Trying to decide what to plant in this bed in front or our house. We had a gumball maple tree removed. Thinking maybe irises or small bedding plants or should I go back with a small tree like a crape Myrtle or little gem magnolia?

First things first. Dethatch the lawn. Needs it pretty bad. Rip everything out of that bed and till the dirt.

Where are you? Judging by st Augustine, Houston area?

I would take out that tree in front of the house/next to house.

Looks out of place and it blocking the elevation. Or at least trim it.

Trim those bushes and clean up that bed.

For the bare bed, a nice crape would do well or a new shade tree if you remove the other one.

Little gem doesn't go with the rest of the decor, IMO.

If in Houston, add some color perennials. Lantana, black foot daisies, drift rose, maybe ajuga around the perimeter for a nice edged look.

Yes Houston area. For the tree to remove are you referring to the China berry tree next to roof peak? Waiting for the azaleas to finish blooming before I trim.

Like the idea of flowering plants for the bare bed. How do you dethatch? Something I can rent?

Dethatch rental https://www.homedepot.com/p/rental/Classen-Power-Rake-TR-20HD/316821815

Betting you'll get a million ideas for the vacant bed but
this black thumb's limitations would go with my sure-things ala

Pampas for year long greenery + blooms in pink or white
and until they mature to cover the entire bed, the perimeter could be
cannas in any color - the best come from Horn Canna Farms in Oklahoma - look for sales

Is it beneficial to dethatch st Augustine? I figured that would wreck the stolons.

I agree the larger ornamental tree should be substituted with something that doesn't get taller than that upper window. That tree seems too big there covering up the beautiful stone wall. A short ornamental tree or crape Myrtle would looo good in the empty bed.

ChoppinDs40 said:

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First things first. Dethatch the lawn. Needs it pretty bad. Rip everything out of that bed and till the dirt.

Where are you? Judging by st Augustine, Houston area?

I would take out that tree in front of the house/next to house.

Looks out of place and it blocking the elevation. Or at least trim it.

Trim those bushes and clean up that bed.

For the bare bed, a nice crape would do well or a new shade tree if you remove the other one.

Little gem doesn't go with the rest of the decor, IMO.

If in Houston, add some color perennials. Lantana, black foot daisies, drift rose, maybe ajuga around the perimeter for a nice edged look.

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Agree with all of this except I'd skip the new Crepe and go with a Possumhaw Holly. You needed another cook in the kitchen, right?

Native(not like crepes aren't but the Possumhaw is going to be super tough and not so over-used) and has fantastic winter interest with all the red berries. Won't overwhelm the area either. Plant the suggested perennials underneath/around.

Davanji84 said:

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ChoppinDs40 said:

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First things first. Dethatch the lawn. Needs it pretty bad. Rip everything out of that bed and till the dirt.

Where are you? Judging by st Augustine, Houston area?

I would take out that tree in front of the house/next to house.

Looks out of place and it blocking the elevation. Or at least trim it.

Trim those bushes and clean up that bed.

For the bare bed, a nice crape would do well or a new shade tree if you remove the other one.

Little gem doesn't go with the rest of the decor, IMO.

If in Houston, add some color perennials. Lantana, black foot daisies, drift rose, maybe ajuga around the perimeter for a nice edged look.

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Agree with all of this except I'd skip the new Crepe and go with a Possumhaw Holly. You needed another cook in the kitchen, right?

Native(not like crepes aren't but the Possumhaw is going to be super tough and not so over-used) and has fantastic winter interest with all the red berries. Won't overwhelm the area either. Plant the suggested perennials underneath/around.

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If he wants color, a crape is good. But maybe a unique one like the black diamond ones with bright purple flowers.

An eagleston holly would look good too.

I think the china berry needs to go, OP.

That is a beautiful French country stone wall with a cool decorative window being covered. Do some more azaleas there and then a liriope or something on the border.

For the bare bed, lots of things but I think an ornamental tree or another shade tree would be nice. Maybe a red oak or something else with nice fall color if not an evergreen holly.

But yes, perennials below. Lantana, feather grass, sage, ruellia, day lilies, lobelia, lots of good options.

Thank you for the great suggestions. Here is a picture of the full front of the house. We have a crape Myrtle on the front corner so maybe adding another in place of the China berry tree?

I like the idea of an ornamental tree in the center of the empty bed surrounded by perennials? The possumhaw holly looks really interesting. I wonder if they are difficult to locate?

txaggie_08 said:

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Is it beneficial to dethatch st Augustine? I figured that would wreck the stolons.

