Gardeners: Some planting advice please

[rusnak]

So Glenn got me thinking about what to plant in front of the store.

I have two South facing planters under some windows.

I know absolutely nothing about gardening. I was thinking maybe some modern looking tall grass with color in front. That's the extent of my thoughts.

What should I plant? There will be plenty of direct sun, and we have irrigation lines already installed. The plan was to plant something, but we never did.

[masraum]

Yeah, where are you. If you're in Ohio, San Francisco, Miami or Pittsburg, the answers would be completely different

[john70t]

(layman opinion)

-It's a narrow space against a taller wall to cover up
.
-Taller plants will always bend over looking for more room.

-They will need to be hearty to endure dog piss, people sitting with stupid friends shifting around, and trash pickup.

-Filling it with concrete, and then using planters would give a better soil base for permanent plants, and better drainage for the building with it being right next to the foundation.

-Vining plants would do well there. But they would also make permanent stains on the new stonework without oiling or other precautions.

-In the meantime: Annuals such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impatiens and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petunia are cheap low border color.
But they need to be planted every year...and they need watering every week or much more depending.

[Tobra]

Depending on where you are, I like gardenia bushes for that sort of spot. Evergreen, don't get too big and they have nice flowers that smell fantastic. The bottom pic sort of looks like a privet flanked by gardenia. Don't like privet because it is one of the few things I that causes allergy issues for me.

[Crowbob]

No kidding.

There is absolutey no point in this disussion without first knowg WHERE? To me, other than the pic of the boxwoods, those pics could be of Alaska. Or Key West.

[Zeke]

Let's just say he lives in a nice Mediterranean climate.

Whatever gets planted there will be abused so nothing dainty. I'd plant holly but that won't go over well so near a public walkway. Grass needs maintenance which is a PITA. Go to the nursery and show them the photo and tell them of the southern orientation and take what they offer.

How's the soil? You might need to amend it fully.

[Crowbob]

If you chew tobacco and spit in Cuba a tobacco plant will grow.

Smack dab on the 45th (He, He) parallel tells a whole nuther story. Trust me.

[rusnak]

Sorry guys, I am in central California. We don't get snow, but there are short periods of freezing for maybe a half dozen nights per year. I was thinking of seasonal color for that reason, with hardier grass as a backdrop. I like the idea of planters for the seasonal plants.

We are dealing with constant heat in the summer, and most commercial landscaping has gone toward drought tolerant plants in order to not look like we are "wasting" water. I have an underground drip system in place, so no sprinklers as of yet.

[Baz]

I've always thought the foliage on this plant was very pretty......looks like it'd have just the right growth habit for your application too, Russ.

I think they grow these in California too, so probably wouldn't be hard to find some somewhere.....

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

If you chew tobacco and spit in Cuba a tobacco plant will grow.

Smack dab on the 45th (He, He) parallel tells a whole nuther story. Trust me.

I tell people that tobacco is a natural pesticide, as I bury my cigar butts in the dirt.

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by Baz

I've always thought the foliage on this plant was very pretty......looks like it'd have just the right growth habit for your application too, Russ.

I think they grow these in California too, so probably wouldn't be hard to find some somewhere.....

I have no botanical expertise whatsoever, apart from agricultural production. Our commercial landscape guys know all the Latin names. I did specify pink Crepe Myrtle, only because we started with them in the neighboring parcels. We found that Chinese Pistash love this climate, but it grows way too big and too aggressively.

[Zeke]

You wouldn't need much bot experience to know what that is. Production? It grows like a weed.

[rusnak]

^ Ha! I only smoke cigars. Not interested in anything else.

[72doug2,2S]

I've always loved traditional boxwood. Slow grower and fragrant. The love the protection next to a building.

[cassisrot]

Mongolian Thorned mulberrys would do great there. Otherwise talk to the master gardeners at your county extension office.

[Arizona_928]

Am pm, and you're not scraping tweakers off the front steps...

Sir, you must live in a conservative state.

[Tobra]

Conservative part of a liberal hell hole

[Bill Douglas]

Why not just plant a Coca Cola sign. Or even a Pepsi.

Plants may look nice but it's just a place for people to put their cigarette butts.