here is the link to the picture of the house. The front of the house faces east.

Thanks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Picture of house

I can't tell whether or not you are in the right forum. Who knows?

However, do read the thread "Need foundation planting ideas-PICS" posted by michman on July 8. Some of that advice seemed to be helpful to the poster.

Thank you. I will check out the other poster. If not this forum, do you have a suggestion for another gardenweb forum? I am new to this-- I thought perhaps my question was more related to design-- maybe not?
Thanks, though!

This is probably a good forum, however you may not be asking the right question... posters who come here asking just for plant selections or for their places to be designed for them are invariably disappointed.

I'm a little disappointed that you ripped out what might have been mature plantings. It's not a given at all that a small house should have small plantings, and sometimes mature plants can be pruned or cleared of their neighbours to be the star of the show and singlehandedly showcase the house. But that's done.

I think if you read a few pages of old threads on this forum you'll find that not much advice can be given without a photo that gives a full picture of the context, and that even if you do, often people posting questions don't get much advice if they don't appear to be really engaged in the process themselves. The point is for you to design it with others stepping in if you get stumped or are having trouble deciding between options, maybe. Being at a loss for ideas or not knowing enough about plants doesn't really equate to being stumped, and so a lot of people will just scroll past a blank slate/need ideas question.

If you search this forum for "blank slate" you will probably find a mountain of threads with similar questions. Many of us have posted suggestions for getting started, including about visiting nurseries and landscape supply yards, reading books and magazines, conjuring up a vision, working with the principles of good design, starting with foundation planting vs. with the rest of the yard, staying within your maintenance capacity, and getting it done one step at a time. Foundation planting in particular has gotten a lot of attention and a search for that will also generate lots of threads. I hope you'll find something useful.

By the way that's very cool brickwork on the front of your house and I wouldn't block it much, if at all.

KarinL

Thank you KarinL for your ideas and feedback. Pardon my new-ness.

I was wondering what options I might have for a tallish (more vertical) planting/shrub/tree for the wide open space between the two windows. I do like the brickwork too but I think it might need something tall there....do you agree?
Thank you!
Shannon

Just a thought. A space between two windows does not have to have something upright to fill the space. Just like you don't have to plant shrubs that only go up to the windows. In my opinion one way to determine size of plants for particular homes is to draw a line from the bottom, middle of front door up to the corner of the house. That line can be a guide for how plant heights will work in reference to directing your eye towards the front door. Draw the line on your photo, one line from front door to the left corner and another line from front door to the right corner. This might help give you some direction. IMO it is not always necessary to plant shrubs across the house foundation. Sometimes groundcover and a specimen type tree will do a better job. Personally, I like to plant mixed shrub borders along the front and/or sides of my property for my view from inside the house. Using plants that work together and do not need to be sheered to them in check. Maybe some occasional pruning of individual branches.

As far as the particular types of plants to use, may I suggest bringing a picture to your local Nursery for their advice? I havenÂt tried it but maybe googling foundation plants might turn up something.

I hope I was helpful and apologize if not.
Ally

The first thing that "hit" me in the photo of your home was the the gorgeous brick work--it would be a shame to hide that unusual feature of your home. If it were me, I would be looking for ways to accentuate or frame that feature with landscaping.

"Ranch" doesn't mean you need to limit yourself to dwarf planting, but maybe you and I have a different idea of what "dwarf" means.

You say you like ornamental grasses--most of these require a good amount of sun and you haven't indicated which direction your home faces (its orientation) and how much sun it receives, so it is impossible to say whether grasses will do well for you as part of a foundation plan.

But, beyond that, you need to put together a basic plan and then ask for advice on this forum.

My suggestion would be to take the picture of your home to a nursery, along with the information about its orientation and the amount of sun (in hours, is it morning or afternoon sun). Nursery folks will be happy to help you, answer questions, direct you to some plants/shrubs that will do well--you don't need to use the anonymity of this forum--we were all beginners once--most of us probably before the internet was available--

Last, it's ok to make mistakes and not "get it right" the first time--very few of us have gotten it right the first time--either outside or inside our homes--inside, you just re-paint--outside, you can move most things around at least once.

Ally and Busyd95-- thank you for the feedback. I now have had two complements on the brick work so I am feeling better about it. I have taken pictures and will shop with some assistance at the nurseries. It is a good time of year given the sales!

You have given me some good insight.

Thank you!
Shannon

The photo you provide only shows the house, and not even the whole house. Can you post a photo that shows a bit of the surrounding area? Is there any other landscaping in the front? How big is the front lawn?

Not every house needs a necklace of plants around it. Sometimes you can "set off" the house by framing it with plantings a bit more forward on the lot better than with foundation hugging plants.

Also, planting only up against the house means you won't be able to use any large shrubs or small trees, which I think are necessary in most cases to nestle the house "into" the lot instead of leaving it as a blob "on" the lot.

