Nice job on the pond! Window boxes under the front windows, in the summer months would certainly add charm. If this were my house, I would replace or take off the storm door, I would add shutters back to the windows because they add additional accents and are really the eye-lashes of the house. For paint color, take clues from the colors in the roof or I like a burgundy/brown. Look at the colors in the dogwood tree and how well they accent the house. I really did like the portico over the door in the first picture! As far as landscaping, I would keep it very simple. A burgundy lace-leaf japanese maples with a few dwarf evergreens would be enough up against the house. I would have told you to keep the dwarf alberta spruce as well...

Don't know what others think about it but I would remove the boards from around the tree. It just makes the yard look smaller. Grass may not grow all the way to the trunk but wherever it ends you would put down a little mulch.

I'm glad you are planning to replace the porch because, to be brutally honest, it strikes me that the house has lost a lot of what made it charming before.

The landscape was certainly part of that, even though it did consist of overgrown, misplanted, scraggly shrubs poorly selected for their site, and a heaved, broken sidewalk. Nestled into its shrubbery and overhung by more greenery, the house was grounded, settled; it belonged. Now, stripped even of its shutters and with the addition of that wall, it looks like it is perched on a barge or a flatbed, like a house that is loaded and about to be moved somewhere.

Removing the shrubbery and the sidewalk were obviously necessary; limbing up the tree less so, but what's done is done. The trick now is to recover the effect of that landscape within five years, and perennials aren't going to cut it here. You need evergreens.

If the evergreens have enough visual weight and overhang the wall a bit, they may be able to overcome the barge effect, but I'm honestly not sure the wall is a good thing at all.

I would also reshape the sidewalk. Although subtle, the original flare at the stoop had a welcoming, softening effect that the new paver walk, though nicer and cleaner, cannot match.

I too would add the shutters back... I'm not sure they can overcome the less homey look of the narrower siding but I think they would help.

The funny thing is that the work that you've done for yourself rather than for resale (the pond) is extraordinarily charming and loaded with character. The work you've done at the front absolutely lacks the heart that the pond project has; it has rather a generic, institutional quality. I think you can soften it up, but given what you are obviously capable of in terms of landscaping, I can't figure out why you did it this way... or even why you need anyone's help!

KarinL

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you first for taking the time to respond to my post. Thank you also for sharing your ideas and for the nice compliments on the pond.

I agree 100% on what you all have stated.

I put in the retaining wall only because of the extensive large roots sitting mostly above ground from the Blue spruce and the amount of bad sandy soil, concrete chunks, old layers of lava rock, that would have had to be removed. ( I guess I was also getting a bit lazy after tackling the interior.) It was a $100.00 investment and easy to put up. I also thought it would add something to help with the plain look of the house. But I agree, it does look like it's on a barge.

As far as the shutters, It was suggested by a few neighbors that they were outdated and not to replace them. But I agree, it needs something. Maybe a different style of shutter? Is there such a thing?

As far as the large spruce, that was the first thing my new neighbors asked, if I was taking down the ugly old spruce. I am the only house on the block with such a tree. The are disappointed that it will remain. I trimmed it up further to bring in more sunlight for grass to grow better. I am taking out the old timber around the tree. I plan on replacing the grass in the spring.

I honestly don't understand why my vision for the front of the house turned out like it did. In my "minds eye" it looked right...but it's not obviously. And that is why I came to ask for help. The porch had to come down, it was ready to fall down. The old aluminum siding was missing in many areas, torn, shredded and had been painted several times. It was cost effective to replace it with vinyl and not fix it.

I will go to a local nursery and look at evergreens tomorrow. Take a photo with me and see if they can assist. This is a southwest exposure so I have lots of options now that the tree is not shading so much. I do have confidence when it comes to perennial beds, but honestly, I am a little intimidated with actual "landscape design".

Thanks again for taking your time to help a complete stranger. In our busy lives that we all have, there is never enough time in the day. It is so nice to see that some folks will take the time. That's great! Renee

I see this completely differently from Karin. Karin would restore the cottagey look to the house. I would take the modernization and run with it.

The unshuttered windows and fresh siding give the house a lean, clean look, and the garden should accentuate that -- lean, clean, straight lines, grids. No fluffy cottagey stuff. I tend to think I would remove the tree, but not having seen the whole tree and house in a photo, I hesitate to say so definitively, but it will free up your ability to use the space effectively.

Start over with the beds, and don't confine yourself to their current configuration. Use straight lines and the same material as the walk. The lumpy stacked stuff does nothing for your cute house. Remove the ring around the tree to the left of the door; it is awkward and unnecessary. Remove the lawn. Keep the small tree to the left of the door.

Karin is right about evergreens. I don't know if such a thing exists, but I can imagine miniature Italian cypress evergreens in front of the house, perhaps five of them.

