01a first sketch
From what I can see from street view, there are mature high canopy trees. A sign of a mature neighborhood which I love. Shade trees in the south make life better.
I also see a shrub layer and vines on a trellis. The shrubs look fairly mature. Because of the native/natural style, I would recommend never pruning them. Let them grow naturally as the site dictates. Only prune if a branch gets into the living space, then just cut off that branch at the trunk.
The opportunities lie in adding an understory layer of flowering trees and in groundcover selection.
The following images are just a starting point. There are thousands of plants that fit the description. We want to find just the right ones to fit the site and the owners style.
I like this a lot. Not sure we can get the trees in there, we can talk about how much it might cost to get one tall enough for this? Also, we would have to take out some of those mature shrubs you talked about above...
ReplyDeleteJust shared a Dropbox link with you of videos I took so you can see what it looks like now, what we're dealing with.
FYI... I LOVE the plants you put in the front there - I assume those trees are dogwoods? Love purple, love the little bushy guys with the tall flowers - looks kind of like foxglove? I like plants that are "soft, feathery" and flowy, no boxy hedges for this girl! I love more Italian plants, too: lavender and rosemary, for example. And Maybe butterfly bushes, that kind of thing. Think fairyland! Actually, I love our neighbor's yard, I can send you a photo of that, too.
I wouldn't suggest adding such large trees. The drawings show plants in their mature size. Bare root trees are very small and cheap. It's probably not a high priority since you ar moving to italy. I assume you are sprucing up to sell. Is that right?
DeleteAnother good purple plant for a hot dry spot is Sedum Superstar.
https://wgi-img.s3.amazonaws.com/VarietyImage/524efafa8c8ade44af3f4177d45f0aa4.jpg
The flower spike plants are yucca. They're spiky and tough. Not quite soft. I like your idea instead of rosemary and lavender. Add Thyme, alysum, nepeta for a soft feathery sun loving group.