I need to know what to plant...HELP

[doubleatraining]

Hello all, I hope I'm putting this in the right place. I am a very eager but not very experienced gardener/landscaper.

I moved to this duplex last summer and the landlord and I worked it out so that I can add plants/landscaping because there was nothing and it didn't look like a home at all. I added a border, brought dirt in, planted Gardenias, a butterfly bush, and some desert rose for the edge last year. This year I'm planning my garden in the backyard....well some of it will spill over in the ditch in the front yard(watermelons).

The last "eyesore" I have is the area in front of the house. It consists of 4 trees...3 are pine and steal ALL the water. The ground isn't rich at all. There is morning sun that isn't enough for sun loving plants but strong enough to burn the snot out of 100% shade lovers. There is also some afternoon sun. In the trees are all my bird feeders/waterer. I don't have many birds this winter because they have nowhere to hide. In the spring summer there were TONS.

The goal-find some plants/bushes to plant there that will last for years, block more of the view of the house, and give the birds somewhere to hide. I'm not picky about color or anything else about the plants. I'm in growing area 7a.

Here is a rough picture of the are. Please ignore the hideous well cover.

 

[vfem]

Here's the huge problem with pines... acidic soil. Most veggie plants won't do well, so growing for food is going to be a constant battle. However, in our zone, for an acidic area like that azaleas will do well, holly, the gardenias as well. If you want build up the land and good amounts of water to it you may get away with some blueberry bushes.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'd also consider azaleas and maybe rhododendron. There are a lot of different rhododendron. You might check at a nursery and talk to them about which ones might suit your application. I'd go to a real plant nursery to talk to, not a Lowe's or Home Depot type place.

The big problem with blueberries is that they have a shallow root system. If you put them in a wet area, the roots will drown. If you put them where the ground dries out, the roost dry out and the plant dies. With that area as dry as you say it is, you will probably be carrying a lot of water or irrigating anyway, but with blueberries you can't afford to skip many days. Keeping my blueberries alive last summer with our drought was a constant challenge.

I wish you luck. That area sounds like a challenge.

 

[doubleatraining]

vfem, I brought in some topsoil and have been fertilizing it with chicken droppings over the winter. The backyard garden SHOULD be ok.

Thank you for all the tips, I didn't realize blueberry bushes did so well. I don't mind watering them, I have buckets under the window AC units and can easily dump that water on the blueberry bushes. I can also dig/till a deeper hole there and mix in some mulch/topsoil to help them hold SOME water.

I'll be going to the farmer's market in Raleigh to get most of my plants. Thanks for the tips.

 

[lesa]

If you just want some color out there, a few half barrels with annuals, etc. would look nice.... The azaleas and rhodies are a great idea and would provide cover and color...

 

[doubleatraining]

I plan on loading up on the azaleas and rhodies!! I figure if I throw in 2-3 blueberry bushes it can't hurt.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not sure where you are located, but if you are doing blueberries, you might want to look through this. There are two basic types of blueberries, highbush and rabbiteye. You probably need to plant a specific type for your area. I'm not sure if that is rabbiteye or highbush for you.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8207.html

 

[thistlebloom]

Hi Doublea'! Welcome!

You should do a soil test first before you plant anything. Don't assume you have acidic soil just because you have pines. In my area we have pine forests all over but are soil tends to be more on the neutral to alkaline side.
Though it's true that pines grow well in acidic soil they don't make the soil acidic.

Also you'll want to be careful about adding soil around trees. You don't want to increase the soil elevation over the roots zone. An increase of an inch or so may not be problematic, but more than that will lead to a decline in the trees health.

The soil level around your trees trunks looks like it should in the picture. Notice that you can see the buttress roots?

Further away it looks a bit eroded and you could build that part up safely.

I agree with Ridgerunner about checking a good nursery for plant suggestions as they will be familiar with your climate and general soil type. There are cultivars of azaleas and rhodies that take a good amount of sun.

Good luck and let us know what you come up with.

 

[vfem]

I'm not sure where you are located, but if you are doing blueberries, you might want to look through this. There are two basic types of blueberries, highbush and rabbiteye. You probably need to plant a specific type for your area. I'm not sure if that is rabbiteye or highbush for you.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8207.html

Good news is she's near me, so the NCSU website is perfect!