pictures are really not in a good order, I uploaded them in the right order though....so here's a brief description:

Pic 1 - long side yard. I was standing under one of the crapes when I took the picture.

Pic 2 - standing on the corner, looking into the crape myrtle bed and corner of the porch

Pic 3 - looking towards the big crape, from the street in front of where the car is parked...

Pic 4 - front porch bed, I did get a wood swing to hang on the porch, planning on putting it width wise, far right of the porch, I think.

Pic 5 - pathway between front garden bed and crape bed

Pic 6 - standing in front of garage looking at back door

Pic 7 - standing in driveway almost at road looking at the side yard behind driveway, the big tree over top is my neighbors nasty pecan tree, full of bag worms, can't seem to get them to do anything about it

Pic 8 - across the street looking up driveway

Pic 9 - same spot looking towards side of house, this is almost looking due west.

pic 10 - standing edge of driveway looking to front of house AC unit and gas meter is here...electric box is at the driveway side of house, so those need access to but if possible, hidden...

pic 11 - standing up the street to give that shot as you come down the street, big trees huh?

Pic 12 - across the street and looking almost due east.

The whole side of the house is full sun for most of the day, these pictures were taken in August 2004, about 6 in the evening, so you see good shadows.

My dream was always to have a fence at the corner, split rail possibly, but the setback is 6 foot in, which is right at the edge of that curvy bed around the two crapes, I dug that out right before the MS hit me hard. Never got it finished.

there really is nothing in any of these areas that are keepers, except the trees. the few azaleas that are around, are old as the hills, and in bad shape, hence the severe cutting back. the one under the sunroom windows is coming out, it's rotten all the way through, as you can see, I started to cut it out...

anyway, any suggestions is greatly appreciated. Am curious to see what others would do here compared to my initial dreams for the place.

all the perennials etc, that would go in here, I'll be growing from seed, I really think this place calls for a cottage garden look to some extent???? it's just very homey. yeah, needs some help.

thanks again

sally

Ok, I've been reading other posts since putting this in here. Wanted to clarify a few things to get the most help possible here.

Here's a little more information. The lot is 70 feet across the front, 100 foot along the side. The neighborhood kids are a pain, so ornamentation type things are pretty much out, as they bust up everything I put out.

the dirt is actually very well draining, not too fast, not soggy, needs some work though. the gardens are easy to shovel, a few good years of busting my butt off has paid off now, last summer, I was able to put a shovel into the garden dirt without any pressure at all. full of worms!

I'm trying to come up with a tree service to dump a load of chipped wood off here to use as mulch in the beds that won't be planted this spring, hoping to save money there, as mulch for these beds visible from the road will run me about 400-500 dollars in itself.

the porch is being repainted this spring, as well as the foundation being repaired and repainted. The glider on the porch is in good shape, but the cushions are getting replaced this year, and the frame will be painted a cream color as it was when new. the plastic chairs are goners as well :D, so are the long planter things, those are being replaced by big round pottery looking planters, got those last year. one on either side of the columns, except for the sides on the stairs, have a total of six of them, they are 18 inch planters.

winds come up from the water, which is two blocks up the street, hmm, from the left of the house looking away from the house....LOL, guess that is the southeast? sun comes up and goes across the top of the house at almost kittykorner from driveway to the front...driveway garden areas only get a couple hours morning sun, side of house gets all day sun, until it hits the trees about four pm, then it's the front of the house until sundown.

Not sure what other information might be useful, or what I missed here :D

found two more pictures !!!

first one is the front of the house again, after we got the beds cleaned out last summer, the pots are on the porch, and on the sidewalk is the samples of the edging, we went with the white one.

second picture shows a little more of that corner bed, the stump you see was a camellia that was almost as tall as the porch roof...it's gone. :D

I'm thinking some kind of a small tree for either side of the porch steps, but am just not sure what to do.

thanks again!!!

sally

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You are wrong...Crape Myrtles only grow to around 25' tall...oh wait...pictures...hmmm....either those are some BIG Crape Myrtles or she lives in a very small house! ;-) Yep, those are sure some big specimens. Any idea the type/cultivar? The street side ones are large, but that one between the houses is a bit of a monster. I wonder if some maintenance pruning could be done to bring it back under control. It just looks too big for that space.

