What plants would work in my yard?

Ok, so when my dad was still living with us, he always knew what to do in the yard and what plants went where. When he left, I picked up a job and I didn%26#039;t have time to pay attention to the gardens and yard while keeping up with high school, work, and college classes. I live on 20.11 acres, and most of that is Pine trees.





I have about 6 square gardens around pine trees. Borders made with logs. I want four flowers to plant in each of these that need little care and last longest through out the year. I also have Elephant ears and mother-in-laws around an oak tree in the same area. I have three large Diamond-ish gardens that have Azalea%26#039;s in them. They might be magnolias instead of Azalea%26#039;s.





But anyways, thats the area I%26#039;m working with. There%26#039;s a gazebo out there as well. It%26#039;s surrounded part by a picket fence and part just a regular fence, both of which are white.





If anyone has any idea%26#039;s on what flowers to plant, and what mulch, I would greatly appreciate it!


Thanks much!


MJ

What plants would work in my yard?
Go to a plant nursery or some place like Home Depot where you will find books to buy and review. There are pages on those books that have complete layouts with regard to height and color that would look nice. You might want a landscape professional to do it for you since you have a lot of land and it would take ages to get things done. You might like to choose some plants that come up every year and others that you plant yearly so you can change the color if you like. You might also want to order a catalog from burpee.com and see what flowers you like and which grow well in your area. If you have a conservatory around you might want to visit there and see maybe which plants attract butterflies, praying mantis, or bees if that%26#039;s your thing.
Reply:Mary Jo,


I would use a variety of hosta%26#039;s under the Pine trees. They are very easy to grow and do well in the shade. If you have sunny areas I would use sedum which is hardy and very easy also. Ice plants are also awesome but love the sun and very easy to work with. My ice plants bloom from spring to late fall.


Good luck!!


Steve
Reply:I use a lot of hostas in my flower gardens. They have a pretty bloom and can be divided after a couple of years. They grow will in sun or shade. I have also found that the mulch that will last the longest is cypress. Hope this helps.



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