I'm doing a small area in front of an office, 27 x 4.5, full sun, Z8b, surrounded by wall on 1 side, then all pavement. Looking for a mix of short & tall, and nothing that tends to get really fat/wide, like Camellia that would encroach parking space. Nothing prickly, fancy or unusually expensive, don't have the budget, dirt's not very good, and L's & WM are the store options. Evergreens preferred so it always looks tidy. TIA!

So far on my list, a Gardenia, some Russelia equisetiformis & purple heart (Tradescantia pallida.)

And an Osmanthus fragrans if I can find one.

If you decide to add a few non-hardy plants, I'm always impressed with how lovely and tough my Scaevola aemula aka Fan Flower is growing against the road at my mailbox.

Thanks! I love that one too! I'll try to add a pic of the spot to this discussion.

It sounds like it could be a fairly hot area Tiffany. I've gotten so many compliments for a tall Rosemary and a low, trailing oregano in a south facing area and stone wall behind in our 8b Zone.

I sincerely & totally apologize for asking a half-question w/o enough background info, and not following-up with before pics. I never did take any & next thing I knew, it was time to get this done and we were at L's buying plants. If you close your eyes & picture nothing, that's the before anyway... LOL! Here is what I have done, a red/yellow kind of thing:

Whole:


The small side to the right has some Aztec grass & dwarf Gardenias.




The left has Italian cypress, Alstroemeria, Ixora, Callistemon & a couple more dwarf Gardenias.






With the plants, 4 bags of mushroom compost, 6 bags of mulch & some paint, a lawnmower, & other items, we had a caravan of 4 carts/plant trucks in the check-out line. Whew!

Wow! That looks great. Is that a variagated alstromeria? It's a beauty. You did a great job with the plant selections, and they go very well together. I love your red/yellow combo theme. Congrats on a job well done.

Beautiful

TY for the kind comments. I wish every time someone asked a favor, it was as fun to fulfill as this.

Yes, that variegated plant is this Alstroemeria: Peruvian Lily (Alstroemeria Rock 'n' Roll)

I had originally thought of doing a red/white/blue thing but didn't see any Plumbago. When I saw the Alstroemeria, I knew it would be the attention-getter, and started building on those, from what they had.

I've never had any Alstroemeria before. I'm guessing it will not be evergreen, from its' delicate feel, but hopefully hardy like the tag said, to Z8. I snagged 3 stems to take to my house. Hope they take root. I have a lawn chair giving them some shade while they hopefully do that.

I don't think the alstromeria's are evergreen, but I'm not positive. I had one in a pot under the roof overhang and it held on to it's leaves last year, but went dormant this winter. I have a couple of rooted pieces of the species, and so far, they have held on to their leaves.

Which plumbago are you looking for? I have P. Auriculata, if you'd like some rooted pieces. I'd love to trade it or something else for variagated alstromeria. I haven't seen it offered locally. And you're right about it being the attention getter. It's got mine.

TY for the report about your plant(s), much appreciated.

I'm finished landscaping the office front, and I know it sounds crazy, but Plumbago doesn't do much for me as far as wanting any for my yard. TY so much for the kind offer though. The Alstro. is a Monrovia plant, so should be showing up at L's in general, & other stores that sell that grower brand. Assuming the 3 little stems in my yard are happy, it may be a year or more before there would be enough to share, so I hope you are able to find some at a store near you before then.
http://www.monrovia.com/plant-...

Tiffany.