Narrow along house. Opinions please.

12 years ago

I have a narrow stretch of lawn about 60-70ft along my house. This is at an angle to the street, so some curb appeal is missing. I've been fiddeling with a design but need some opinions please. There is maybe 6ft from my house to a pathway sidewalk. I had planned on going up for some visual interest in a 3 ft wide bed the whole length, but am kind of stuck with the lack of architecture and considering breaking it up into several beds. So the intitial full length plan was to have large windowless areas (3) filled in with a mixed trellis of dark pink and purple Clematis. Under a large lower window, New York Aster flanked on each side by said trellis mix. Intermittent with Orange Crush day lilies. I really liked the color mix of bright/dark purple, pink and orange. Plus I already have a large cluster planting of the daylilies, the aster, and one pink Clematis vine. They just need to be moved. There is also a back door on this side that I have two 'sensation' lilacs planted (babies). Full sun on one end and a large White Ash provides part shade on the other. Also would like blooms all season and don't know if this mix is going to cut it. Also at my disposal for transplanting are, purple double decker cone flower, silver mound(2), tri-colored stonecrop, shasta daisy, sunscape daisy, Endless Summer hydrangia, and Jacobs ladder. Suggestions??

Comments (11)

missingtheobvious
12 years ago
That's an amazing color combination. Does the daylily rebloom in your zone?

The best suggestion I can give at this point is that you post photos.

And I'm curious how having lawn at an angle to the street would result in the absence of curb appeal.
karinl
12 years ago
I think you've nailed the challenge nicely by pointing to "lack of architecture." Plan some places to "be" along the area; that can define your distinct planting areas - slabs of paving that can hold a chair or a bistro set, a potting station, or a big pot for that matter. I often put containers in my beds to create topography where the is none. Even if you put them on a paving stone they still do get splashed with dirt at the bottom, but the overall effect is good, and cross-seasonal.

KarinL
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Wow, thank you for all of these suggestions. Celerygirl, I had to chuckle because the first color you posted was what I was going for at first, then a neighbor painted theirs almost the same color. To be honest, just about any dark color I put with it looks good, but my goodness it'd hard trying to be a bit different than everyone else around here, lol. The second color is definitely a possibility. Patricia, I had a color similar to that picked out; BM Sioux Falls, but was struggling, again, on the trim issue. We have had green trim for the last 30 years, so I wanted to get away from that. Then I tried different shades of green, blues, green-blues, anything but white. I just could not get that Aha! color to go with the Sioux Falls, which I really liked. What green is that? And any ideas on a trim color that maybe I'm missing? housaon, I really love your pick of dark pewter, but I am concerned living in the PNW it will be too dark during the months of gray wet days we get. I agree a dark trim looks good. I keep searching the internet for pics, but most every house with a dark exterior has white trim, so I just can't get a good bead on it. Am I overthinking this? By fall I really don't have much green as far as plants go because I cut them down for winter. I have been thinking of putting a long narrow pergola across the front, under the two plain upper windows, to break up that stretch of wall a bit. I would plant clematis on either side to grow towards the middle. If I were proficient in MS Paint I would try to show that, but I am really terrible at that. I have been re-landscaping the front yard just for this. I do have another question though. If I don't want white trim, which around here would be a nightmare with all of our neighbors trees, what colors do you suggest? In your opinions, is a dark trim too foreboding, even though it's pretty? We don't have to worry about curb appeal right now. We have been in this house 40 years, and will probably die here. But I also don't want people driving by and going "Ewwww" either. Thank you so much. I really do appreciate it. P.S. Previous colors of this house has been: Light blur, yellow-green, rajneeshee red (my fault), and current off white. Yes, it has seen some baaad colors.
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A "foundation planting" is that strip of planting that surrounds and abuts the house. Most homes have them to some degree in order to help the home look integrated into the landscape. Foundation plantings are often used to hide any unappealing looking part of the house ... such as an old fashioned foundation, thus the name. At the front of your house you have a foundation planting of hydrangeas. However, they are jammed much too tightly against the house in much too small a space. So when considering how to arrange the walk, since the existing walk does not seem to be permanent (or could easily be undone) it would be a good thing to move the walk farther away from the house front wall, as in this manner (whereas the existing bed edge is marked out with the red X ... Also, it would be a good idea not to plant at the outside of the walk. The narrower a walk is, the more quickly it will become uncomfortable to use as it is penned in by plants. With a larger bed at the inside of the walk, there is plenty enough room for creating interest with plants. The crape myrtle is small enough to move and it should be at the outside of the walk, somewhere off of the corner. Since its bulk is overhead, it does not create the feeling of being "penned in." (It would be OK to have a small bed of low plants, such as groundcover, under the crape, since it is encountered for only a short distance.) I don't know what you are referring to as "the starting point of the house," or as the "first flagstone" ...? A walk connects points. It would not arbitrarily start at something other than a "final destination" such as a front porch and street, back porch, side entrance, driveway, etc. Maybe ask the question referring to points on the house, such as its corner, or front or side wall. Also, you could sketch "the question" on a plan.
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alaMel
Original Author
12 years ago
Daylily does not rebloom. :( I thought one had to buy reblooming daylilies to get that effect? @karinl, we really dont want to "be" over there. lol There is plenty of space on the other side of the house. Plus this sidewalk I speak of is a neighborhood hot spot for everyone getting to and from the park, pool, and nearby C-store. It's a very busy sidewalk. I will see if I can get my mobile to take smaller file sized pics and get them posted today. It is a trailor, so please snicker privately. lol
alaMel
Original Author
12 years ago
The curb appeal issue is that people driving by see a pretty boring blank side of the house and the front yard. We however spend most of our time on the other two sides of the house. So considering looking for some Garden junk to plant for architecture, but not sure. It has fit in, not literally junk up the yard. lol
alaMel
Original Author
12 years ago
Here goes with a pic attempt.
alaMel
Original Author
12 years ago
I posted a pic in "gallery" mode. I gues thats the only way i can pull pics off my mobile. Thanks for your opinions gals and guys. The post subject is looong narrow space.
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
12 years ago
Here's a link to the picture.

Here is a link that might be useful:
karinl
12 years ago
Some more discussion in your other thread - I think the defining issue is not just the long narrow part, but that it is adjacent to a public sidewalk with normal hellstrip problems. Is that your front door down at the end, or if a back door, used often?

What's important is to identify your objective, because it actually doesn't get better than lawn for such an application from a care/abuse standpoint. Are you wanting more space to exercise your gardening, or is it just about the looks?

KarinL

Here is a link that might be useful: Related thread
alaMel
Original Author
12 years ago
That is the back door that is rarely used. Well my objective I guess is that this is the true full sun spot. I do have a few other areas, but mostly in odd places. I REALLY wanted some Clematis in those large blank wall spaces. And I guess I would like more space to garden. I have a front yard full shade bed. A part sun (6hrs) bed by my front door, but need a sunnier spot for most of these plants. I guess I want more options than only shade plants and thought this the ideal spot. I also just thought it would make the neighborhood more plesant and welcoming. I really wouldn't mind making the whole thing a public cutting garden, but I'm hesitant about the labor intensity of this. :/ Either way, at minimum, I would like some Clematis on the 'empty' wall space. I really welcome all opinions here.
alaMel
Original Author
12 years ago
bump. any other opinions? Smaller raised beds? I guess I have till next spring to figure it out,......
rj56
12 years ago
I definitely would not remove all of the sod. Start small with enough room for your clematis. Maybe to the side of your door.

Narrow along house. Opinions please.

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missingtheobvious

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Narrow along house. Opinions please.

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