OK I know its in my blog but I dont have time to wait on everyone it read to, to help. Ok tomorrow Im starting work in the yards of my sister and her landlord, Rob. If you need more info please read my blog on I got a job (Edit by Frank: link to Denee's blog http://www.gardenstew.com/blog/e283-21-i-got-a-job.html )! Now its a peaceful tropical setting. Lots and lots of green. The otherthings in the yard to add color are reg ol' brick, a peice of black stab that looks like state, the pebbles in the concrete slabs in the courtyard are browns and grays, there the dark gray of the river rock that he used for border, the concrete wall has a pinkish, peachish stain to it and of course the dark brown of the wooden fences. My sister is in charge of picking out lawn chairs and tables for the courtyard plus patio chairs and tables for the deck. The two yards slightly differ in looks. In the courtyard, because of the concrete its got alittle more color and the space is more open. Now in the courtyard, because the girls like to cook, I was going to pot up veggie plants for them and use that as filler. I was thinking tomatos, lettece, peppers(bell and hot), cumbers, different salad greens,some garlic,onions,rosemary, and maybe some kind of fruit, like basket strawberries. Now since the herb garden with be in the front enterance way, I want it to have some color besides green. I was going to plant dill, oregno,basil, sage,cilantro, parsley........other than that, Im stuck. Its a large planter so just those wont fill it up. Now I was thinking of using some pretty flowers as a border but I dont want to poison my/her herbs. Is there any way of doing this? Or can I just plant any ol' border flower there? As for flowering plants that will fit into the back yards, I was thinking cannas, birds of paradise, ........and one of the members here mentoned 4 o clocks if potted...I think Im going to pot all the new stuff just to add some personailty to the yard. Now Im going to add a Black Magic elephant ear to the yards but I dont which to add it too. Maybe the back yard of my sisters and the courtyard of the landlord. I dunno....Ill move in around until I find a spot. Now I also have a elephant ear that I traded for and I saw it had come up this morning. ITS WONDERFUL!!! The vains in the leaf is bright green while the rest is a dark purple! I have seven of these so I can add them to the yards. This landlord, ROb , has planted alot of bushes, vines and small trees to .....I dont know what he was trying to do but thats all thats planted in these yards for the most part. He has iris' but the jasmine is strangling them so they arent blooming. This is my first gardening job and I want to do it right! I need suggestion for the yards! I am open to anything BUT vines, bushes and trees! HAHA! I am going flower shopping tomorrow!
Congrats on the job and good luck. Without pictures of the areas you are talking about, I really have no ideas of what to suggest. I am thinking that the actual flower shopping might be way down on the list of things to do. I know it is the fun part, but you don't want to buy all those plants and not know what to do with them and have them die in the pots before you figure it out. But when you go flower shopping you need to have measurements of the areas involved to make sure the plants you pick out will not be too large at maturity, don't rely on your memory for the area size. Maybe you need to do a sun/shade pattern study first so that you know how many hours of each an area gets and so you will know that the plants you think belong there can actually thrive there. You might find that large planter will fill up with those herbs easier than you think. I have a 1.5'x 6' planter and 5 basils filled it up easily. There are some flowers-herbs-vegies that should not be planted near each other, maybe do a Google search for info on companion plantings. Marigolds will go good with any of them since there are many pests that will not go where they are planted. Since you are doing this for pay, you need to make sure you take all the precautions on the "front end" of the project to prevent having any dead plants in a couple of months.
Oh yeah. Ive been researching nonstop. haha. Im going to do all container gardening so Im not too worried about the size of a plant. As for the sun and shade.....the landlords front yard gets full sun. My sisters front yard is partially sun but its afternoon and evening sun. The landlords courtyard is completely shaded on one side and is full sun on the other, except early morning sun. My sisters courtyard gets full sun too except for early morning. Both the landlord and my sisters back yards are full sun except where there is trees and the wall. Then the ground gets dapper sun. Like I had said before, he planted all this and love doing it just as much as me but he just doesnt have time now. He told me all the requirements for the yards. Regardless of what you all might think, Im not running into this blind. I have been researching and have spent some time just walking the yards, looking. Ive stood and watched the sun myself to see how much sun gets in between the trees and bushes and how much makes it over the walls in the back. Ive also researched the plants already there to see thier requirements. It tells me alot about what can grow there and what cant.
Good, knowing now that you have been doing a lot of the background work already, sounds like you are ready for the fun stuff, buying plants with someone elses money I mean how fun is that. I would suggest that you take pictures of the areas, write down what you have in mind then take them to a reputable garden center.....NOT Home Depot or Lowes or Walmart...and pick their brains about what is doable and maybe not doable in your plans. They are more familiar with the climate and general growing conditions, possible bug problems, etc. I think you will have a really good time talking with them.