"I'm thinking some kind of a small tree for either side of the porch steps, but am just not sure what to do."

It seems to me that trees are the last thing that you need to add. I would keep the front entrance open and focus on low growing evergreens. You have lots of flowering broadleaf evergreens to choose from in your zone (though throwing in some conifers would not hurt). Feel free to mix in annuals, perennials, bulb, grasses, etc.

As far as your three year off resale window. Three years is a ways off and a lot of things can happen in that time frame. I would not let a possible resale dictate what I did, but I would also be sure to avoid projects that would distract from the appeal of the house. For your own enjoyment and future resale, I would be sure to focus on year round appeal. It is hard to predict when your house will go on the market and how long it will stay. I see too many people posting questions like "it is winter and my house is on the market, how can I increase the curb appeal?" and about all I can think is that it is too late.

- Brent

LOL, no one ever believes me :D Now, would you believe there was another one behind that big monster between the houses???? and it was BIGGER? there was actually a third back there too, it's a crape mrytle bush right now...and will stay a big old bush too :D theres also a beautiful red maple back there, so much for it being a dwarf variety, debating on that one, will post pics in trees forum to see if any one recogonizes the species of these.

As for the trees in the front, LOL, true, don't need anymore, just wish the ones we had were placed a bit better. what I was thinking was like a dwarf weeping something? now that i'm saying that, i'm picturing something that looks like guards standing at my doorway, ok, gotcha there. :D

Ok, this is interesting, every time I read what you wrote, I see something new :D

the little pathway between the corner crapes and the garden, what would you possibly recommend there? when it rains, that is where the water collects, but even in torrential rains from a hurricane, it drains off in about three hours or less...the whole yard drains properly, that area just has constant foot traffic....anything I seem to come up with just seems to look dorky, not there, is there, not there...and no real way to tie the areas together with a path there. what if I were to bring the two beds together into one big bed, with a pathway then??? too much?

would you say I was on the right or wrong track back in 2001 when this pic was taken?

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Again, thanks for any and all suggestions...I know i'm long winded :D

Sally

At 80years old those crapes will not last forever but look plenty healthy to make your turn around. my opinon is hardly worth the paper it's printed on but this sounds like fun so here goes.
Picture #1- your siding look good in most areas except this one. under your windoes it looks a little ruff. i would suggest a 4-5 foot shrub that can handle shade to disguse problem areas.
#2- under these crapes it appears dark. Perhaps some varigated foliage with white stripes to brighten up and fill up this "bed". Since dough is always an issu. hostas and euyanamous (spelling) come to mind.
#3 - this one cracks me up please do be offended but who tossed a javline into your yard and left it there. I would remove this and it's target completly.
#4 - Needs color by the look of you last front beds i think you can accomplish that very well. but stay away from the skinny white wire fences. Once agian don't be offended they just look cheap. Maybe outline with paving stones or brick to tie in you front porch brick?
#5 - Also needs color, variagted foliage with last longer maybe mix with some annuals.
#6 - The white metal awning has got to go. it dates the property and a nice wooden one with white pillars would make a much better impact. They have these pillars at lowes for $80? a peice. The scraggley shrubs would also need to go.
#8 - Crape also needs underplanting.

one other things that stand out and looks odd to my is the orange brick. I'm sure it isn't orange but next to the yellow it kinda screams. I would either paint the brick or the house. Paint is a cheap way to add alot to the home.
Your last picture of your old home also has a brick patio but it looks good. I think their yellow wsa a bad choice becuase it made the brick appear orange. I hope you really wanted advice and arn't mad at me for anything I said. Thanks for letting me play.

oh trust me, NO offense is taken, I actually chuckled through your post, and yes it IS worth the paper :D you reinforced several of my thoughs here, so I feel more like i'm on the right track.

