I'm not the biggest fan of house design that features the garage, but that was what was I n our budget, so that's what I have to work with. Worse yet, our front door is RightNext to the garage, and recessed, so basically we visually live in a garage, with incidentally some house attached. First world problems. *shrug*

Between the door and the garage is a skinny strip of wall with a teeny-tiny flower bed surrounded by concrete driveway and sidewalk. That flower bed is 24" wide and 15" deep. Our soil is neutral pH heavy clay, but that bed is probably alkaline with all that concrete around (I haven't tested it to confirm). Also, that wall faces west. In full sun. In the subtropics.



Right now, there's a male dwarf yaupon there. It has thrived in spite of at least 4 years of total neglect, grows slowly, and responds well to trimming (most recently, performed by my 5-year-old with a pair of scissors. She did a great job, considering).

I'd like to have something a bit more showy there, to better visually divide the front door from the garage. The neighbor across the road had a tall, skinny rose (maybe a Queen Elizabeth) that looked nice in spite of little or no care. But, you know, east-facing wall vs. west-facing.

What might be a good choice there?

A tough rose, like Queen Elizabeth or Iceberg? Perhaps non-climbing Iceberg trained up as a short climber? It would have to be something that's not going to reach out and claw guests on the sidewalk.

I have an "Amethyst Falls" wisteria frutescens in a big pot that needs to go somewhere someday. It doesn't have thorns, and I hear that it would thrive in the heat & light of a west-facing wall, but doesn't like alkaline soil. And it's deciduous and looks very blah all winter.

Something fragrant might be nice, like a star jasmine. Those are cheap, easily available, fast-growing, thornless, and usually evergreen here. However, it would probably take some work keeping such a fast-growing vine well-contained so it doesn't make the sidewalk or door hard to use. And I'm not sure what it will think of the alkaline soil.

For any vine or climber, I would need the expense of a trellis, because growing a vine directly up a wall here is asking for trouble by providing cover for termites. Which isn't an insurmountable barrier, but it's a consideration.

We'll probably be moving in about 5 years, so I want something that will look nice within a couple of years, not something that takes a decade + to come into its own.

Does anyone have any advice on the appropriateness of the plants I've already suggested, or another plant for me to consider?

Or should I just leave that yaupon where it is and be grateful that such an easy-care plant thrives in such a tough spot?

Does the non-garage side in front of the front door recess area have a place for a large container? If so, I think it might look nice to have a couple of matching, large, tall containers flanking each side of the front. Then you could plant something tall in them. That might distract the the eye a bit from the huge garage door. When you move, you could take your containers (and any plants inside) with you. Of course, this would only work if you planted something drought tolerant and were committed to keeping the containers watered regularly.

I'm with you, I don't care for the garage door being the most noticeable feature on a house. It must be cheaper to make houses that way since most have that design now.

https://deborahsilver.com/blog...

a tall narrow pot with colorful annuals.
In the fall you can put in an artifical arrangement ? christmas? lights or even a small live evergreen.

I'd leave the plant you have.

might try a iron, or wrought iron trellis with a climbing vine like clematis .... or, for a completely care-free spot, just use the wrought iron trellis

Wish I knew more about Texas landscaping. Star Jasmine thrives in full sun here in Oregon. No idea about your area. I just bought a Zephirine Drouhin Rose from Heirloom Roses. You might want to check out their website, it is a wealth of information. Ants go wherever they want to. I stopped worrying about ants a long time ago. I would put a climber across the garage and over the entrance in a heart beat. If you want to draw more attention to your entrance, you could repaint the doors and walls in contrasting colors. You could put outdoor art on the walls. A little iron garden gate would add charm. Without a better picture, it is hard to make more suggestions, but there are ways of down playing the garage and up playing your entrance, which is sounds like might interest you.
Dad always said, if you can't hide it, flaunt it. You could paint the garage door in such a way folks saw the art and not the garage doors.

kniphofia said:I'd leave the plant you have.

I really like this ideas. I have a similar issue with my area around the garage. I have some kind of evergreen on the left. A sickly looking jasmine plant on the right. My OCD would like the idea of tall planters on both sides with seasonal flowers. Great idea!

I live in zone 9a also. I have a large pot with a crown of thorns in it in full sun, next to the garage and sidewalk. It's a rosy color and is in bloom most of the year. I very seldom water it, as it gets watered when it rains. If the forecast is for frost, I just stick it in the garage overnight. I usually only have to do that a couple of times each winter. It's on its third year and doing great. It's not so large that it touches people when they walk by. I do have it in a very well draining potting mix, otherwise it would probably get too much water, especially in our wet winters.

I'm in houston too, star jasmine will do fine, if anything it is very vigorous. What did you end up doing?

I'd plant a nice brugmansia...

Considering the tiny space for roots... It's going to be real difficult to grow much...

But... Maybe climbing beans... Lima beans or something...

Possibly canna or flowering ginger.

Really can't think of a tree or shrub that would take the heat as well as the yuapon... Actually surprised that what you have is still alive...

How would a sky pencil holly work?

Some sort of skinny weeping evergreen might work.