Shrubs/plants for the back yard

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Hoping you guys can help me. We want to get some new plants for the back yard. It would be up close to the fence, around our pool. We want something that will grow and that is colorful. We live in CA so it is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. They will get about 50% sunshine 50% shade.

Also, we do not have green thumbs so they need to be easy maintanence and I am never having roses again, so those are out.

Suggestions?

 

[tlbwriter]

Well, until I read your last sentence, I was going to suggest knockout roses (I said the same thing about never planting roses but the landscaper convinced me to try them and they are fantastic!) What about rhododendrons? Do they grow well in CA? Nandina is pretty but it doesn't get very big.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Well, until I read your last sentence, I was going to suggest knockout roses (I said the same thing about never planting roses but the landscaper convinced me to try them and they are fantastic!) What about rhododendrons? Do they grow well in CA? Nandina is pretty but it doesn't get very big.

I would never put knockout roses around a pool. They are too messy and have thorns.

I need to pull up 3 of them in my front yard and put them in the back. They are just too messy and HUGE for my space.

Although they are hardy as heck OP if you are looking for a "roses".

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We had roses in our last house and they grew very large and were kind of a PITA and yes very messy. Thorns would probably be an issue around the pool with kids possibly bumping into them.

 

[tlbwriter]

I would never put knockout roses around a pool. They are too messy and have thorns.

Keeps the neighbors from jumping the fence...

 

[Pakey]

Along our back fence we have Dwarf Carolina Cherry (get about 15 ft tall) in a natural hedge that blocks the entire fence and neighbors behind us. In front of this, we have hundreds of day-glo orange day lillies. Both plants are low maintenance and do not have anything that will blow into the pool. The day lillies love the hot California sun and we have blooms from May-October. The rest of the year, the plants are pretty but not colorful.

 

[lizabu]

I think Hostas are great. They grow anywhere and take zero maintanance. There are ones that flower too. They come in yellow, green and purple and there are striped ones. When the get big you can dig them up and split them at the root and replant them as 2 plants. I've gotten them pretty cheap through mail order rather than buying them locally.

 

[ndelaware]

How about crepe myrtles?

 

[AKL_Megs]

My "no fuss" filler plants are hostas, yucca, and fern. They all take off, and the first two flower.

Another nice fragrant and flowering spreader is mint. It has a nice purple flower, smells nice, you can eat it, and never need to water it. I'm sad that I ripped mine out last summer... I hope a sprig survived and comes back!!!

 

[lizabu]

My "no fuss" filler plants are hostas, yucca, and fern. They all take off, and the first two flower.

Another nice fragrant and flowering spreader is mint. It has a nice purple flower, smells nice, you can eat it, and never need to water it. I'm sad that I ripped mine out last summer... I hope a sprig survived and comes back!!!

I'm betting it comes back. Mint is really hard to get rid of. My neighbour had it take over her flower bed. It took her 3 years to finally get rid of it.

 

[HannaBelle]

I would look at Lantana. It is a beautiful flowering plant that soaked up the Texas sun around our pool when I was a kid. It attracts butterflies and comes in a variety of colors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantana_camara

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Thank you guys all so much! These are all great suggestions. I'm excited about this project now