If you are at a loss, I am wondering if you have done any reading of magazines or books and rejected some of the common ideas for front yard and foundation landscaping? If so, which approaches have you rejected, and why?

Also, I cannot see the context from this photo in terms of which driving and walking approaches will be used, nor whether all of this space is your property and how big your property in fact is. Do you have relative privacy from this aspect, or is this a busy road?

There is a thread somewhere on this forum where someone built a trellis over their front entrance. I can't recall any keywords to search for, but maybe someone else can?

KarinL

Talk about your blank slate. Will you be putting in a walk and/or other hard-scape? That is probably how you should start. Also, sounds like anything you do beyond that will require amending the soil. See if your town has free compost (many do...ours is available at the transfer station, what we used to call "the dump".) If they do, get a truckful and spread it around.

Shrubs, flowering trees, shade trees, flowers, ground cover...where is your heart taking you? Think about what you would like your landscaping to do for you. Do you want sweeping expanses of grass for ball-playing? Do you want formal gardens, or a casual mix? Do you want to simply soften the lines of the house as it meets the ground? Just as you would prepare to decorate the inside of your home, prepare to decorate the outside. Let it be a work in progress.

Patty

Beautiful home! Just don't plant anything that will cover your nice windows. Nothing worse than looking out your window and see nothing but a tree in your face. Everything grows bigger and faster than you think. You'll need some evergreens for the winter, and some color for the summer. Have fun.

i would consider raised flower beds when you start that stage of your yard...it is a good idea for many reasons first you can lay paper and cardboard down and cover with a compost mix of soil and mulch and your virtually weed free. You can build them using brick, creek rock, landscape timber whatever your taste is. Also when you plant tree's and shrubs you can amend the soil then as well...dig out the clay and fill back in with a good compost mix as well.

I think it is going to depend on what kind of covered area there is going to be...will it be a wrap around deck, just a small covered area at the front door? That in itself can change the whole look of your home.

Is your home in a country setting, in a neighborhood?

I think it is a good idea just to look at some garden designs like someone suggested...look on the internet and get a few magazines to look through. I am sure you are going to find gardens with areas that you love and tree's and shrubs planted in ways you adore. Like someone said it really depends on if you want a cottage look, country look, formal look etc... It's all about personal taste and preference. Have you considered any idea's for the area? I personally would have a ball with the whole area. But think wisely about where you want to plant tree's and large shrubs...those things are difficult to move, so alot of consideration should be given to that in my opinion.

We don't know which direction the front faces or even what zone or state you're in. And a picture from farther away that sets the house in its environment would help too.

But, in general, from what I see, you don't need a line of shrubs marching around the foundation, that is, no "traditional" foundation planting. With a few from a greater distance, we could talk about placement of trees and larger shrubs to "ground" the house.

Here is a picture of our house coming up the driveway. We live in zone 5, and the house faces West. There is already a sidewalk from the right side garage to the front steps (I don't have a picture of that yet). It is a country rural setting. Our taste is more formal/traditional, but I wanted to incorporate stones and natural textures and materials in the lanscaping. Also I would like some wild flower gardens, but away from the house.

{{gwi:21629}}

Juliann: I am glad you dropped back by, but you will have to provide more than just two pictures and a dozen sentences for people to be able to give you reasonable suggestions. At this point the only suggestion that I have is "consult a professional designer".

- Brent

yes like for instance what kind of porch is going to be put on the front of the house like you suggested was going to be done before. Do you have any idea's of your own that maybe we could build from? If you have idea's of your own that you would like to incorporate it kinda gives everyone a idea of your taste in things. Do you want particular kind of tree's, shrubs, roses etc..., Do you like water features, birdhouses...anything that gives us kind of a idea of who you are and what you like. Maybe think of how you decorate your home...that will give a good idea of things you like.

Do you want perennial beds, annual beds, low maintenance etc...Do you like houseplants if so then shading all your windowns is something you would not want to do...things like that you need to think about.

