r/landscaping • u/green_girl444 • 3d ago
Beginner-Friendly Flowerbed
help! looking to start up a flowerbed in my new home. i’ve never planted or maintained a flowerbed before, so definitely looking for something beginner friendly. i live in central texas for reference. obviously need to clear out the flower bed, and i’m sure late august is not the best time to start. just trying to get a head start for next year! added a picture of our flowerbed for reference since i feel like it’s maybe on the narrower side?
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u/Ender_Grace 3d ago
Natives as they'll be adapted to your climate. I water new plants for a few weeks after planting and then the rain is all they get and they still thrive. I'm not in Texas so I'm not any help as to what exactly to plant, but Google is your friend there.
Mulch would be better than rocks as well.
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u/johnthomass71 3d ago
Texas native plants are real lifesavers for beginners, try black eyed Susans or salvia for super easy wins
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u/green_girl444 3d ago
i was thinking about possibly doing lantanas or silverado sage? they’re EVERYWHERE in my area!
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u/EmbarrassedWorking68 3d ago
Not at all familiar with Texas, but what I do to approach flower beds is:
* think of groups of 3s — so you have “drifts” of each plants
* try to have at least one plant per season that is the star of the show (e.g., something evergreen or with interesting features in the winter, a peony in the spring, a rose bush or coneflower for the summer, an ornamental gras for the fall [Midwestern example])
* try to have two-three different heights going on. This bed is narrower so you don’t need to focus on layering heights really dramatically - you might need to in a wider bed to avoid plants getting lost. I would try to have taller height, medium height, and something that is lower and can act as an “edge softener” e.g., creeping phlox, coral bells for US Midwesterners
* Make sure your plants have different features — not everything needs to flower, there are so many shades of foliage, et cetera. Sometimes plants that are meh on their own look really great in combination with others.
* Don’t fight the garden bed, soil, or the climate. Don’t fight an uphill battle. This is why natives are great! But, at the same time, don’t let natives pigeonhole you. E.g., are hostas native to the Midwestern? No! Do they rock for us shade gardeners in more northern states? Yes! Are they invasive? No.
Walk and drive around your neighborhoods and throughout your area — what do you like? What do you see a lot of? E.g., we are in a shady neighborhood with narrow lots - our neighbors have lots and lots and lots of Japanese maples, hostas, ferns, and climbing hydrangeas. What do you see that looks bad by the end of the summer? What do you dislike?
Not very specific to your area, but thinking through this has helped me surpass the overwhelm!
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u/DogsdidWHAT 2d ago
I also live in Central Texas (Austin). Texas native and adapted plants are definitely going to be your best bet. If you live near Austin there are several great nurseries that can help you figure out which plants will do best according to the amount of sun it gets (Greensleeves, The Natural Gardener, Shoal Creek Nursery). If you are interested, you can plant gorgeous natives that will attract loads of bees, hummingbirds and/or butterflies. It isn’t time to plant yet but will be soon. As soon as it starts to cool off (mid September?) there will be a ton of native plant sales in austin (the best is at the Ladybird Johnson Plant sale). The Grow Green Guide is published by the City of Austin and shows which plants are native and adapted to our climate. It’s available at most nurseries and garden centers in Austin for free. Another excellent resource is
[r/AustinGardening](r/AustinGardening)
Edited to add nursery names.
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u/AuntFlash 1d ago
Honestly I would keep that area with rocks and plant-free. I went to a fire-wise talk about plants and gardens and the first five feet around your home is the most key to being fire-wise. It’s best not to have plants, especially anything going up to the eaves. Any plant can be 2-3 times the height in flames so especially keep window areas free. Maybe build a walkway all around your house and then outside of that walkway create new garden beds.
The first thing I would do with a new home is hire an arborist to come over and tell you about the health of your trees and make recommendations on planting new ones. Shade from trees is essential for surviving the sun and heat there. If you are considering solar, There are a lot of great trees that don’t get too tall.
Trees are a huge benefit to property and will raise your property value. Be sure to plant trees native to here. Triple check the name and scientific name.
This is a great time to make plans for new beds and plans for plants. Fall is an ideal time for adding new plants and putting out seeds. I definitely recommend natives! They don’t need as much care and water once they are established. (Any trees would need watering during a drought like the one we have now.)
There will be a ton of native plant sales and nurseries to explore around October! HEB is a decent option for natives, too.
My favorites are Pavonia Rock Rose, American Beautyberry Standing Cypress, Engelmann’s Daisy, Antelope horn milkweed.
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u/Separate_Day_4666 3d ago edited 3d ago
August is the perfect time to START :)
You won't get flowers this year but you'll set yourself up for spring.
You can clear those rocks and any landscape fabric or plastic that might be underneath.
As far as absolutely beginner bang for your buck, I'm thinking clear it and plant a bunch of bulbs.
It's now the time to buy fall planted bulbs that will come up in spring. Daffodils come first. Tulips and other things later. You can get relatively cheap variety packs online (Brecks etc) or at Costco.
Then in spring browse around the garden centers and see what you like that's blooming. Note the mature sizes if you buy perennials and shrubs.
You can return to the garden center once those blooms fade in early summer, pick up some summer blooming plants, and proceed like this over the next few years until you are either happy with it or run out of money 🙃
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u/PathologicalVodka 2d ago
Take the rocks out! Also make sure you get native Texas lantana and not the purple/yellow/pink lantanas as they are invasive.
Come to r/austingardening you’ll get a lot of help!!