Actually, I think everything there except the Juniper is too big for that space. The Mugo isn't bad from the front, but from the driveway, it looks a bit leggy. All of those little pots don't do anything for the "look" either. If you want to grow things in containers, make them really big containers, and use just a few.

Is this a full sun area? I'd measure the height from the ground to the bottom of the window, and select shrubs that won't grow any taller than that.

Wow, this is an example of the original owner putting in plants when small and not considering that they grow! Everything looks misplaced; I can see why it frustrates you!

If it were me I would keep the holly, it looks healthy, it just needs a good trimming. I think the mugo is actually okay if you can somehow put something low and creeping under it on the driveway side to detract from the legginess. It actually works well in easing the slope from a front-on visual perspective.

So that leaves removing the eunonymous and the cypress. Not sure about the juniper right now...it certainly needs a trim.

Try just removing those two, trim the holly, add some GOOD SIZED containers on the bottom steps (one on each side)and step back. What is still needed? Anything?

Also, think about the spring bulbs...the tulips will look great in the spring but will need something to grow in and hide their browning foliage. Wait on those a bit.

Love the entry steps, by the way.
Patty

If you want spring bulbs, plant them next to a nice big clump of daylilies, which will hide the dying foliage of the bulbs, or an evergreen grouncover that you can tuck the foliage into when it starts to look ratty.

What are the chances of removing the angled walkway to the right? One of the biggest things working against you is the constraint of the bed shape. If the walkway went across the front of the house and then toward the back yard several (or just a few) feet away from the foundation your plantings could enhance the house so much more. The way it is now almost makes any planting inherently exaggerate the small size of the house.

Visually broadening the base of the house by planting beyond the corner will add visual repose and give you a place for either the holly or the "cypress".

If you can swing doing a new walk, I would suggest clay brick to match your steps and I would go straight across the front of the house lined up with the steps from the driveway with a wider "meet & greet" area at the foot of the front door steps. Then you could sweep the curve around to the side of the house. If that front bed is too deep for you, you can keep a grass apron between the planting and the walk provided that the grass strip is at least as wide as the walk through most of its length (I'd curve the edge of the lawn to meet the shape of my plantings).

I like the mugo on the left in that it fills the space nicely. Although once you cut that euonymus out it may have a big hole in it. Its hard to see what condition its condition is in by the photo.

I'd avoid vertical elements next to the steps as they will exaggerate the steps. I'd also avoid any vertical element to the left of the steps. Heck, after the sexist stereotype thread I might be inclined to avoid them altogether (just kidding). I would like to see a larger upright shrub (perhaps the cypress or holly depending on their condition) in front of that right corner assuming the walk changes. It would also be nice to round the corner in front of it with some smaller spreading shrubs (not ground cover).

If the walk is to remain as it is, lower spreading shrubs are the way to go, with no vertical elements.

I'm one of those female anomalies that likes conifers, so I wouldn't tear out the mugo pine just yet. It takes a long time for a mugo to get that big and it's got the lateral thing goin' on. But if it isn't healthy, well, that's another story. It's crowding out the eunoymous and that's vertical, plus it's invasive as heck so that would be the first thing I would yank out. All the verticals really. I might plant a mugo on the other side of the stairwell. There are some gorgeous varieties of dwarf spreading evergreens, including varigated mugo pines. You could grow low spreading cotoneaster to cover the bulb foliage when it dies out. I have bishop's weed in my front yard as a groundcover, and it lives up to it's reputation. Still, it does make a nice mix with evergreens. My folks have a mugo fronted by a bed of blackeyed susan, and when they are in bloom it makes a stunning combination. I'm no expert at what covers up bulbs though, I just wanted to put in a good word for mugos!

I'd be thinking about a trellis and something that could soften the corner of your house (to the right of the stairs).

We have several trellises around our home. They provide interest in the cold seasons, and they support vines that are interesting during the growing season.

I'd rethink the color of the railings and the mulch, too.

Ok, from a totally novice standpoint...

I'd keep the holly and the Mugo pine. I agree, trim the holly way back so it will fill in as it hits the height you want. To the right of the window, at the corner, plant something taller, to lead the eye.

Near the stairs on the right, think vines with a wire or string trellis (or something visually unobtrusive) which will grow up and over to either side as you wish. Clematis? Aristolochia? Whatever. :) Butterfly magnets are neat next to doors!

I would suggest a window box under the window over the garage. Lots of trailing and happy perennials with varied bloom times. (A drain tube from a catch basin will do nicely to remove excess water without marking up your siding.)

Edges of the paths...try Irish or Scottish moss, maybe thyme.

I can just see that awkward bed shape as a glorious butterfly haven with milkweed and all kinds of relatively care-free perennials (you know, our dream? LOL!) and a nice fluffly groundcover to hide the bulb browns.

Eunonymous can get yanked; a more pointless shrub I've rarely met. :) No flowers to speak of. Slap something in that takes your eye, bright and prolonged blooming with plenty of medium green-to-red foilage.

