Hi all! I’m looking for advice on what plants I could add to my front yard landscaping and where they would look best.
I’m in Zone 9b (California) and I’m aiming for a low-maintenance, drought-tolerant look. I already have a few succulents and small plants established, but the space still feels a little empty and I’d love to fill it in more.
I’m especially looking for suggestions for:
• Low-growing ground cover plants
• Year-round green plants, shrubs or flowering plants
• Things that won’t get too tall (preferably under 1–2ft)
• Plants that would look nice along the sidewalk edge
• Plants that could go along the paver pathway to soften it up
The yard is currently covered with landscape fabric and will be topped with gravel/rock once I finalize the plant layout. I’d love any ideas for plant varieties and placement suggestions.
Photo attached for reference — any advice is welcome!
Thanks in advance!
by Last_Pizza_6200
13 Comments
Landscape fabric is a mistake. It will still grow weeds, they come from above and it ruins the soil. Smell the dirt that’s been under a weed barrier for a few years. Use mulch, apply periodically to keep a 2” loose cover over the soil where you don’t want weeds. A quick rake of any weed seed that sprouts, left on the ground, will suffice for weeding.
As for what plants to choose, drive around your area and look for things that look good and that you like. Look in local gardens. Take pictures, take those pictures to the landscape center near you to ask what they are and where you can get them
Most people here will say remove the fabric. For a number of good reasons.
First step is removing the weed barrier. No advice on plants as Im on the other side of the country
Yuccas!
Thanks for the advice on the weed fabric. I’m new to landscaping and learning as I go. The weeds here are brutal, so I was hesitant to go fabric-free. I’m open to the mulch idea although I was planning on laying rock/gravel on top of the open spaces where no plants will go. What would be suggested under rock/gravel to help prevent weed growth?
Hire a pro, we don’t work for free.
First thing I notice is that heavy landscape fabric. In Zone 9b covering the soil in black plastic and topping it with rock creates a massive heat island that cooks root systems. Make sure you cut massive holes around each plant not just little slits or the soil effectively dies underneath. For the layout avoid the polka-dot look where you stick one isolated plant every three feet. It looks restless. You want to plant in drifts meaning groups of 3 or 5 of the same species clustered together to create a solid mass of texture.
For the plants themselves look at Blue Chalksticks for ground cover. It creates a dense blue carpet that stays under a foot and suppresses weeds naturally. To soften that hard river rock edge along the path mass plant some Elijah Blue Fescue or Lomandra Breeze. The grassy texture breaks up the heaviness of the stone and pavers. I would throw this photo into GardenDream before you dump the gravel just to check your density. It helps you see where you need to bulk up the planting so you don’t end up with a gravel parking lot featuring a few lonely plants.
Remove the fabric, it’s nothing but a plastic mess in 5 years.
Succulents and Cacti and a nice rock for groundcover.
Plant native.
Remove the fabric before doing anything else.
Friends don’t let friends use weed fabric.
First step is to remove that ring of soil around the base of your tree. That will cause basal rot and will kill your tree. If you’re lucky the tree won’t fall on your house after.
Next step is to remove all that landscape fabric. That will help to keep weeds out for like a single year…after that you’ll have weeds growing ontop and through the barrier.
Use lots of mulch and ditch the barrier I tore mine out after 2 years doesn’t do much just makes it a mess later when you change stuff up ,trust me mulch heavy.