RoseAnn's front yard is so shady the grass won't grow. Now, she essentially has bare ground where years ago she had grass. The HOA sent her a warning- either you do something about your landscape or we are going to fine you. She doesn't want to spend a lot of money trying to get the grass to grow. So we are working on a new landscape plan that will replace the grass but still make the landscape attractive. It needs to be low maintenance, and include drought resistant plants. Here are some plants that will work.
Liriope does well in sun or shade.
-Big Blue Liriope gets about 12" tall and is drought tolerant.
-Variegated Liriope does about the same.
-Giant Liriope getst about 2' tall and handles sun or shade.
Aspidistra or Cast Iron Plant, is a great shade loving plant. There are several different selections. Here are three:
-old fashioned Cast Iron Plant might get 3' tall under the right conditions.
-Milky Way has white specs on the leaves and it might get 18" tall.
-Tiny Tank will also get about 18" tall in time.
-Foxtail Fern isn''t a fern at all. It's an asparagus. But, it is quite a eye catching plant that is very easy to grow. It may freeze back in the winter but will return in the spring.
-Wooly Stemodia- a gray ground cover that will spread about 18" and get about 4" tall.
-Chocolate Chip Ajuga has very small leaves and will be covered with blue flower spikes in the spring. It's more drought resistant than most of the other Ajugas.
-Purple Heart Wandering Jew is one of the easiest plants to grow. It usually freezes back in the winter but returns as soon as it warms up.
-Acanthus mollis loves the sun and will put up tall bloom stalks in the summer.
-And if you want ot add some colorful bulbs, nothing like a shadey spot better than Caladiums.
When installing a landscape without grass you will probably have a lot of open ground. There are different ways to add interest to those areas to keep them from looking "empty." Below are six different landscapes with different top dressings. The first is only one material, which is Central Texas is often seen- White Limestone rock. The others combine many different materials in a variety of methods. When you visit the Landscape Supply yard, you will find many different options to consider.
-Variegated Japanese Sedge is a great plant for the shade. There are a few different varieties. One stays about 12" tall, the other will get about 18" tall. Both will work.
-Variegated Ginger is another good plant for the shade. In our area it's doubtful it will get much taller than 3'.
And if you are putting in a flagstone walkway, the only limitation if your imagination. Below are three different ideas.
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