by Lisa Beach

Created on: October 27, 2008

In the grand scheme of things, $200 dollars for just a front yard is a deal. The most basic thing to consider for what you want to plant, is what your yard is like: is there a lot of shade, or too much sun; does it have rocky or clay soil; and what effects do you want to create? The first thing to consider is trees. Do you have mature trees out front, creating shade, or do you have full sun, with only the trees a developer planted? Let's take each type yard one at a time, and see what can be done:

SHADY YARD:

This means you have large, mature, deciduous trees, possible a lot of leaves every Fall, maybe acorns or other tree seeds, and possibly little grass. Your first move would be to remove all the leaves and other debris on the ground, then take a look at your yard from the end of the driveway, mailbox, etc., and notice what areas jump out at you as being THE worst areas as far as looks are concerned.

If it's an area between two trees, connect the two by creating a garden that uses them as focal points. This will create an elongated oval shape. Lily of the Valley; Bleeding Heart, and Astilbe would work well, although the latter two both get large. For smaller plants, try Hardy Primrose. An excellent summer-to-frost plant is Impatients, which comes in pink and white, but IT needs some sun. If you have a yard area in deep shade, ferns work well. Cinnamon Ferns add unusual texture, and Hostas do well also. Add some Pachysandra [pah-cah-saun-drah] as a ground cover, and always make sure you have fresh mulch around such plants for a neat, professional look. Bleeding Heart comes in pink, and white; Astilbes can be found in red, white, pink, lavender and [rarely but doable], yellow. Lily of the Valley which come out in the spring are small white bells that grow about 4 to 6 inches tall before the trees get leaves. Snow Crocus and Pansies are also a good choice under trees before leaves bud.

To cover any unsightly brown patches that lean toward erosion, get some Periwinkle. They grow glossy green leaves with tiny white flowers, and spread quickly. As for cost, the flowers I mention can be got at a decent cost through Michigan Bulb, except for pansies; go to a local garden area for them. One thing of importance is to ALWAYS plant items in the right soil, water them as indicated, and give them the sun or shade mentioned when buying them. ANY plant will die under the wrong conditions.

SUNNY YARDS:

Trees help create appeal here, plus give off welcome shade. Maples, Oaks, and

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