The most common goals in designing a front yard are to create a safe and attractive entry that is welcoming and clearly visible to visitors, to relate the house to the lot and setting, to frame the view of the house in an attractive way, to accentuate the house's good points and mitigate any awkward bits of architecture, and to provide practical benefits like lighting, walks, and shade where necessary. Using only foundation plantings without giving some attention to the entire front of the lot will not result in the best plan, IMO.

What are *your* goals?

Thank you saypoint, for the feedback. My goals are really to make the outside of the house look more appealing and add "curb appeal". I know some folks on these boards view that as a "dirty word"...but in truth, I want the outside to look nice without a huge investment as I will likely only live here for another year or two.

My husband and I actually spent the weekend planting! To our novice eye, it looks decent--- it isn't professional, but it is a start. We have many small (e.g., one gallon size) plantings, but have hope that by next summer it will fill in a bit (combined with some annuals).

I'll try and get another picture up soon for feedback. It is raining today!
Thanks so much!
seg189

Here is an image or two of the new plantings. I hope that I can get feedback and what/where more plants would look nice. I think another tall tree (the alberta spruce is in the middle) might look good. Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: new plantings

The plants appear to be much much to close to the foundation. Give yourself at least three feet.

Even though you're only living there a short time, the plants are hopefully there to stay.

OK, I'm getting the sense that you're not really all that interested in landscape design, as most of the advice above doesn't seem to have influenced what you've done, and that's OK - it's your house. You just wanted advice on plant selection for a foundation planting. Most of us don't like doing plant selection advice because beginners don't learn anything about gardening or landscaping when someone who learned it the hard way just tells them to put Plant A into Spot B. Most of us are just people who learned it the hard way and want to ease the learning curve a bit for others - not to save them the trouble of learning.

But you want feedback from the design forum... well, you might not like it, but here goes.

Deciduous and herbaceous plants have a role to play in any garden, of course, as they provide colour and all sorts of seasonal interest, but they have little or no impact from a landscape design standpoint as they essentially disappear or look like a bundle of sticks in winter. Good layout of a garden, including foundation planting, almost always starts with a backbone of evergreen plants to frame and provide context for more seasonal plantings. If I can see correctly, you have exactly one evergreen plant, and that one is an alberta spruce planted precisely where most of us suggested you not plant anything (and where I think it will get only shade, and die) and in a terribly geometric spot in an otherwise non-geometric setting.

Alberta spruce makes most landscape-sensitive people go "gaaaaak!" because it is so common and so... commonplace. Search the forum for old threads if you want to know why. But if you must have one, and they can be cute when young, it needs a family. Putting the poor thing out there alone is like having one pink flamingo. A grouping looks witty, but a single looks tacky. Find a few other evergreens that offer a variety of leaf shape, plant shape, and size, and plant the Alberta in a grouping with them off the left corner of your house, similar to what has been done on the right corner by previous owners (though it's uniform there; on the other side some variety of shape would be good).

You seem determined to cover up that lovely brickwork no matter what anyone says. But a single sore thumb plant up the middle looks like... a sore thumb. Honestly, that area needs just a low cushiony effect to soften the foundation, not a spire. Think about what you need as being a wave of plants with a crest somewhere off-centre between the windows, but nothing so brutally upright. That hydrangea might actually be good there, if it's kept trimmed, as it would allow the brickwork to shine in winter.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting curb appeal; we all do. But I think the objective is to improve the look of the house, not just to encircle it with random plants, which can have the absolutely opposite effect.

KarinL

Karin is absolutely correct in her assessment--perhaps you are thinking "dwarf" because the foundation was overgrown when you purchased the house. If you are planning to turn the house around in a year and want curb appeal, a few good sized shrubs are more appealing (and money better spent)than what you have put in.

I do have to retract on one point, namely that I can see today that you have more evergreen material than I thought - one of your photos wouldn't maximize for me yesterday. So the layout will have more presence than I thought, although the Alberta still looks out of place.

However, the issue of light exposure is troublesome, and you haven't yet said which way your house faces. If those are blue star junipers, they won't do well in shade, which is what they will get if the house faces north or east. If it faces somewhere else, they might get enough sun. "Not doing well" means they won't be very blue, and they will get leggy and straggly and probably have sections die off.

If those are euonymuses off the corner, then you have the makings of a solution. You could move the blue star junipers and the alberta spruces over to the corner that gets some sun and put the euonymuses under the nice brickwork and windows, where they will do quite well in shade.

Not sure how your weather is, but be sure to keep the new plants watered through August. Under the overhang, they won't get rain even if it does rain.

KarinL

I mentioned in my second post that the house faces east. I get sun on that side in the morning (e.g., 6am) until about 2pm. I thought that would be considered "sunny" and not "shade"...perhaps I am incorrect on that. I did plant additional evergreen plants such as the juniper and boxwood. I don't have an aversion to alberta spruce and will search other posts as to why they are "unliked" or tacky. I felt that way about aborvitae, thus the alberta spruce seemed like a good alternative. All personal opinion, I guess.