Perfect Lawns & Landworks ( @ThePerfectView on Twitter) answers your lawn care, lawn maintenance, landscape design and landscape architecture questions, every Thursday.

Without further ado... the first questions come from Shelley Oswald (@momma_oz on Twitter) of Georgetown, Texas and Cynthia Fedor (@cynthiaisgr8 on Twitter) of Austin, Texas, respectively.

Lawn Care & Landscaping Recommendations for Difficult Conditions

Shelley asks, "What would you recommend planting in a very shady area with very rocky soil?" After some investigating and a conversation with Shelley on Twitter, she was kind enough to send us photos via twitpic of the area in question (pictured below; click on any of the thumbnails or photos to view the larger image).

Autumn Mountjoy of Perfect Lawns & Landworks responds...

Residents of Central Texas know all too well how difficult the environment can be. Consider:

• Residential land lots are often back filled with inferior soil (depleted of rich nutrients);
• Central Texas experiences extreme weather conditions: +100° heat and sub-freezing temperatures; drought; severe thunderstorms; hail, etc.
• Central Texas is home to abundant wildlife, including a prolific (and hungry) deer population.
• Thus, developing your perfect lawn and landworks can be challenge.

For starters, the property is a candiate for soil amendment...in this case, putting down some "Back to Earth," mulch (to retain moisture), and once constructed, regularly scheduled irrigation. The chain link fence bordering the property is a great opportunity to frame the area with climbers. (Be sure to check the constitution of the fence before planting climbers. Should the fence need to be replaced after planting, you'll lose most of what has grown. if not the entire plant.) Based on what is known (drum roll please,) we suggest:

Climbers

Trumpet Vine, also known as "cow itch vine" and crossvine, this is one of my favorite climbers. You'll find it with both pink and tangerine flowers--a foundation for an aviary wildscape as the flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds. Because the foliage is so dense, birds of all types nest in trumpet vine.

Carolina Jessamine ("Jasmine"), also known as yellow jasmine or evening trumpetflower is, of course, one of the most aromatic climbers; coupled with the beauty of the flower it is a great option.

Shrubs

Barbados Cherry This is one of my favorite fruit bearing evergreens; the fruit the Barbados Cherry  produces is both full of vitamin C and a perfect accent to the general color palette of any suggested landscape. We recommend you plant no less than two. It is ideal for tropical and sub-tropical climates that experience drought conditions and perfect for clay, chalk, lime and rocky soil conditions. However, should the temperature threaten to drop below 30°F, the Barbados Cherries will need to be covered and wrapped.

Flame Acanthus, (Texas Native Plant) also known as Hummingbird Bush to locals, comes in colors from red to orange and has a very interesting bark – known to grow well in less than desirable soils. True to its local namesake, the Flame Acanthus, attracts hummingbirds.

Pavonia, (Texas Native Plant) also know as Texas Rock Rose, has beautiful flowers that resemble  hibiscus, only smaller. Pavonia grows low and has a long bloom life...perfect for reflected sunlight in poor soil conditions.

Flowering Senna, also known as Argentine Senna, blooms year round in Central  Texas while other plants lay dormant through fall and winter. Its flowers attracts an abundance of insects and birds. Aditionally the Senna is preferred shrub by the The City of Austin's Watershed Protection Development Review, "Grow Green" site.

Pale Leaf Yucca, (Texas Native Plant) is of course ubiqitous in these parts as it is endemic of Central Texas. I am sure you're familiar with the Yucca; this variety develops a long stem and crowned with clusters of white flowers. I particular enjoy when landscape design enthusiasts border or bookend paths and trails with this Central Texas all-star.

Dwarf Yaupon Holly , (Texas Native Plant) is a prolific, sturdy shrub that sometimes grows the size of a small tree. This plant is extremely hardy and the most ubiquitous evergreen in Texas. Dwarf Yapon Holly is a crowd favorite among bonzai enthusiasts as it needs far less attention.  However, because of its bonzai popularity many people mistaken it the Japanese Holly varietal despite the fact that the fruit berry produed by the Japanese is black, not red. (Trivia Note: As noted in Charles Hudson's Black Drink: A Native American Tea, American Indians brewed a holly tea from our own native yaupon holly which allegedly restored lost appetites, mantained or restored good health and gave them courage in battle. If you plan to go to battle (a busy week with the kids or with a professor at school,) I would choose this one.)

