DESIGNER'S CHALLENGE!

Most of the trees that we would consider should not be a problem as they would not (the large ones) be close to the foundation, drive or walkway.

The metasequoia is slow growing, and their children may one day wonder if it could cause a problem....grin

I have the maple, I keep it mulched around the drip line, no problems...I think ash trees cause more problems with roots being very surface, I know somebody tripped on one & sprained their ankle. I have ash trees, also, and they're mulched the same way, and I haven't had that problem. Anyway, that's why the big trees are at least 30 feet from the house.

Moon I have a long way to go before I have a forest!
I mulch around the trees also so hubby doesn't hit them with the mower.

Guys, those trees are absolutely beautiful!

Linda, every yard that can support it needs trees....just need to be the right kind....gotta match trees to gardeners/homeowners to work out what will work best. This site has good info about threes and their needs.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/Garden/02926.html

Hey GMygirl, hows the makeover going? Figure it out yet?

maybe she'll have pictures of the whole front yard for us.

I think we may have lost our first "job" grin

Hey Linda...hope Thanksgiving was good for you.

she can't fire us we're volunteers! lol
shoot she must have got word about what a newbie I am *grin*

Either that or we just flat overwhelmed Lolita's DH and he hired a pro....grin

Naw,
I've just been busy with a house full of seniors to take care of during this past week, and did turkeys for 25 people for Thanksgiving pot luck at my house. I was up late nights and did not sleep in any day I was off. I didn't even make it over to Lolita's to take additional pictures. I'll get over there this weekend, if she doesn't take some for us. We're having rainy weather today, and dropping temps tonight.

P.S. There's a house nearby with a stand of those sky pencil hollies, perfectly straight and mature. I see what the original landscaper was aiming for, and I think they might just work against the house. But, she'll need to replace those cause they're not growing straight enough, I don't believe. I can't get that mega tree and that purple tree outta my mind. Totally Awesome!

My New Orleans Saints are 10-0 and play the Baltimore Colts (10-0 too!) tonight. Somebody's going down....

May be the best game of the season, Linda.

There is no major rush here, just a good idea to get trees planted by mid February to allow them to settle before the heat is on. Get some rest....we are just teasing you....grin

"Who 'dat say de gonna beat 'dem Saints??!!"
"Who 'dat??!!"
"Who 'dat??!!"

I am an official "Who Dat!"

we're really just making fun of ourselves *grin* plus clearly we're obsessed and need to keep gardening one way or another through winter.

good luck, I'll be thinkin' of ya at game time! :)

They are certainly earning their keep this season....good thing LA folk are patient...grin An awful lot of money has been poured into this team, nice to see it was not a waste. Finally....grin

And we are very good at poking fun at ourselves....grin

Well, just so you know I'm in this for the long haul, "LilBabyLo" just got a 1-year gift subscription to Dave's Garden, compliments of her Auntie Linda!

We'll be seein' ya'll soon!

Way to go, Linda. Warn her that we don't bite, and everything for the gypsies is centered around good times and gardening.....grin Wouldn't want to scare her...lol

Yea and I love poking fun at them Gymgirl cause we know I'm the one with the answers lol Get rested and don't forget us got dat?

LOL Flowers....getting good at barking at us....grin

Guess who just came to visit me at my office? And guess who sat at my computer reading the posts on HER thread?

And guess who went to the Saints-Falcons game in NOLA on a forgotten paycheck from the year 2000?

Yep...LilBabyLo!

Sounds like Lo is a lucky girl....grin. Doggone, came all the way to La and right passed the house....didn't even stop for coffee....grin

Send me your addy. THAT won't happen again!

You know, cher, coffee drinking in Louisiana is as much a national sport as the Saints are right now. People are shocked and amazed and ready to call CPS cause I tell them I've been drinking coffee since I was six years old. Of course, back then, it truly was Cafe Au Lait. Mostly milk in a deep little bowl, with enough coffee for color and hot and sweet. And PLEASE do not forget to butter that slice of hot French Bread and float it on top!