I agree the larger ornamental tree should be substituted with something that doesn't get taller than that upper window. That tree seems too big there covering up the beautiful stone wall. A short ornamental tree or crape Myrtle would looo good in the empty bed.

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If you want to lightly rake it, go for it. If you want to rip up all of your runners and cause more problems, use the power rake.

The only "dethatching" that needs to happen is a few short mows this time of year. If the thatch is bad, bag the clippings.

BmtAg96 said:

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Thank you for the great suggestions. Here is a picture of the full front of the house. We have a crape Myrtle on the front corner so maybe adding another in place of the China berry tree?

I like the idea of an ornamental tree in the center of the empty bed surrounded by perennials? The possumhaw holly looks really interesting. I wonder if they are difficult to locate?

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I would definitely remove that china. Berry and out something else there. It just blocks the entire elevation.

Maybe a little gem there since it'll top out around 7' and not block everything.

A nice ornamental and some good perennials below would look great.

Also, along your entry sidewalk, add some nice river rock where the dirt is. It'll look good with your country stone.

Add some color to the bed under your live oak. Depending on sun (west facing) some begonias and/or impatiens could add some awesome pop there. Like 7-8 flats of red/pink/white begonias.

Thisguy1 said:

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txaggie_08 said:

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Is it beneficial to dethatch st Augustine? I figured that would wreck the stolons.

I agree the larger ornamental tree should be substituted with something that doesn't get taller than that upper window. That tree seems too big there covering up the beautiful stone wall. A short ornamental tree or crape Myrtle would looo good in the empty bed.

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If you want to lightly rake it, go for it. If you want to rip up all of your runners and cause more problems, use the power rake.

The only "dethatching" that needs to happen is a few short mows this time of year. If the thatch is bad, bag the clippings.

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This is where I've been stuck with our yard for a couple of years. It certainly looks to need dethaching but thought I remembered my Dad saying never to dethatch StA. We are inundated with weeds and spots that aren't doing well and the StA can't ever overtake them.

ChoppinDs40 said:

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BmtAg96 said:

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Thank you for the great suggestions. Here is a picture of the full front of the house. We have a crape Myrtle on the front corner so maybe adding another in place of the China berry tree?

I like the idea of an ornamental tree in the center of the empty bed surrounded by perennials? The possumhaw holly looks really interesting. I wonder if they are difficult to locate?

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I would definitely remove that china. Berry and out something else there. It just blocks the entire elevation.

Maybe a little gem there since it'll top out around 7' and not block everything.

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Little Gem Magnolias top out at 20-30'.

Yes you're right. I was thinking of the more ornamental ones. Maybe it's called little bear or something? I believe there are some dwarf ones that stay small.

Either way, I wouldn't put something that goes over that window on that wall.

BmtAg96 said:

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Yes Houston area. For the tree to remove are you referring to the China berry tree next to roof peak? Waiting for the azaleas to finish blooming before I trim.

Like the idea of flowering plants for the bare bed. How do you dethatch? Something I can rent?

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If you need a dethatcher I have a Classen dethatcher identical to the Home Depot one. It only has a couple hours on it. You can rent it for whatever you think is reasonable. It will be sitting around until May, when I do another round of sprigging bermuda.

I bought two Possumhaw Holly's from Arbor Gate nursery about this time last year. They had a bunch. Plus, if you recognize them, you'll see some around local businesses here in the woodlands area. Bet the same applies where you live. I'm thinking you'll have no real issues finding them.

Best of luck with whatever you decide. It's fun, right?

Thanks everyone for the input! We are planning to remove the large China berry tree next to the house and replace it with a crape Myrtle. I think we need something there with a little more height and interest other than the azalea bushes

The empty bed will have some kind of ornamental tree in the center surrounded by flowering perennials. I will post pics when we are done.

this is good. Choose a contrasting flower bloom color to the azaleas. White if you can. You can also choose a dwarf type that won't get as big as other varietals. Our last house had crapes over 25' tall.

Just visited with my landscaper. We can't plant a tree in the empty bed. We had a large maple tree removed there. The stump was ground but there is still a root ball about 6 inches under the surface.

We decided to plant an ornamental tree (possibly possum haw holly)in the place of the China Berry next to the house and go with African irises in the empty bed.

Stump rot that thing and have them dig it up

Why not just turn that bed back to grass? Level it with rest of yard, throw down some St A and call it a day.

Not a bad option either lol.

Do you have Edge Right bordering your walkway and the beds? How do you like it?

There is a metal border along the edge of the walkway. We like it.

You might also consider (at the appropriate time of year) removing some of the lower branches of that large (oak?) tree to lift the canopy a ways.