Hi,I need a little advice on what to plant in the front of my home. It is mostly sunny during the afternoons. I use to have XONA DUE They grew so big It took over the area. I would like to plant another green plant so I can put the mulch in. I also have a ROEB PLAM And VAGI COUEEN which is a low hedge and the palm in front of the hedge. The greens will go in front of the palm.

Also I am on the river. I had a new sea wall put in. I would like to plant, plants in the water. Can you help.

Thank you,
Julie

Julie,
Selecting plants for your landscape can be a very daunting task, but there are some basic steps that help you get a handle on what to plant. Generally, the accepted steps in landscape design are:

1. Analyze your site -- write down the basic site information including direction, prevailing winds, soil types, wet locations, salt spray etc.

2. Assess your needs for the landscape -- make note of where you want such things as plant screens, play areas for the kids, and plant beds.

3. Develop a plan -- this step is very tempting to skip, but don't. Draw out as close to scale as possible where you want what type of plants that fulfill the needs you found during assessment.

4. Plant selection -- only when you know what your site conditions are & what you want the plant to do (size, blooming, type of soil, moisture requirements, etc.) can you make a good plant selection.
Julie, once you have the information above there are many websites that will help you pick out plants that have the characteristics you have determined the plants in your landscape need. Here are a few of my favorite sites for such:

The University of Florida's EDIS Landscape Plants Menu - http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/TOPIC_Landscape_Plants
Florida Plants Online - http://www.floridaplants.com/landscap.html
Southerngardening.com - http://www.southerngardening.com/index.html
Flori-Data - http://www.floridata.com/

Another way to approach landscape design is to hire a professional landscape architect or landscape designer to provide you with a plan that you can either plant yourself or hire a professional installation team to install. Either way, do-it-yourself or have professional help; analysis & planning are the first steps to selecting the right plans for your landscape.

Carol