Help me design my front yard!

[Lyoshka]

Most people aren't, but we'll have to get there sooner or later if we have any hope of keeping our world's amazing animals and insects alive. We might as well start now to prevent the damage of waiting any longer. Start with a few native species. Gradually increase from there.

your photos are absolutely stunning!!! wow. Just beautiful!

 

[alp]

@Lyoshka I love irises as well. But I have the feeling that I planted them too late. Yours is so pretty. You can get 2 or 3 decent short fruit tree such as gala with M27 stock. That way, you can enjoy your fruit.

 

[MaryMary]

The grilling patio is really just a slab of concrete next to it, where my grill and my smoker are.

Ok - that is what I was wondering! From what I read on Wikipedia, crepe myrtles shed their bark throughout the year. The petals will be falling after the bloom, and then the seed pods release numerous, small, winged seeds.

We grill a good bit here, and certain times of year, we have to keep the grill closed to keep maple seeds from falling in it. My sister has to keep hers closed while we listen to the "tonk! tonk!" of hickory nuts falling on it.

Maybe the myrtle should be a little further away...?

Crepe Myrtles are definitely a native here. they are literally everywhere.

(Nerd moment!) They are naturalized, but not native.

crape myrtle or crepe myrtle, is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia, and parts of Oceania, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagerstroemia

Azaleas are native to several continents including Asia, Europe and North America. There are two camellias native to North America, but most of the ones we have here are native to China and Japan. (End nerd moment. / .)


I think that white and purple irises would look good in the front with the azaleas.

Since you don't mind mixing colors and want something yellow, a native that might look good in there would be a few clumps of Yellow star-grass, also known as Hypoxis hirsuta, Common Goldstar, or Eastern yellow star-grass. According to the site I have, they would bloom in April. I think they look fairly civilized, and they're perennial.

You might have to grow them from seed.

 

[alp]

Very nice, @MaryMary ! Such beautiful cuties!

 

[Lyoshka]

@MaryMary , thanks for the insight! Goes to show how little I know about gardening . Ask me about cakes, and a different story! I figured if they are in every ditch, they have to be native, right? Wrong! Ha. I guess I’m good with naturalized, bc I know they’ll be hard to kill. I have simple goals-plant things and not kill them....theeeeeeeen add native flowers to serve bees.

Yellow star-grass is absolutely adorable and goes on my list!!!!!thank you!!

 

[Lyoshka]

@Lyoshka I love irises as well. But I have the feeling that I planted them too late. Yours is so pretty. You can get 2 or 3 decent short fruit tree such as gala with M27 stock. That way, you can enjoy your fruit.

You have given me hope I can grow apples here! I just figured it was a no go. I’ll look!!

 

[MaryMary]

I love, love, love "virtual shopping" for grow zones warmer than my own! What about this one? It's a North Carolina native.

Amsonia ciliata aka Fringed bluestar, or Texas bluestar. Clump forming, grows to 2-3' tall. Perennial. Attracts butterflies. Flowers will last longer with some shade, but fall foliage is prettier in full sun. Blooms March through June.

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=j310

 

[JBtheExplorer]

your photos are absolutely stunning!!! wow. Just beautiful!

I appreciate it!

 

[alp]

Whatever you do, stick around as I love all those flowers that you love: peonies and I also have the Bartzella. Incidentally, you could have tulips and daffs as spring bulbs. Excited for you as they are blank canvasses!

 

[Lyoshka]

Whatever you do, stick around as I love all those flowers that you love: peonies and I also have the Bartzella. Incidentally, you could have tulips and daffs as spring bulbs. Excited for you as they are blank canvasses!

Not going anywhere, Alp! I need you people to help me make this beautiful!)))

Can you tell me more about Bartzella? I bought mine back when bc of how they were described to have so many blooms on one plant, once matured. I had 3 and boy, they just kind of sat there for probably 4 years.. once they did bloom, I had maybe 3-4 blooms? But I do realize we probably moved as they were gaining maturity. How are yours doing? Do they like it hot and dry and not disturbed, like other peonies? Do you have pics of yours?

 

[Lyoshka]

@MaryMary, I believe I had this little fiery dude before in Chicago! Bought specifically for the fall colors and it did not disappoint! It sat dormant for a whole year, then exploded!!! Then, of course, I felt the need to move it and it went quiet again. Gah. I loved it , so yes, I think I need to do find a space for it. Oy! Where will I put all these beauties?

I love your ideas! Keep going and I completely understand loving to shop for a warmer zone. We moved from zone 5b to 9a-I completely feel my life has been upgraded on many levels

 

[MaryMary]

I love your ideas! Keep going and I completely understand loving to shop for a warmer zone. We moved from zone 5b to 9a-I completely feel my life has been upgraded on many levels

Ok, also native to NC is purple coneflower, blanket flower, and orange milkweed.

However, my computer is acting up, and I am on my tablet. It is SO much quicker to type on a keyboard!! I'm finding it very strange, the tablet is in "QWERTY" form, but since I can only use one finger, I feel like I have to hunt and peck!

Perhaps I can ask @JBtheExplorer to post a few pictures of those?

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Ok, also native to NC is purple coneflower, blanket flower, and orange milkweed.

However, my computer is acting up, and I am on my tablet. It is SO much quicker to type on a keyboard!! I'm finding it very strange, the tablet is in "QWERTY" form, but since I can only use one finger, I feel like I have to hunt and peck!

Perhaps I can ask @JBtheExplorer to post a few pictures of those?

Blanket Flower is great. Can't help but to love the red-and-yellow flowers. Native bees really love it as a nectar source. I always see tiny caterpillars on the flower heads as well. Looks best in mass plantings.

Purple Coneflowers are pretty well known. Unfortunately, stores carry so many cultivars and hybrids that people ignore the true native specie. It's a butterfly magnet, and birds love the seeds in autumn and winter.

 

[Lyoshka]

Ok, also native to NC is purple coneflower, blanket flower, and orange milkweed.

I will look those up! thank you!

However, my computer is acting up, and I am on my tablet. It is SO much quicker to type on a keyboard!! I'm finding it very strange, the tablet is in "QWERTY" form, but since I can only use one finger, I feel like I have to hunt and peck!

type when you can! i know it's a lot more annoying to type on the iPad vs the computer, no doubt!

Perhaps I can ask @JBtheExplorer to post a few pictures of those?

yes please! the more people can help, the merrier you people are my village!))

 

[MaryMary]

What about this one? I might add it, myself!


https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=GLCA2

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=rose+vervain&go=Search&qs=ds&form=QBIR