Landscaping ???

Carmeltopher

DH and I are going to do our landscaping around our new house starting this spring but I am totally oblivious as to what works well together and in our region. Any good websites where you can find what plants/flowers work well in your region? I am going to do a google search as well but wanted to check here too.

laddiebug

The first thing you need to know is your plant hardiness zone. Go here and put in your zipcode. It will give you your exact zone. Then do a google search for "zone [insert your zone] plants." That should give you a good start as to which plants you can use that will do well where you live. You also need to take into account how much light different areas of your yard get. Some places may be full sun while others will get just shade. You can filter out plants by zone and light requirements that way.

Dr.Loretta

You may also want to ask at your local nursery. They can be very helpful.

hollymichael

You may want to consider having a landscape designer do a plan for you. We did this and it wasn't very expensive at all. 

nitaw

Ditto to the other suggestions. I'd also suggest taking a walk around your neighborhood to see what your neighbors have planted. You may notice similar plants or some designs you like. If you find a yard that you really love, ask the neighbor what they planted! Most people love to talk about their gardens and will share info about the plants in their yard.

I also suggest picking up a book or two about plants that work well in your zone. I have a TN and KY gardening book that lists plants, trees, shrubs, grasses, bulbs, annual, etc that work well in my region. It's my gardening bible. It reduces the temptation for me to buy a plant online that's pretty but won't survive my humid summers and the short - but albeit cold - winter that we get in TN. Since you have some time before spring, pick up a book like this and do some research.

 

curlydoglover

Ditto the previous posters.  We've done most of those as well.

I've also found Better Homes & Garden's website to be helpful.  Both for general inspiration and information.

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plans/

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/design/