in pic 1, that is actually full hot sun during the day, from about 8 am through 5 pm...the sun sort of goes around the street, corner and all, so even the crape bed street side is full sun, it's under it about six foot in that gets shade, deep shade...hopefully that will be much less when the trees get thinned out this week...HOPING. I guess if i grab the saw and head out there, hubby will see that isn't a good thing and come help..LOL. (I did take down the 25 foot crape in the back by myself...LOL but that was when I was healthier)

I had not really thought about the lifespan of the trees, so very good point there. I'll take a closer look at them this week as well, especially the big bear. I know it's hard wood, takes a beating with the hurricanes and while they strip the leaves and flowers off leaving them bare, they never lose a branch....and we got hit with a few since living here.

the siding really needs work, we have a company coming tomorrow actually to give an estimate to replace it, and I have a painter giving me an estimate for painting it. I never cared much for the yellow, but just have no clue what color i'd do instead...white is TOO white for something this big. suggestions there would be appreciated too!!! wish there was a way to ditch all those UGLY lines that go up and over the side of the house, some are cable for the tv, the one straight up is the dumb satilite dish and i don't even watch tv.

brent, I just read your page, how interesting, I grew up in michigan too!!! as for the needing trees that could be because I've got it in my subconsious that these big bears won't be around for ever, and was thinking ahead without knowing it??? ROFL...

the "euyanamous", agreed on the spelling...LOL, is that the little shrub that has varigated yellow/green leaves? if so, we are looking at those now...how funny.

your comment about the javline in #3 has had me looking over that pic with a fine tooth comb, and not sure what you are talking about? the light post????? can't move it, but am gonna paint it if that helps? MIL planted that stick, i mean rose bush and the thyme under it. those are going far far away. :D all I know is that one had me laughing big time...now to know what you are referring too :D

as for the skinny white fence, how funny...I knew that was gonna take a hit...I hate those, but used it, cheap and effective, for about two months that year to train the dog to stay out of the flowers :D it worked, and was relagated a spot in the garage...soon to be freecycled...:D

the brick on the steps, I've soooo wanted to paint it, it really doesn't look that bad in person, more of a red brick, but it does stand out for sure. however, the paint idea was vetoed before I even got it all the way out...again, brings me back to the color of the house since the brick isn't changing :D the top of the porch is a gray slate ...how's that for color combos...hahaha. these were NOT done by me :D

maybe the javline is the little flag pole??? LOL, another gonna go, courtesy of MIL. :D

the driveway crape will be underplanted...it slopes there pretty deep, thinking a small raised bed made of landscape timber, just not sure, probably would look better with rock, but with no other rock in the yard, not sure that would work either.

the swing is going away, thinking of doing a few bushes along the fence line, IF the neighbor gets rid or controls his bindweed. I cut it back, but he lets it grow. the previous person there was MUCH nicer and did everything she could to get it gone. they moved in, ripped out 90% of her landscaping and now have the house back up for sale. hope it hits his pocketbook. :D (he plays drums, need I say more?)

last but not least, the awning...hahahahahahaha. thanks!!! that gives me amunition for ditching it. there is one over the garage door behind the fence too, as well as one on the back door back there as well. :D how I hate those.

the house will most definately be sold in about three years, so the more I can do now at the cheapest price the better. It's old, needs more upkeep than we can do, as my hubby is flat out NOT a handyman, and where I know how to do most of it, I no longer can physically do the work. can't afford to keep paying someone to do it either. the good thing is we can wait for a buyers market if it comes down to it...LOL, schools stink here too, and I want my daughter out of this school district before high school. so, all things willing, it will be sold. the inside is getting a lot of paint and other work as well. it just takes me so long these days to get it done, hence giving myself three years.

thanks again, really appreciate any and all comments!!! sometimes we see things every day and never really SEE them ya know? trying to see this with a fresh eye here.

Sally - who is TOO long winded...whew. sorry :(

It sounds as though you are handling the decision making needed for an older property well. I have a hunch that you will answer your own questions in the best manner for you, your pocketbook and resale value.