How much do you plan on spending having this done and do you plan to do it in steps?

a pic from in the front like the first would be good but farther back and include side yard.

These are things i think brent is asking, although i could be completely wrong :).

like was said before re: the porch...curious if it will have tall columns which in my opinion will make it more formal or a long front porch or wrap around porch which i think will make it look more country? Like i said before the porch in itself could make it look like a whole new house.

I would start by thinking about these things:
Is the path from the parking area to the front door at least 4 feet wide? If not, you may want to take this opportunity to correct a very common problem, the 3 foot walk.

Does the walk leave you with an awkward, 3 or 4 foot deep strip of soil against the house? These narrow spaces are difficult to deal with, because they are too narrow for most shrubs, and limit your planting options.

You need a place to throw the snow you shovel off the walk and driveway, so limit those areas to grass or herbaceous plants that die down completely in winter and won't be harmed by piles of snow.

Do you need lighting for safety or decoration? In a rural area, you may not care to light the house or focal point plantings for purely aethestic reasons, but you do need to be able to find your way to the door in the dark without getting hurt.

Do you need shade? Shade trees can cut energy consumption considerably during the summer if you run an AC unit, and make you a lot more comfortable if you don't.

Do you need protection from winter winds? Your hilltop location suggests that you will be buffetted by wind that sucks the heat out of your house and batters and desiccates your plantings, especially evergreens.

Foundation plantings, in the usual sense of a ring of shrubs against the house, are only necessary if there is a lot of ugly exposed foundation. Plantings around the house itself serve to nestle the house INTO the site rather than leave it looking like it's sitting ON the site. They also add color in the form of spring and summer flowers, colorful foliage, or evergreen foliage in winter, along with berries, interesting branching patterns, or bark color. They can be set a bit away from the house and still give the same effect, they don't need to be against the siding.

Trees also serve to "frame" the view of the house as you approach, to set it off to its best advantage. Trees and shrubs, both large and small, can also be used to disguise any awkward or unattractive things like big expanses of unbroken siding, odd angles, or an unbalance look about the facade. When placing them, consider what they will do to your views from inside looking out when they reach a mature size, and if they will block too much sun from areas you want to plant with sun-loving flowers or shrubs.

Once you've planned for these things, you can look at adding a flowerbed or colorful shrub planting where you will see it when you or guests arrive, or from inside the house if you will be spending any amount of time near the front windows.

I would do a couple of searches on this forum for "front landscaping" and "how to start" or "where to start" and read them. Many of the scenarios will not apply to your situation, but you will see how other people have dealt with front landscape problems, and absorb some useful information you can apply to your own home.

Or you can hire a good landscape...

Juliann, your house really is pleasant. I can't quite put my finger on what makes it so attractive, as it doesn't have much that differentiates it from the average new house, but it has really nice lines and proportions, I think. It really deserves a good landscaping scheme. I would really be interested in knowing what thoughts you have had about how it will look in the long term.

Jo, above, has given you some great tips on what to start thinking about if you are indeed at a loss. And she is right, furthermore, in saying that there have been a wealth of posts like yours on this forum in the past. Another search term you could use to find some of them would be "blank slate." Many of us have put time into helping these people overcome whatever barriers or stumbling blocks they have encountered in making their landscape plan. Unfortunately not many of the blank slate posters have come back later to tell us what they ended up doing and to show how it looks, but you may find some stimulus in reading the threads about their properties.

My main reason for not engaging in a discussion of your house is that I don't see that there are any stumbling blocks or barriers to you coming up with your own landscaping plan here. Other than the soil, that is, and there are plenty of books and magazine articles and probably internet sites, on how to deal with that. You might even consider your local county extension website. This forum is not a free on-demand landscape design service. You need to have a reason why you can't design your own yard, the way that millions of other people design theirs without posting here, and given that you obviously figured out how to build a house, I don't see any reason why I, or others here, should have to do your landscaping for you.