Now imagine the front divided into a large grid, perhaps even using small hedges in some sections to accentuate it, your paver/wall material in other sections. Imagine the walk redone as part of the grid, a large square at the base of the steps, then perhaps offsetting the next square to the right, then back to center where it meets the sidewalk. Play with the arrangement until it feels right.

I'm not able to explain this very well with words, but I have a photo I can post this evening that will illustrate something similar. But the main thrust of my post is: think modern, clean, straight lines to mimic the house. Most of what you have in front right now conflicts with the fresh new look of the house.

I can see the merits of Catkim's approach. And I think she's right that the curve of the raised bed is one thing that contributes to its wrongness.

But either way the tree obviously remains an issue. It isn't the tree's canopy that is creating grass trouble; it's the roots. And if the roots were bad under the raised bed, they are potentially going to cause trouble for your foundation. It's a waste of time/money to replace the grass; new grass won't grow any better.

If you can't afford to remove the tree yet, perhaps you could see if the neighbours are keen enough on removal to contribute. When we wanted our neighbours to remove their large tree that was eating our house, we paid for half. Then you really would have scope to do something nice in the front yard. Are you allowed a hedge?

KarinL

One more note -- about the cost of the tree removal. I've been getting bids this week for tree trimming or possible removal. I find the prices are lower in the current economy than they were two years ago when I hired an arborist to trim. This time I explain I'm getting several bids, so they know they are in competition. Maybe you've done that, but 1500 sounds high relative to the prices I'm getting, about 30% less, including debris removal and stump grinding for three trees, but of course there are variables that will affect the cost.

I went outside today and took a couple more photos of the house so you can see the tree. You will notice also how low the tree branches were before I trimmed it up. You could barely see the front of the house before.

Thank you catkim for offering to post the photos tonight, I would love to see them.

And yes KarinL, we are allowed to have a hedge.

My boyfriend would like to try to piece taking the tree down in sections himself....but that really scares the hell out of me! Especially with it being in the power lines. I phoned the electric company to see if they would take it down because of it being in the wires, they said no. I will attempt to get a better price.

I appreciate all the comments and ideas! Renee

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OK--I'm going to say it. That huge tree needs to come down. It looks ridiculous, and trimming it up didn't help at all. $1500 would be about right for a tree that size, that close to power lines and a structure in my area. Don't know about Michigan. Regardless, it will be money well-spent.

Get someone licensed and bonded.

melanie

I bet that was someone's live Christmas Tree from way back when...what a beautiful tree. It would pain me to cut it down but clearly how could something that size be saved or even relocated. Taking it down is clearly something for the professionals, if a branch fell and hit something, you don't want the liability.

I can see the cost easily being around $1500 to take out that tree since it's so close to power lines and your home, plus a neighbors driveway.

Do not let your BF try to take that tree down if he doesn't have the equipment nor the training or it could end up costing you much more than $1500....... plus medical costs.

You should also post over on the Home Decorating forum since there are a couple of members over there that do photoshopping and have helped others with their home exterior.

Here is a link that might be useful: HD

cute little place. Price for tree removal seems fair, and you'd get twice the amount of pleasure from clean slate and light as the investment.

Whoa, Renee, that is a BIG tree. I would take it out, and I would pay the 1500 to have it done. Wow.

Ok, I found the pix I was thinking of, but of course they don't look so modern as I had imagined -- funny how memories can be so inaccurate. Nevertheless, I will post them, as they illustrate a no-lawn front garden using straight lines. The point of my exercise is not to show something you can copy exactly, but something to change your perception of what can be done with your space.
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My neighbours' conifer was a lot bigger and denser than that and it was taken down by an owner/operator outfit for (Cndn) $1400 plus $350 for stump grinding. I did think at the time that this was the deal of the century and you may not be able to match it locally but do shop around - it depends on things like how far it is to the place where they dump the chippings and whether you need a utility arborist, among other things. But consider not having the stump ground out since that adds a lot. I watched the job being done and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to the boyfriend since there is a lot of equipment needed and the control of falling material is key in this small area. (You said new roof, right??)

As far as landscaping is concerned, I like the site that Catkim has shown. It strikes me that whatever layout you select, there is evergreen foliage that has some height to it, and some overhanging foliage. This is a really interesting arrangement of hedging material, and something could be picked up from that for your needs.

And I'm no house design maven but I do note that this one does have overhangs and shutters.

KarinL

Sorry but this is a no brainer. Pay the money to take out the tree. Notice no one else in the neighborhood had a big ol' spruce in front of their house! The only reason to have planted that tree was to obscure/hide the house from the street, or have a cute Christmas tree in the front yard, both of which have now been rendered moot because the tree has been limbed up. It doesn't even shade your house. Its only function at this point is to look weird.

After that, you can do whatever you like with the front, you have a clean slate. Even plain grass would be fine. Just make sure that whatever you do with the front, you keep it to scale with the house, and plan for future growth/size/space requirements. Those are the mistakes that the previous house owners made and you don't want to repeat them.