There are some issues with the entrance, and you've identified what needs to be done. If it were me, I'd focus on getting that done first, then with the new front "look" I would know more what needs to be done in the way of landscaping. If you're itching to plant, why not plant some type of flowering trees where you can see them from the deck or new front porch. There are so many wonderful ones to choose from, like magnolia, crabapple, dogwood, redbud, etc.

I absolutely agree with lpinkmountain. As with your seed adventure, I started my gardening with little plants, and am now taking an interest in trees. From my experience I can tell you that this is backwards.

Your plans for the house sound marvellous, and I think would be enhanced by some trees or shrubs in the front yard. You could place such items out from the house where you think your gardens might eventually go. This house doesn't cry out for foundation planting to my eye anyway; I think the yard (maybe the perimeter - arggghh!!)is the more obvious place for plantings. But you also don't want to do so much now that it could interfere with construction/materials delivery. Other than getting a start on some woody stuff, your key word, I think, is "later."

I posted on the cottage garden forum also...and I'm getting some excellent ideas coming in from both places! This week is our first peak at spring..my hands are full of slivers from the rake already! I'll be ready for the shovel this weekend!

Has anyone noticed the cost of lumber this year?!? UGH! If you haven't.....Don't!

I'll be multi tasking, designing, digging, planting, and building, and painting for most of the spring!

I'll post more pics as the work progresses and see if there are any add'l ideas! I never thought of posting here for some reason. I'm so glad I did!! thanks! LC Grace

The first thing you are going to need is a comfortable pair of leather gloves.

In addition to the advice already given, I would also suggest jotting everything down that you want from the yard. So often are people caught up in what to put in their yard do they forget that it is themselves, not the yard, which is to be on the receiving end of things. Also, getting caught up in little, nit-picky things, like specific cultivars for plants, is a good way to make things seem very intimidating when starting! It's good to avoid over-complicating things.

You've mentioned that you want an English Cottage Garden look for the yard. Is there anything else you would like? Pathways from the house to the side of the yard? To the driveway? You mentioned that you are placing in a larger porch. Is this to emphasize the entrance? To create some more living space? To be able to accomodate more guests at the front door (don't you hate it when you're waiting outside someone's house in a large group and there's never enough space to stand comfortably without being sprawled all over the steps?)?

Those are just some sample questions that you could ask yourself. What do you want? Don't be afraid to be a little self-indulgent. Often, gardens are used to express the owner's personality, and it's often that which give them more appeal than just generic "cookie-cutter" landscapes.

-Audric

I'd punch up the door and entry...maybe a little bigger with some detail on the posts...and maybe a small pergola or roof overhang. Add a few evergreens either side of the door for structure and small tree at the corner. A nice wide, welcoming walk...brick or stone 4 ft wide or more...to the drive way. That will create spaces for you to fill with cottage garden perennials and annuals. Add a few windowboxes and maybe a bit of picket fencing....now you've got a charming cottage and garden!

The front entry would be used for "decorative purposes"...One look at the pic and everyone can see that it needs a really "hard punch"..lol On the right side we have a large deck that wraps around to the back of the house. We have a gazebo on the deck that is made of wooden sides and a canvas roof....when the roof is on...it's absolutely gorgeous. We take the roof off in the winter because of the weight of the snow & it looks pretty rough....that's why it isn't in the pic that I posted! lol The stairway from the deck leads to the parking area of the driveway and the garage. A pathway from the front deck to the driveway is in the plans also...this would be on the right side of the house.

Can anyone recommend a computer program that is "easy" to edit my pics? I would like to see what my home would look like with different colors for the front door, trim, and design gardens with different looks.

It is a cute house. I'd like to see a picture of the pergola to see how it all works together. One question: why is the trim on that one double hung window white, while all other similar windows have a dark color trim? If it was an experiment I vote for the darker trim!

Your house reminds me of one I pass frequently. It is not in a good location (not to say yours isn't, just explaining how this one manages to make me love it despite its problems) right on a two lane highway with several run down trailers in close proximity. The house is a painted a creamy white color with sparkling shiny black doors and trim. Around the perimeter of the small property there is a low white picket fence. There are a couple of old maples in the yard that turn crimson in the fall and in the summer rudbeckias, ditch lilies and achillea bloom loosely along the fenceline. There is a simple bluestone slab walk from the gate to the front steps, not bordered but using generously sized stones. The foundation is bare of plantings save some bulbs in the spring These simple gestures, a white fence lined with foamy flowers in golden tones, a little white house and the dark lines of the trim and stone walk are breathtaking in their beauty. I could envision something similar working for your house.

>I'm thinking of adding a decorative railing to tie the look together. This can be accessed by a door from the upstairs master suite to a private deck.

While a railing is a good idea, if only for safety, I'd be VERY careful about making it too "decorative". The style of the house is charmingly plain and straightforward, you should try to keep to that spirit in anything you add. I'm speaking from hard experience, having added a railing to the front porch of my simple cape, with a curvy victorian post and balusters - totally out of keeping with my home's plain style. Now I'm waiting for the chance to rip it out and rebuild it with simple square parts.

Where's the driveway in relation to the front door? Although you don't use this entrance routinely, you might want to make it LOOK like the main entrance, as that will make the whole house look more inviting. So, that means a nice wide path to the door. If it needs to curve to the side to reach the parking area, you might consider siting it away from the house at a distance approximatly equal to the height of the front wall. That'd give you a nice wide planting area in front of the house and help tie it all together by setting some obvious relationships in the scale.

THere are as many ways to start this project as there are members of garden web - I'm sure you'll get lots of great ideas here. This looks like it will be lots of fun!

I agree with dtd. I'd do a cement porch with an iron railing or whatever passes for iron these days--painted aluminum, cast steel? Three steps up from the driveway side, small landing with a railing, one more steps up into the house. Pathway from front porch to back patio. Lovely perrenial garden all along it. My cousin has a huge flower garden in front of her house. It is a riot of color, I love it. I would never have the time or energy to do something like that. I'd also plant a large sugar maple in the front somewhere, or an apple tree. Somehow those trees say "country cottage" to me. Or maybe a copper beech. But I agree, keep the house and porch plain. The current entrance is out of proportion and style with the rest of the house.