The other thing that stops me from engaging in a discussion of your landscape is that you've also presented your question from a very disengaged position, not even naming your state or giving any details about your life or family. Not only is this very offputting when you are asking favours of strangers; but also, anyone doing a landscape for you would have to know if this property will house children or elderly people, and things like whether you are gardeners and do-it-yourselfers or like to ride ATVs around your property. And your lifestyle might be an issue, whether you are retiring here or are commuting daily to work. Those are just examples of the kind of insight that helps with design, if someone were interested in thinking about your site.

You don't design a landscape for a house so much as you design a landscape for the people who live in the house. So far, you've only presented us with the house.

KarinL

The other thing that comes to mind is what's going on in the backyard of your house? Are the back and sides going to be the areas where you hang out, have a patio or gardens to relax in? I can't tell from the photos, but it looks like it is fairly wooded behind the house.

I, too, think you should consult a landscape designer. When we built our home on 5 acres, we were also working from a blank slate. Most of the area was wooded and we cleared a couple acres for gardens, a wildflower meadow, and other areas. I think you should create "rooms" that will have certain themes. Like you said you wanted a wildflower area...what other kinds of areas do you want to enjoy outside on your property? Do you have small children where you may want a play area? After you consult a landscape designer, you don't have to put in exactly every plant she/he suggests, but it will help you determine the conditions of the areas you are working with, i.e. sun, shade, irrigation (are you putting in an irrigation system?), pathways, water features, etc. It will also help you decide where to put some large trees that will eventually be a focal point on your property. I would definitely suggest bring in a lot of rich compost and spread about 4"-6" on the areas you are going to be landscaping. Also, on top of that, put another 4" of bark mulch to prevent the weeds from taking over while the plants are growing and filling in. Believe me, the areas I did that have had minimul weeds and where I didn't it's been much more work and I'm adding it now 2 years later.

Get some gardening books and magazines. Watch some gardening shows on TV and go out and drive around and look at other people's yards to get some ideas. Then, when you talk to the designer, you can tell them what you have in mind, your likes and dislikes.

Have fun and good luck with your project!
Judy

First, I wasn't even sure if I was going to get any response to my post! Why take the time to indulge life and famliy to strangers when the reception may not be warm? It is very nice that I got so many time consuming reapones! First off, honestly, I am overwhelmed with the tasks we have infront of us. I don't even know where to begin...

We are a family of 4, my husband and I in our 30's, 2 kids, 6 and 9. One dog... but I kind of count him as our 3rd child! We live in upstate NY, near Binghamton/Ithaca region, zone 5.

We had a NIGHTMARE build experience, too much to go into- but lawyers have had to get involved. Descovered our contractor was using our money to pay off other jobs. So needless to say, we have finished our own house these past months. That is why the house/yard looks like such a mess. He left us like this! This Friday, we are getting 44 tons of topsoil delivered, so that my husband can spread it with the tractor, and we can finally plant grass seed. As for the porch, we still haven't made up our mind if we just want a portico, or full porch on the front. If I had to guess, it will be a portico covering the front door. My husband is going to be building it himself (there is NO WAY he is hiring someone to do work for us for a LONG time!).

I am going to go out later and get some more pictures for you to look at. But for now, just know that I don't know what I want to do for landscaping. I just haven't been able to wrap my brain around everything that has happened, and feel overwhelmed everytime I look outside. Very depressing...

After an exhausting build experience go easy here. Have DH lay the grass seed, but maybe cut out some deep, curved beds at the foundation,and simply fill them with mulch for now, so you wont later have to dig up the sod. Also, think about a few big things....like a trio of great shade trees for the front and a large flowering shrub for the left hand corner. Then get some LARGE pots and fill them with overflowing annuals for your front step.

With the new grass in and a few big things and a couple of points of great color you will feel 100% better about the landscaping.