What about one of the more innocuous grasses (NOT Pampas type)?

JMVIO....

PA

Once laag pointed it out to me, it was obvious that the most important issue was correcting/disguising the proportions of the house. That from someone who especially likes small (or small-appearing) houses, which have a special charm others can't achieve, but I have to admit this one does need to seem larger on the right. The changes in level already provide some interest, and a pretty meet-and-greet area would add graciousness. And a really great spot for those bulbs...

Progress! See photos below for where I currently am. I cleaned up the mugo pine big time, planted daylilies that I recently grew from bare root, and put down black mulch. On the right side, all that remains is the Holly that's leaning forward and missing a backside, or so it appears. Should I take it down? Leave it? What would be a good thing to plant here? I need something to cover the basement window as you can see. I want to fill in the whole area so you don't see the stoop and you don't see the foundation of the house.

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Dare I suggest another mugo pine? :-)

Most people takepictures from the perspective of how they see things. If you are looking at your landscape that close up, absolutely nothing that I wrote earlier would make any sense to you.

How that holly or mugo look when you stand next to it does not matter much if you are looking at the landscape and how it affects your house. Take a picture from the sidewalk. Does the house look good with a holly in the middle of the wall?

What about hydrangeas or rhododendrons? How do they look in the winter?

bump

I'd keep the holly - it'll be so pretty in winter. :) Because you've already got two really solid points of interest, maybe try something a little feathery? or maybe a birdbath or obelisk w/vines to draw the focus out into the yard a bit? Have fun with it!

Dryas58,

What would you consider to be feathery?

You really think I should keep the holly? It looks so odd from the side. I'm torn now.

What would you grow on the obelisk trellis?

I was thinking more of an evergreen shrub setting with flowers that bloom modestly at some point in the spring or summer. That's why I was considering rhododendron and hydrangeas.

What kind of holly is that? It looks like a Japanese Holly and I can tell you from experience that Japanese Hollies can be cut back hard and they will fill in fast. The downside of that is that most require pruning a few times a year to keep them from getting 8-12' tall.

In response to your other question...Most hydrangeas looks like thin bare sticks in the winter. Oakleaf (and maybe others) provide some interested bark texture but they are still deciduous. Rhododendrons are evergreen, but they droop too much during cold weather for my tastes.

- Brent

Assuming that budget is an issue (it always is at my house), I would focus my efforts on balancing the facade of the house by illusion, rather than changing your walks. This would make your steps, which are very pretty, more of a focal point.

Plant a shrub that will reach 6 ft tall or so beyond the sidewalk to the right of the door (as you look at it from the street) and begin a garden area there. This will help to keep the eye up, rather than going down toward the garage.

Attach a rectangular grid trellis (white)to the house to the left of the front door to balance the large window on the right (don't train anything on it--think empty picture frame look) and, again, to keep the eye from going down to the garage.

I like the suggestion of feathery grasses by the holly--chose something that you can leave the heads on in winter and that will keep standing in the snow.

I like the idea of the trellis behind that mugo pine-- it would definitely balance the larger window on the other side.
I was also thinking that a vine going across the top of your garage would be a nice project for the future. The
window box idea has merits but i'm not convinced. really need to see a photo from the sidewalk in front of the house
that shows both ends of the house.

get some big pots for the bottom of your steps for sure
place one right where the little bunnies are and one on the
other side. go for something colorful and rounded.

you're in NJ so why not a small mounding japanese maple to replace that
holly-- move the holly somewhere else if you want to keep it. and then some azaleas?? and bulbs?? chaste bush (vitex)
would be something different to stick there.

also i would add a new bed on the otherside of the diagonal walk to extend the eye beyond the end of the house.

the flowers on top of the little wall are nice, but you need to use such "prime real estate" for a knock them dead
specimen plant in a really great planter that you can move
to a safe place if necessary.

I really like the dark mulch, it looks so much more normal

keep digging

diggerb

I went to a nursery today. Wrote down the following shrubs/conifers that I liked and could actually afford (see list below). Does anyone have any thoughts about these?

I'm definitely taking the holly down that is there now. My biggest obstacle in the triangular planting area is the concrete remnants of the old stairs (I'm assuming that's what it is). I can cover it up with mulch like you see in the "before" photos up above.

Regarding the Dwarf Alberta Spruce, which I really like, is it possible to keep its growth under 4 feet by trimming it?

Here's the list:

Globosa Nana
Nest Spruce (Picea Abies Nitiformis)
Dwarf Norway Spruce
Boxwood
Dwart Alberta Spruce (6-8 feet) can be trimmed?
Compact Japanese Holly
Blue Maid Holly
Steeds Upright Holly
Gold Cost English Holly
Heller's Japanese Holly 4 ft tall
Green Spire Eunomys
Virginia Sweetspire
Afterglow Winterberry
Pink-a-boo Deutzia
Wine and Roses Weigela

Will probably plant some perennials here and there in between the shrubs in the spring (winter sowing) to add depth/color.