Need Advice from a Mama Who Has a Green Thumb

Oleanders are poisonous - but very pretty - I wanted to plant them as well in my back yard. My husband and I planted a dwarf crepe in the back with some mexican heather around it. They are small green flowering plants with little purple flowers. They are super low maintenance and if you trim them back in the winter, they will come back in the spring. Phlox is also a pretty flowering, low maintenance plant. The fountain grasses add a lot of texture and are low maintenance, however, some get to over 6' tall so you have to watch which ones you select. If you do this, you may enjoy the back yard so much you spend more time outside and will gravitate towards tending your flowers. It is such a stress reliever for me and I love it! Also, if you have a smaller spot, pots are great as well. There is a pottery place in McKinney that sells huge pots and if there is a crack in them, you can buy them for less than $10! I have a subscription to Back Yard Living Magazine and they always have tons of ideas for container gardens. The sky is the limit with flowers though!

Good luck!!!!!
m*

My thought is to watch your yard on a sunny day to determine how much sun it gets. As the sun passes over, are there some spots that get shaded after a half day? Make note of this in the decision of WHERE you want your plants. After you have accumulated this info, take full advantage of Home Depot or The Garden Center. Most employees that work in these fields are usually quite knowledgable. They dont charge you extra, however, the number one question will be about the sunlight. They will give you options about different plants. I would also think that waiting for spring would offer the best choices. (and sales)
Margaret:)

Dear M.:
Also check how much water sits there. Do you have clay in the earth (slow drainage, puddles)?

I would go for perennials, so you don't have to do it each year. As for shrubs, oleander grows well in Texas. For vines I use Jasmine. For fruits and vegetables, I found peaches and halapenos do well, and some get lucky with lemons and oranges (lots of sun).

Sorry, cannot help with flowers.

Regards,
W.

It always depends on the sunlight. Have a funtime with you and your 4 year old mapping the sun one day and figuring out how much sun the area gets.

At every Calloways there is a Master Gardener. Go with your sun map in hand. Load up first on the compost. That is the most important. The green thumb should really be brown!

If it gets less than 4 hours of sun a day, I would go with Asian jasmine ground cover or some acuba, which has really cool purple flowers in February and it has some great leaves. Dusty miller is always a great and hearty plant too, but it needs good drainage.

If it gets more than 4 hours, get Vinca Major (or minor) I can't ever remember and the variegated kind is more colorful. It has pretty little purple flowers and it trails all over the place. Those are all low.

If it gets more than 6 hours, go for the heat loving perennials, like Salvia (sage) but it needs good draingage. If it gets sunlight all day, go for a prickly pear cactus...just kidding...not with kids!

As always, if you are going to plant things to stay, please invest in a great compost and mix it into your bed. Get out all of your sod and install really deep, tall, metal borders to keep out our intrusive grasses. I know it is a lot of money to spend on a cute little flower garden, but it will save you a huge headache and a lot of money in the very near future. Don't forget the mulch!