Then you can take your time and plan out, over time, what you really want in your landscaping.

Patty

If you don't have a plan, seeding the entire thing would not be a bad idea if you think that the overall plan will include a lot of lawn. Grass is pretty easy to kill off or remove. I will say that if you do not have your front walk installed already that you take some time to think about the design (see the post by Jo/saypoint). Your front walk will dictate a lot of what you can do in the way of foundation plantings.

- Brent

Brent, that is what we thought. Get rid of the dust/mud as soon as we can and put in some green grass. We already have a walkway (builder put it in one day without consulting with us on how we wanted it done-so it is a straight line from the driveway to the front door).

Our plan is to get the mulch up against the house and to the left of the front door as soon as we can. I plan on 'preparing' the soil with some sand and compost this summer, so by the fall it will be a little healthier than the rocky clay that it is now.

As for any trees right in front of the house, our septic tanks and fields were put there, so there goes any ornamental trees within 75 feet of the house.

Thank you for your willingness to help. I guess we (I, really!) need to take a deep breath and relax about the whole thing.

I know it was a very general 'help' post that I put up 2 days ago... I apologize for the huge amount of information that I was asking for, while supplying such a small amount of my own info. I was just needing some help or direction with what to do first, or how to get started. Maybe I was hoping some magic landscape fairy would come along and sprinkle some miracle dust on our property! If only that could happen!!

As things move along, and I have more specific questions, I will be back to pick your brains! Thanks again, and I PROMISE to keep you updated along the way with pictures.

Forty...four...tons...? Wow. You definitely don't want to make decisions lightly when you're dealing in that kind of scale. I think your plan of starting with grass is excellent, as you'll no doubt want some grass with a young family, and as you have little choice on the septic field. Although you can do vegetable and perennial gardening there if you want - internet has lots of lists of planting on septic fields.

I totally second Patty's advice about getting a few trees in the ground if you can. Even if you have to go out past the septic field, they will add a lot of charm to your property once they grow to size. And I agree that there is lots of time to do the rest.

The time of year is also conspiring against you doing very much right now. You basically have a month to get things in the ground before summer hits, and you can't have it all planned, bought, delivered, and planted in that time. Especially if you're already feeling overwhelmed.

I think that you need to carefully calibrate what you do in landscaping with how keen a gardener you are. And even if you're very keen, I'd only lay in one or two new areas a year, and plant them up all at once rather than adding new plants each year here and there. There was a poster here once who talked about the difficulty of watering new acquisitions on a big property in any given year if she didn't put them all in one bed.

Thank you for coming back and engaging.

KarinL

Yes, 2 full truck loads roughly 22 tons each load... I have picked so many rocks in the past few weeks, and they just seem to be multiplying! So, we have decided to cover where we plan to mow lush lawn with a few inches of good soil. It is kind of painful to pay alot of money for dirt, but we need to get a lawn in asap. Between the dog and the kids, we constantly have mud in the house!

juliann i am truly sorry to hear about your bad experience with building your home...that is a stressful enough time without adding something like what you have described to it. On a up note you have a beautiful home and a huge area that you have all the time in the world to make the way you want. I kind of get that the reason you have not checked with a landscape designer may be financial reasons...i mean after all you have sounds like you have alot of money tied up in your home and now seem to be on your own trying to amend things that your builder obviously done horribly. I think this is awful, people work hard for their money and they expect to get quality work when paying the kind of money it takes to build a house.

Now on a brighter note you get to add your own touches to this already beautiful home in the way of landscaping. I think grass is a great starter...at least you will feel like your accomplishing something. I would like to see a picture from the edge of the yard up to your house...front pic, to each side and maybe your backyard.

