At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I think you are attempting to put the cart before the horse :-) Rather than requesting some specific plant or placement suggestions, I think you will be far better served by taking some time to develop a well-thought out plan for the entire garden, taking into consideration how you intend to use the garden, how you will call out the entry area, any outside living/entertaining areas, space for kids to play (possibly), any needs for privacy or screening, any desire to focus on or frame the extended landscape/views, etc., etc.

You might want to review some of the other current posts on this forum like the one on "where to start" or "smaller details versus the bigger picture". And the archives should provide additional posts that will help you formulate some important questions you should be asking yourself before you begin picking out and placing specific plants.

As an aside, have you considered any larger shade trees for your new landscape and where they might be most suitably placed to provide any needed shade/summer cooling or to frame the drive and provide grounding and scale to the house?

Beautiful new home, btw, and what looks to be a stunning setting :-))

Gorgous setting! I think you need a babbling brook water feature. :)

The only thing I know is that I love perennials and lots of color, but those plants are secondary to getting the main trees and bushes placed and wouldn't go in until the spring of '09. Does that make sense? I'm also not in love with the way the landscape slopes away from the ramp on the left side and would like to mask that slope as much as possible, which is why I thought putting a tall tree there would help . . .?

One thing I did not include in my pictures was the plant box. The ramp ascends and makes a 90 degree turn to the front door. This ramp wraps around a 10x10 area full of topsoil. This can and will be my seasonal garden that will include annuals, but I'd also like something evergreen for those winter months.

I don't have a formal plan beyond that, and really, at this point, I don't care to have a formal plan. After GCing this house, complicated decisions are the last thing I want to make. LOL! I had to laugh when I met a lady at my daughter's school the other day who was lamenting building her first home. I told her this was our second house. She shook her head and said, "We're not doing this again."

I'm not surprised to hear you're not ready to plan the whole landscape after building the house. I think it's great that you have a little up-close area to give yourself some immediate gratification plant-wise. The only problem with the plant-by-plant approach is that it's not something that a landscaping forum can help much with because it's just about the relationship between you and the property.

All I can say is what I would do if I were you, which in this case is to get some trees in the ground - not at the foundation, which I would do last if at all, but out on the grounds, to provide destination shade, mark the property boundaries, or something.

I also think I would emphasize the slopes, not mask them, since they are the only landscape features you have and flattening them out does not appear to be an option. You can always shift them a little with retaining walls, but you'd be working on a big scale and it would be a big project.

You could plant the weigelas as a casual hedge or a group somewhere for now and see how you like them.... they can be moved for a few years yet. As for other plants for your zone... we'd have to know the zone! But that's probably better done in other forums, such as a regional one or one specific to shrubs, conifers, etc, than in a landscape design forum anyway.

KarinL

Agree with gardengal; though you don't have to think of it as an incredibly detailed plan, your lot seems to be crying out for placement of some larger elements--shade trees--and these plus the orientation of the house will drive some of the other plantings.

Crape myrtles usually have trouble above zone 7, and risk winter die back, unless you've got a new cultivar or perhaps your zone is borderline-- do you see lots of mature crapes (20+ feet tall)--in you area? That would be a consideration for whether to give it a major role in the landscape in which you're counting on it to grow steadily to fit the site. Meaning, 7 ft is a drop in the bucket for that house corner, but if you're planning for growth, then that's different.

Well thanks all! We have a little under 12 acres, and yes, we have about 25 trees in the ground on the property that we planted this spring. :) We just don't have any in the yard directly in front of the house.

And I had to laugh, karinl, since my zone # is in my subject line. That's okay though, I've done the same thing many times.

I'm trying to figure out where to put a mulberry tree and my 7 ft crepe myrtle, the wigelias too, but I'm not sure if it's me, or maybe I'm in the wrong forum, or what, but I was after suggestions, not a detailed plan, just a, "Oh, this would balance this out, and this plant would look good here," type of response. Perhaps the zone forumis where I should go?

Thanks!

I think the point being made is that you might need more than a Crape Myrtle and some Weigela to frame the house and relate it to the rest of the landscape, which is what landscape design is about. As it is now, the house, though very attractive, juts out of the ground all by itself, particularly on the side where it's taller. It needs more substantial plantings than the ones you suggest to make the landscaping in scale with the house and the size of the property, and not just up against the house itself.

Where you put the Crape Myrtle (if it will survive reliably in your zone) is a matter of personal preference, lacking any plan for what will be happening around it later, if anything. Weigela, while a nice enough shrub, can look pretty ratty in the winter, being a tangled mass of sticks once the leaves are gone. They might be better used on the side or back of the house, as a screen, or as part of a larger planting plan that includes some tidier-looking types of shrubs. Unless you want an untidy look, which is entirely possible.

Without an overall plan, it's difficult to advise on placement for specific plants. Kind of like showing us a very large empty living room and asking where you should put the chair and eight pictures. You may have a picture in your head of where you're going with the arrangement, but we don't.

