOT the Shepard mix they said he was at the shelter. He's a Kelpie of some sort (Australian farm dog) and is extraordinarily hyper. *Sigh* I know how to handle a Shepard. He keeps Poppy going tho. In fact, she hides from him to get in a nap. He'll keep her young!

Dang! Your inferno strips are amazing. I'm going to add rock to mine too. It makes a huge difference. I especially like the strip around that mailbox. It's bright and cheery instead of looking fried!
Texas rock star LOL!

Looking at moving, the end of April, so not sure how much I will do, this spring.

Will be having to readjust to the Carolinas, and a whole new mix of plants.

PJ - I used the lasagna formula/style/way.
I used to post as Natvtxn and I met you on the sidewalk when Carol drove Jolana and over to your house. That was sooo funny.
In the first pic, where the dark mulch is on the left, I had an ash tree removed. The HOA almost had a stroke when they saw the roofing paper covering the grass. But never noticed that a tree was gone. LOL
My puppy is now almost 15 months old, so she is through growing. She is a toy fox terrier. I did not realize there was that breed until I started a search for small low maintence dogs.

When I asked about your boys, I meant your human boys. If you think they would like to grow bird house gourds, email me and I will send you some seeds. The vines grow really fast. plantmaven@gmail.com

Crazy I didn't know you changed your name. I remember the surprise visit! I was out talking to my plants like an insane person :). As you can see I no longer live in that house. That stupid house had been neglected for YEARS and fixing it was like paddling upstream w/o an oar. I'm glad we moved.

I used the lasagna method with newspaper and mulch.
How did you get away with that beautiful yard with an HOA? I thought they were super strict about % of grass or whatever. I'm not surprised they missed a tree. Most HOAs I know of are truly bizarre and kind of dopey.

I'm going to have my DH post a picture of the boys and the entire yard (missing from these pics) with the hedge bed. It's close enough to being done to see what I'm going for.

My 16yr old is taller than his dad. My 10 yr old is still "the baby" but don't tell him that. In a couple years he'll look almost like a grown man too. Folks weren't kidding when they said your children grow up overnight somehow. They'd love to grow gourds. I'll email you thanks.

I like terriers. My DH's auntie raised Cockers for show. Good Lord they had a ton of hair. My mom raised the ultra hairy Afghans. My mutt dogs are always smooth coated. They shed like any other dogs but always appear shiny and clean even when WAAAY overdue for grooming. A quick bath (no snarls to deal with), a slicker brush and it's DONE.

Rick, what are you doing hiding your move in this thread? Guys! Well dish it out sir! Where in the Carolinas? What do you know about your area? Are you happy,sad or indifferent?
Are you taking plants with you? Are you gunna brag about gardening in normal soil? C'mon let us know!

PJ, it is time to head back to the blue wall, and leave this heat behind. Retiring the end of April, and will either end up back in the mountains, or in the foothills, whichever I can afford. That might be NC or might be SC, accordingly.

The plant mix, depends on exactly where we end up. There can be a 2-3K ft. elevation differential.

Think Rhododendron, Azalea, Wisteria, and the like. Not to mention cherry, dogwood, and apple. (or peach)

I'd skip the wisteria but the rest sounds pretty good! I miss my mountains even in the desert. Foothills or mountains sounds pretty good to me. We were at 3k just below the foothills of the San Gabriels on the desert side. My sister lives in Sierra Nevada on the other side of the range.(I'm not sure about a map that's how it appears to the eye.) She is at about 6k. Her biggest issue isn't temperature. The deer and assorted other wildlife get all crazy eating her stuff to the ground, digging it up, or rubbing it to death.

Yup. The deer, bear, and other critters have to eat too.

My niece has pics of black bear wandering across her yard. LOL.

We expect to be about 2 hrs.-2.5 hrs. from the Great Smokey Mountain National Park, more or less.

Rick ~ Now I remember you telling us you would move there when you retired. Dang times flies as I get older.

I am sure it is dragging for you as you wait for April.