I suggest you ask on the tree forum what may be the best tree's for your area unless you have some in mind... you might ask about wide growing shade tree's, ornamentals and maybe ask for pics. You can also go on the arbor day foundation and put in your zone for ideas for tree's for your area...although i would use this only for idea's as i have read that alot of people do not have success with their tree's. But at least it gives you a good idea of what you might like.
http://www.arborday.org/index.cfm
by the way bradford pear tree's are beautiful but don't last long and stink very badly in spring when blooming...it smells like cat pee!

here is a site for the fastest growing tree's for new york...although i would ask questions on the tree forum about each tree i like...for instance how far do they root, as a tree for you close to your septic system may pose a very big problem.
http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/NewYorkT.htm

tree placement site:
http://www.garden-services.com/tree_placement.htm

I personally think that staggering some tree's up your long drive may be very inviting...although some may not agree i like the look- to me it says come on in!
I hope in someway this helps a little for now :).

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/category.jsp?psrc=bob:ac2:garden&categoryid=/templatedata/bhg/category/data/gardenplans.xml

It's a major shame that the septic field lies to the west of the house since the west is where a house needs trees to provide shade against the hottest sun of the day. It also means you can't really plant any shrubs either except, I would imagine, right up against the house, which your house doesn't need.

In my opinion, before you plant a HUGE field of grass over the septic tanks and drain field, you might want to carve out an area and throw in a beautiful wildflower mix that will be "almost" drought tolerant and maintenance free. We just planted a 3000 sq. ft. area over our drain field that is also in the front to one side of our long driveway of our house. I am very excited about watching it grow to be full of color. After it fills in, I'm planning to cut a 3' wide pathway meandering through, put a bench and bird feeder in so I can walk, sit and enjoy the flowers. Once you put in all that grass, in my opinion, it's not so easy to remove it.

Also, regarding the trees...you can get several very large pots and grow beautiful ornamental flowering trees or Japanese Maples in the pots for many years.

i want to go to judysgarden...that sounds very stress free. Just sit in there and watch the butterflies, birds, and bee's just float about. That sounds beautiful judy! That would be a perfect time to do it right after she hauls in all that dirt...the wildflowers would go crazy. I think she said she wanted a more formal look...in my mind wildflowers means a more country look. Maybe my mind is not expanding enough...can you incorporate formal with these type flowers? I am in no way doubting, just trying to figure it out in my own mind and learn a little.

Yes, ymaddox, cost is a huge reason why we are doing the yard by ourselves. The builder really left us in a tight spot, and the legal fees could really add up (depending on how this works out).

I like the idea that judysgarden had about throwing some wildflower mix out there scattered in the leach field area. I think we will seriously consider doing that!

At our old house, we had Cleveland Select Pear Trees. They by far have been the most beautiful and easiest tree to grow! We had thought about lining the drive (the west side- because the morning sun will need to melt the snow in the winter), but if we don't have alot of trees around the house, that may look funny.

It does appear that we will probably do the standard shrubs between the sidewalk and house to the right of the front door. We are throwing around the idea of making a small 'courtyard' type area to the left of the front door. We would plant flowers, and have a bench, etc.. Haven't thought the whole design out quite yet, but we will be working on it.

Thanks, guys, for all the advice and support. Unlike other 'drive by' posters, I will be here to interact and discuss these issues...

I'm not sure I like the idea (not that this should stop you) of lining the whole driveway with trees, depending on how that would block the view between house and driveway. I'm not clear on which side of the driveway is west if the house faces west...? Anyway, I really like that view of the house coming up the drive that you posted, and would hate to see that blocked. Also, if I lived there I'd want to be able to see who's driving up.

I think if I were you I would be considering BIG trees, not so much smaller (which I presume the pear to be) ornamentals. I feel that you need something with presence here, to fill space and balance the house. Where they would be depends on what views you want to and from the house, and where you want shade in the yard and on the house - maybe you can shade the house from the south if not from the west. To do this kind of thing on the cheap you can get seedlings of many trees where they grow - maples and elms in my front yard, for instance! If you want pricier trees later when the lawyers are all paid up, you can always take out the freebies.

KarinL