Yellow Bells, also known as Esperanza and Tacoma stans (Texas Native Plant), is often found in Far West Texas but it is known to thrive in Central Texas and happens to be my favorite, which is why I included it last!

Functional Landscape Design for Dogs and Privacy

Our second question comes from Cynthia Fedor of South Austin. Cynthia (@cynthiaisgr8 on Twitter) asks (paraphrasing), "...what plants and/or design solutions will act as a dog barrier and additionally function as privacy screening?"

Randy Martin of Perfect Lawns & Landworks responds.

Cynthia spoke with one of our representatives, and because she found Perfect Lawns & Landworks of Austin on Twitter, and lives in our service area, we made the trip out to the property, captured photographs, and walked her through a complimentary site survey.

Cynthia's property is unique in so far as it is the first property of a master plan community and rests atop an elevated plateau, sloping front to back; despite standard fencing, one can see most of the back yard when viewing the property from the back. (The first photo was captured from Cynthia's back door. The second photo was captured from the side of the of the back yard. Click on any of the photos to view the larger image.)

Additionally, Cynthia is the guardian of a pit bull mix, "Dot"...we came to find out that Dot is a "Katrina" rescue from New Orleans and that Cynthia adopted her from Southpaws. Dot loves nothing more than digging, escaping from the property (Dot is apparently quite the "Houdini,") and running to her heart's content.

The escape artist

This is Cynthia's first home--a starter--so her budget is a variable in the equation, as well. Cynthia's property presents mutiple challenges and opportunities, so it is "perfect" for landscape design and minor construction. Per our suggestion and conversation via Twitter, Perfect Lawns & LandWorks suggests a combination of bamboo and large cobble to remedy the privacy/escaping dog issues. Regarding bamboo, There is a local company here in Austin that specializes in bamboos that do well in Central Texas – Utility Research Gardens (You can actually experience the various bamboo varieties and pick out what you visually like, and be assured the investment of resource is well spent.)  David, the Proprietor of Utility Research Garden, is an expert in his field, and also happens to be an organic gardener active in the farmer's market community all over Texas. We're recommending non-invasive bamboo – a “clumping” variety; but best to discuss with David. (At this writing we've scheduled an appointment and complimentary consultation for Cynthia  with David at Utility Research Garden. We're hoping to capture the experience on video, so check back with us on updates. Additionally, as the project develops and we source large cobble and complete the design, we will post it on the blog. Should be lotsa fun providing Cynthia with a solution.)

Thank you for reaching out Cynthia... we're looking forward to working with you and Dot!

Towards the Perfect View,

Randy Martin

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If you’re reading this, you have an interest in the value of your property and the quality of your outdoor experience in and around your home. And though often overlooked, residential lawn care, lawn maintenance, sustainable landscape design and landscape architecture are the fundamental elements of that equation. Since our inception in 1987, Perfect Lawns & LandWorks of Austin(aka Perfect Lawns of Austin), as a business family and family business, is and will continue to be passionate about people and their lawn care and landscape design needs.

Our motivation to enter the global conversation is three-fold:

1. In years past, we suspended plans to expand the business for concern of compromising the level of service and detail we could offer our customers. Social media technology empowers us to grow in a controled manner as a company without harming those relationships that drive our purpose--serving you as if you're our only customer.

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Perfect is relative.

As our budding online community grows and the conversation expands, we recognize and respect that we might not always agree: there are literally thousand of preferences and variations of "perfect" on just about everything, including lawn care, lawn maintenance, sustainable landscape design and landscape architecture. Put simply: We’re here to support your preference of perfect—whether it is traditional or progressive, Western or Eastern, aesthetic or functional, flower and garden varieties and everything in between.  Over the last few years, we have expanded our product and service offerings and our inventory to include ecologically friendly equipment and sustainable practices. We look forward to sharing what we’ve learned and look forward to learning about you.

Thank you for your time...and no matter how hectic things get or what life throws at you don't forget to "Enjoy the View."

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