Hi,
I moved to Mckinney in the Stonebridge subdivision 2 years ago. I bought a house that had been a rental and of course the yard is a mess. I have been trying to get some good shrubs growing in the gardens and I plant lots of flowers and attractive folliage annuals in the Spring. I try to plant only plants that do well in this area. I don't like how most people's gardens look. Most of them have indian hawthorne, japanese boxwood, and other similar shrubs that they shape into circles and boxes. I rarely do any pruning at all because I prefer a natural looking garden. My garden doesn't look anything like anyone elses in the neigborhood. I find that most people just go to the local nursery and buy whatever looks attractive without researching what does well here. I especially love my Texas Mountain Laurel (Mescal Bean) schrubs. They bloomed really well this year and the purple bubble gum smell is very fragrant. They are very slow growing but have a good amount of new growth this year. I have never done much organic but have always wanted to. I just had a sprinkler system put in, which included drip all the way around the foundation and in the gardens and MP rotator heads for the lawn, which water slowly to prevent runoff and save water. The person who put the system in is very into organic gardening. I hope to learn a lot from him but also from this website and forum. I have 2 dogs, the female, Sandy, likes to dig up shrubs and chew them up and dig lots of holes in the ground. They both like to tear up the grass whenever they urinate. They make gardening very challenging. My contractor just finished putting in my irrigation system and the yard is very muddy. The grass was sparse already. It is going to be a challenge getting it to grow with my dogs. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it.