Kathy

Actually, there has been so much to go over, and make decisions about, I am feeling more exhausted, than anything else, about now.

Some advice....find out what your retirement plan really allows you to do now, and not when you retire. Make adjustments accordingly.

Rick I didn't know you had such a crazy sense of humor. What retirement plan? People are lucky to get crappy,overpriced benefits these days, much less retirement.
BEARS in the back yard! Omg, you just reminded me about the black bear that got caught up in my DH's grandma. Crazily enough my DH's Cockers cornered one in a tree! That was only one incident with bears out there in 40 yrs. It's the mountain lions that get people and take some pets. ALWAYS hike with dogs!!! They'll hear/smell/detect wild animals LONG before you do. Wild animals tend to avoid LARGER dogs. Little dogs attract them even more.
I don't blame you for wanting to move to the Smokeys they are just so beautiful. A bit cold for this girl tho.
I'm sorry your retirement is screwed up and hope it all works out great.

Here's all the front beds, my kiddos, and the whole front yard in winter. As you can see, summer is fairly nice, the kids are cute, but my winter inferno strip is awful! LOL!

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Not exactly screwed up.....just limited options, that required changes in plans, to adapt and make work for me.

Still not perfect, but at least I will have flexibility and control, in spite of how hard my retirement plan wanted to make it, for me.

However, that did create some frustrations, over about a month's time.

The bummer is that interest rates are rising again, and we have little squirm room to make the move with. (sigh) Now we have to hope things stabilize so we can still get it done. Higher house prices, with higher interest rates, is not a workable combo.

PJ,

Very nice but how are people supposed to get out when parked in the street? lol. Are there any other houses with yards like that? I had thought about growing roses, etc in the heck strip while leaving some grass for people to get onto when getting out of car. I have whole corner lot of it to work with but it's the dreaded big limestone rocks that is not exactly very motivating for me...

I just planted a few more Shantung maples for much needed shade since my house faces west which can be brutal. Unfortunately, that's like 4-5 years for those small ones to get big enough for shade to make any difference. 6 Shantung maple in the front/side yard. I'm trying to turn the yard into a maple forest. It should be specular when they fill out some and produce mixed red and yellow fall color. Hopefully, I'd be able to grow azaleas in raised bed underneath maple trees one day.

Hey Lou!
It's so funny you should just mention crossing the inferno strip! I just started playing in the inferno strip with some step stones like a couple hours ago deciding how I want it to look :). It's not really a huge deal to have a path. I'm on a tiny cul-de-sac with 4 other houses. Also, I always park both cars in the garage so everyone uses the driveway.

I wouldn't put any plants with thorns or spikes that aren't set way back or potted. I have cactus in pots around baby trees to protect them from dogs. (No dogs will go the cactus btw.) Thorny roses would grab folk's clothes near a sidewalk.
Those Maples sure aren't in any big ole hurry. I remember how pretty your maples were not too long ago. I'll bet they'll be spectacular one day. Maple leaves are great mulch for acid plants.

The guy next door has a good sized Japanese garden with a water feature and it all in the front yard. I'll ask to take a picture of his gorgeous maple( a curvy Shantung that weeps a bit?). It also has a 8ft palm, a dwarf Pomegranate, and a lot of evergreen flowers and ground covers. It's really neat. He has privets 3/4 the way down for a hedge. You can see them in the last picture over to the left. Those privet are at least 10 ft from his house and lead to his back gate. If you squinsh your eyes really hard you can see his fig tree in front of them. It's small now but not for long! His inferno strip has a brick/step stone path and this very sad, half dead dwarf yaupon in it. Grass looks so crummy here it detracts from his garden. He's thinking about taking out the sod too. A few other houses in and around on other streets are getting in the act with a sidewalk garden. One house has Lirope(sp?) looks pretty nice. Another house has CMs that will look really good when they are bigger. The only other one I can remember has heavy mulch with amaryllis.

You KNOW they recommend Trident Maples as sidewalk trees in Fort Worth right? LOL!