Suggest that you plant nothing around the house until all painting/repair work is finished. Does house have lead paint? Probably. Just one more thing to think about.

Crape myrtles are tough. Yours probably will outlive all of us. I noted in your pictures that they appear to be growing up into the power lines. Not good. You have two choices...wait for the power company to come along and butcher them or hire an arborist to cut them back properly. No 'Crape murder', please, (which means chopping them back to nubs which would destroy the beauty of the trees).

Sorry, no thoughts on plant selection right now until exterior repairs have been made.

thanks nandina....I appreciate your suggestions :D

yep, lead paint, and under that siding, is the old abestos crud that is on the garage still. :( so it's most likely going to be painted, not taken down. I know I can't afford to have it completely stripped off if that is what has to happen. the property will never recover that cost.

as for crape murder, ohhh, nothing irks me more than that. these were murdered 13 years ago, and it's still ugly where they cut them off...just flat topped them bad. the two on the corner are starting to head into the power lines, power company did not cut them last year, so that means the power co thinks they are good to go for three years here. NOT. they will be done this week one way or the other :D all that growth on them is in 13 years. yikes. constantly get suckers on them too.

will look forward to seeing your comments when the other work is done :D thanks!

sally

I guess there could be a light on top of the javline but I can't see it. looks to short for a flag pole. We'll just call it the javeline.hahah
I was hoping you had a good sense of humor and wouldn't take offense. There are two kinds of people when it comes to this situation. There is the woman who takes the girlfriend that always say "that looks great!" shopping and there is the woman that really wants to know the truth. i am the later and apparently so are you. Good.
I liked the green you had on the last house. Maybe that made the brick less orange. My hubby wouldn't dream of painting brick either. He won't cut down a tree for anything either. I'm still not sure how to get rid of those ugly mulberry tree/bushes. i keep hearing they make good wine, but to date he has never gotten one berry. They are 12 feet high and the birds eat them first. Such a goob sometimes. lol
But he is the handiest man I've ever known. He's a blacksmith, brother is a woodworker, he can paint(artisticly). heck he can do anything.
Don't fret we have all fallen prey to the $10 fence at some point. My Bernese Mt Dog would just step over it now. Worked great for lazy bulldogs though. Drove DH crazy so he built me an iron one. i've found if I want something nice buy something cheap and metal. The drive he has to not have cheap metal anywhere near him is amazing. LOL

"would you say I was on the right or wrong track back in 2001 when this pic was taken?"

It is an interesting question. Did you like what you had back in 2001? What month did you take the picture? How did it look in May, September and December? What percentage of the plants were annuals versus perennials? I guess my feeling would be that what you had in the picture looks better than bare dirt, but it is not what I would want for my house (even discounting the white wire fence).

Why? It looks like everything is 30" tall, everything has the same basic shape, and everything has the same texture. The flowering annuals out front are okay and hanging baskets are cute. Even if you wanted an "all perennial" garden I would like to see more variation. I linked an article below that touches on the topic.

BTW, as far as resale goes it is probably best to think "lawn = good, flowers = bad". If the shopper is a gardener, they will rip out what you have and start over anyway. If the shopper is not a gardener then they will not want to maintain all the "high maintenance" flowers. You want your house to look attractive and well maintained. An extensive garden is likely to reduce the resale value of your home, or at least make it appeal to fewer shoppers. It is sad, but true.

- Brent

Here is a link that might be useful: The Secret to a Beautiful Garden

whew, what a day, learned a lot though :D I've posted the new pictures I took today of the big crape on the left over in the trees forum, it's not looking real good there. wondering if it needs to come out, so will see what they say.

real quick, amazon, I DO appreciate the truth, wouldn't be here if I didn't want to hear it...and yes, I do have a good sense of humor, it's what's kept me alive! sad to say, that is a light there...you can see it on the tree forum post on ID of the crape mrytles post...and the "target" under it? that is a little rose bush that appears to want to live, surrounded by tin soldier thyme courtesy of my MIL. :D (kind of "ring around the posey" comes to mind)

Brent, you put into words in your last post what I finally figured out this morning was the problem!!! thank you for that!!! the link you put in was awesome, and reinforced what finally hit me this morning...it's the plants!!! I've always bought them for the flowers. the 2001 picture always nagged at me, you pinpointed the problem with it, all the same size, texture, etc. and yes, the daisies did sort of tin soldier the look too...LOL, wasn't the best year, only one I could find though with flowers.

on to what else I learned today....