Anyway, the Myrtle will probably look OK, if a little puny, near the left corner of the house. Position it to leave enough space for its mature size.

You don't say how tall the wall is in front. Will it have a railing for safety? The Weigela might be OK there if you plan on trimming them for a more rounded shape, but I personally prefer to put them where they can be left to grow as they would naturally.

I don't blame you for being tired of planning and decision-making. Maybe you should choose a couple of shade trees, seed the lawn, and wait until you recover from building to plan the landscape in more detail. Sorry if this is not what you hoped to hear.

Mea culpa! I was busy looking at the PX and going "I wonder what that is?" I keep thinking I'm literate...sorry!

KarinL

You have great views and a lovely house. I think you could use that slope on the left to enhance a bed that curves around the front of the house to that area. The changes in grade add interest. I think a tall evergreen would be great in that location, I like a blue spruce or deodor cedar for color and softening. Not sure if a magnolia does well in your zone or not...

I need a plan. I don't need a plan. I don't have enough trees/shrubs... I have never been so completely confused in my life! LOL! Well, okay, I experience confusion almost every day.

But back to the subject at hand. . . Can someone offer an idea of what they envision in the way of trees and shrubs for this house? BTW, the steepest section of the ramp (on the left side) is less than 6'.

Not that this matters, but we just planted grass seed on Thursday since a gentle rain has been predicted for the weekend.

If this were my house I wouldn't be thinking about which plants yet but just in general terms of what kind of plants, where. You could always wander around a local nursery if ideas fail you.

My imagination is activated at that ground level entrance, where I think I would put a big patio surrounded at a bit of distance by deciduous trees that offer interest throughout the year (I'm not good with your zone, now that I know what it is), far enough that their roots or debris wouldn't significantly distrub the patio but that some shade/cooling would be provided. Bordering the patio I'd have a sloping rock garden going up the slope to provide something with up-close appeal to look at and work on. Looks like slopes go up both sides from that area.

From the distance view of the house, the trees and patio would provide some visual weight to offset the car(s) in the driveway and the ramp, but because it's a dip there is a bit of seclusion from the road. You could put the Weigelas as a hedge where they would enhance the seclusion during summer, or block a view of any walls you don't like.

I'm wondering if this is meant to be a wheelchair accessible house in which case I wonder whether access is required to the rest of the property, as it would seem that pathways are called for, or whether one would always be getting around on a riding mower or similar vehicle. And the system of pathways would depend on whether you put destinations in the landscape or just need to do maintenance.

Landscaping is really done for people, not for houses alone. That's why it's so hard to make suggestions for a blank slate without knowing who the people inside it are, even for plant suggestions. Are you the kind of person who revels in the rare and the wonderful, and willing to pay extra and hunt it down, or are you happy with the ordinary or classic plants on which you can get a great deal at the big box store?

Blank slate postings are almost always followed by questions from the forum that basically boil down to "well, who are you?" Because that is what dictates the landscaping.

And I get the sense that if you take the time to explain to us who you are and what you like, you will probably not need any help making decisions. As you articulate your needs and expectations to us, they will become clearer to you as well. But I think that is exactly the process that you are a bit too tired to do, although it seems like you have the plant knowledge and the capacity to plan it, if you were not kind of overdosed on doing that process over and over inside.

You will have better luck getting just simple plant suggestions on other forums, most likely. We think too much around here, and overanalyze everything.

KarinL

Thanks, karen. I do love the idea of a patio on the left side. Actually the basement will be a finished apartment for our aging parents at some point in the future. My daughter is handcapped, thus the ramp, but my husband and I figured to do a universal design for us as well, since this will most likely be our last home. That said, the patio is a great idea for the pleasure of whoever is in the downstairs apartment. Will have to plan that into a design when the time comes.

As for you all overthinking things, yeah, I can understand that. :) It's in you, but you're so right that it's not in me right now. I'm casual and laid back and brain dead right now. HA!

I'll ask for suggestions elsewhere.

Grins!
Sandra

If I had a big house like that and a view like that, I would want to plant some trees in my yard that are called "specimen" trees--trees you plant for their gorgeous and impressive form when grown in full sun. One example are those huge blue spruces, although they are not a favorite of mine. My favorite specimen tree is copper beech. Another is magnolia. A third is weeping european birch, although that one can be a challenge to keep the bugs off. Hemlock, Norway spruce, scarlet oak or red maple, dawn redwood, ginkgo, weeping cherry, goldenchain tree are some other examples. You plant a specimen tree in a spot where you will be able to enjoy looking at it a lot.

Also, if it were me, I'd want to plant trees around the house to cut my cooling and heating bills. In general, that means evergreens on the north side of the house to provide a windbreak, and deciduous trees on the south side of the house to shade in summer but let in light in winter.