Hi everyone! we are landscaping front yard with sod and I am so excited to have it done.
I do have a flowerbed that is about 3 ft x 9 ft long, south side of house. I would like to have evergreen shrubs with a blossom or foliage with burgundy or lime shades. I do like some of the new nandinas. (firepower) lime cordalyne carol Mackie dauphine or what ever you suggest would be appreciated. It gets bright sun from about noon to 3 p.m. then is shaded by trees.
I could send photos if you llike
Thank you so much!
DeEtta
central valley, zone 8-9

Answer #1 · Maple Tree's Answer · DeEtta-I'm assuming the shrubs shown directly in front of your home are being removed with this being the area you are replanting. Unfortunately the width of 3 feet doesn't allow for a lot of plants that wouldn't have to be pruned at times to keep within bounds. Some I noted below would fit well and need very little if any pruning. I like low maintenance shrubs as foundation plants around my home that have a lot of color in the foliage. Contrasting color and foliage can be as appealing as many flowering shrubs. For addition color year round I like to plant small perennials and or annuals to add a lot of color. These are easily removed and replaced for different seasons without having to do a lot of maintenance of the larger shrubs. You can click on the links below to go to the plant files of several plants I personally like to use in my gardens that have colorful foliage year round. Some are flowering also such as the loropetalum that really attracts attention in the spring. My favorite plants for color all summer long are the Dianthus, Geraniums, and daisies. I also use natural bark chips as a mulch that helps to keep the soil moist in the summer and keeps the planter looking nice, clean, and more manicured. I uploaded a few pictures of areas in my gardens that show how much nice coloring can be added to a garden with just colorful foliage alone. With the planter being fairly narrow there are still some shrubs you can use for a little more height that you may want to use at the homes entry or outer corners of the planter. A few of these plants would be the compact holly, Wintergreen boxwood, and the larger variety of nandina. The nandina is actually very easily kept at a certain height and width by just cutting back the tallers and wider stems back to the ground. Many prune the nandinas like they would shear the foliage of other shrubs which destroys their beautiful natural looking form. I have nandinas that are 20 years old and are easily kept at any height and width with full dense foliage. Many see older nandinas that are nothing but sticks with a little foliage at the top of the stems because they were not pruned properly. Daphne has never done well for me in too much direct sunlight. It needs to be kept moist but not too wet or it can get several fungal diseases. Most of the bright red or lime colored wider leaf cordyline cultivars need some relief from the hot afternoon direct sunlight. Too much direct sunlight can burn leaves and lighten the leaf coloring.

Clicking on the 'Plants' tab above and going to #2 plant search you can find many other plants that would meet your needs. There you can put in the characteristics you desire in a plant such as leaf color, height and width, flower color, Hardiness zones, amount of sunlight or shade, and many others. This plant search will provide you with a list of plants that will have the characteristics you desire along with pictures of the plants. With only 9 feet or so of planter length you won't need many shrubs. Always note the mature width of the shrub on its plant file. This will help in spacing your plants properly so that very little or no pruning will be needed to keep them from interfering with each others growth.

Nandina

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/206/Shrubs/Firepower-Nandina.html

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/1936/Shrubs/Nandina-Domestica.html

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/168/Shrubs/Harbor-Belle-Nandina.html

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/767/Shrubs/Moonbay-Nandina.html

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/165/Shrubs/Compact-Nandina.html

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/3798/Shrubs/Lemon-Lime-Nandina.html

Loropetalum

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/142/Shrubs/Purple-Pixie-Loropetalum.html

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/3807/Shrubs/Crimson-Fire-Dwarf-Loropetalum.html

Abelia

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/547/Shrubs/Super-Gold-Abelia.html

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/648/Shrubs/Lemons-And-Lime-Abelia.html

Ornamental grasses

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/1416/Annual-Plants/Fireworks-Variegated-Fountain-Grass.html

Cordyline

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/831/Perennial-Plants/Burgundy-Cordyline.html

Pittosporum

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/208/Shrubs/Wheelerand39;s-Dwarf-Pittosporum.html

Euonymus

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/1123/Groundcover-Plants/Emerald-N-Gold-Euonymus.html

Gold cypress

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/3801/Trees/Vintage-Gold-False-Cypress.html

Blue fescue

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/358/Ornamental-Grasses/Blue-Fescue.html

Holly

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/3579/Shrubs/Pyramid-Compacta-Holly.html

Wintergreen Boxwood

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/3849/Shrubs/Wintergreen-Boxwood-Standard.html

Hopefully this will give you some ideas. Please ask if you have any other questions.

John)