I went outside this morning, armed with my camera and a heavy jacket...41 degrees, brr...127 pictures later (will not subject you to them...LOL), I took a good hard look at the house and yard.

The siding guy came out tonight, did not get a good estimate, just a round ball park figure on averages...hubby was sick and asleep. It's not going to be cheap for sure, but this was from the high end company locally, and is excellent work. Did some more math, and its looking like with the siding, and interior work that needs done here, I'm thinking about 50 grand for all that. I could have my new kitchen for that much :(

However, I think based on sale price, etc, that we can fully recover that much when we do sell. and that is with the highest price company here...but the warrenty, lifetime covers anything, is transferrable to new owners.

Ok, so after looking at the pictures I took, with a new eye, I went to a couple of the local nurseries, as well as a big box store, to check out a list of plants I've gathered from this forum.

WOW. you all need to stress to the clueless ones like me that we need to visit nurserys in the winter too! It was a whole new experience...the forms, textures, feel, are so different than what I see when I go in, leaves and flowers. I love flowers, therefore, bought flowers. Hmm.

I do believe it finally hit me what backbone in a landscape really is. (and that landscape and garden are NOT the same thing)

however, I still have no clue what this house is asking for. What I always envisioned here, will not be done due to moving (lets just say NO grass was going to be here when I was done), and while I'm trying to get that picture out of my head, there is nothing there to replace it with.

I realize there will be no planting this spring around the house, the siding if we get financed, will be done this summer hopefully, possibly in time for fall planting with luck.

So, i'm back at square one, empty slate, only with an idea to form and texture. I did discover in my walk this morning a lot of daylilies, six nandina's of all sizes, quite a few irises that survived the last few years of total neglect, and I do know I have two temporary (four year temp) beds of hostas that I saved. they should be good and ready to divide...and there is a LOT of lireope (sp???).

I realize now that basic minimal landscaping is in order for selling with.

Leads me to the following questions:

1. should I delete the bed under the two crape myrtles on the corner? or fill it in somwhat with hostas, daylilies, etc, there by saving me from spending any money there on plants? the yard will also be revamped and reseeded, etc.

2. the ring around the lightpost...I can't get rid of the light, so am not sure if I should just delete the plantings all together, or extend the bed on that side to include the light area? Plant it with??? I was thinking a couple hydrangea's, there was a big one in the corner there, but it died, think they won't get enough sun there now with the tree. Azaleas? far over planted in this area in my mind, and the camilla was finally cut down that overtook the house...was taller than the porch one year.

I agree with you brent on the first post about low evergreens along the front, I've been looking at euonymus "golden" (did i get that right?), not sure how it will look color wise though? The house, most likely would be resided with something nice and um, boring like Natural Almond, as this company only has nine colors, and I'm not fond of any of them...the house is so big that i'm worried about anything of "color" being way too much. I don't want it to look like someone dropped an overgrown kid's building block on the lot, though it does look that way now actually.

somehow I just can't see myself tossing in the "builders bushes" and calling it good. I ripped those out the day after we moved in. they were mostly dead anyway.

so, back to square one, and i'm heading to bed. I think this is giving me a headache.

thanks guys.

sally

ps. amazon, remind me some day to tell you my mulberry tree stories....i'd gladly have them :D though they ARE a mess. (hint...involved a slingshot, my neighbor, and my rear end)

thanks guys, I appreciate the time you took here. I'm heading out of here now, the headache isn't from this after all, it's the flu. I'll come back this summer when the outside is done and show you the progress. take care, you have given me a lot of the answers I was seeking, and I appreciate it.

sally