People here do not understand the concept of dipping your buttered French Bread in your hot, sweet cup of coffee...

Shame on 'em Cher.. I am in the addy list, so y'all c'mon...may even manage a beignet or two....grin

Honey, now you talkin'. You can't BUY a decent beignet in New Orleans anymore. I was told that Cafe du Monde has been sold to a foreign owner....I picked up on the diff when I was home last and commented on how bad the beignets tasted...then I found out why...

I'll bring the powdered sugar, heah?

Sure thing...got the Community DR and planny of Lou-Ana for fryin em up....LOL

Girl, you are truly from Louisiana! DR! Now THAT'S my cup 'o coffee!

I have lived here for over 50 years....grew up in Lower Lafourche Parish, about 40 miles up da bayou from Grand Isle....what else ya gonna drink...CDM?

Community...CDM...RT...when I moved to Texas, I had to learn to drink coffee without chickory...

I always found the chicory to be a bit bitter, so it is DR for us....when my folks moved back up north that used to be the regular thing to bring when we visited....15 lbs of Community every year....as they got older, Mom would mix in a bit of Folgers so they didn't have to use the Community so sparingly...grin

Hey Guys,
Shifting gears for a minute, until LilBabyLo decides on what types of flowers she wants in those flowerbeds. She LIKED the Mega?tree, and understood the logic of it growing that tall in 20-30 years. Unlike the DH who expected a full grown tree on his lawn next week, duh!

Anyway, I'm over in the Winter Sowing forum, and have made preparations to sow some of the flower seeds beginning TOMORROW. I'll be using gallon milk jugs and potting mix and shoving them off into a nice corner so they can do their thing and I won't end up broke from buying flats come springtime.

Here's the gearshift: My sister's homefront needs help desperately, and I've wanted to outfit her flowerbeds for years now. Well, she had a mini-stroke episode last week (nothing too serious, but it's a warning!), and I need to put the petal to the metal this Spring. I'd like to start WSing some flowers for her beds too, and I need some advice on what types of flowers to start for semi-shady beds.

When you walk up to her front door, the two beds are on either side of that walkway, with walls behind each of them, and the roof overhang. She says the front faces west, and the bright sunshine hits those beds around 1:00-3:00p.

She has planted marigolds before. Also, there's monkey grass which has overrun both beds now.

I'll be doing some modified lasagna improvement to the beds, too, cause I know the soil needs some conditioning. I'll basically compost in place over this winter, with layers of cardboard, shredder paper, coffee grinds, and veggie peels, and some Black Kow composted manure mixed in with her existing soil.

Ok. So those are the details! Any advice on nice color would be appreciated. I've been considering some begonias and ponytail ferns. The beds are small enough that any freezes she would get could easily be handled with a coupla sheets thrown on top. Plus they're sorta protected because of the walls on either side.

The whole area is a 3-sided box shape.

Thanks!

Happy New Year!

off topic but...

Happy Birthday Gymgirl !!

may you have a wonderful day.

oh happy birthday gymgirl!

Happy Birthday Linda. Too cold to think past birthday cake....grin

Thanks, ya'll! I'll be back on track with this landscaping project just as soon as I get my Spring veggies winter sown this weekend!

Hugs and Crosses to you all!

Can we just leave it at, "I'm Back?" The story about where I've been is MUCH too long.

Anyway, I FINALLY made it out to Lolita's (yeah, that name...), and we're on track again. No landscapers have touched the property yet....

Here's a picture of her BACK yard...

BUMP?

Lolita needs trees! And shrubs! Big beautiful flowering shrubs, some weeping ones, a path that curves to a secret shady spot, and a pretty little water feature. Quick hand me a pen!

Lynnie,She and I are BOTH cracking up but, yeah, she does need that! Quick, send sketches so we can get going!