Oops, I think I figured out how to get the pictures to show up here:

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My comments are not to single this poster out but rather to point out a "common sin" that virtually all photos from all parts of the country requesting curb appeal share: There is always crap laying about the yard.

I compliment you on seeking help where you know you need it but haven't a clue as to how to go about accomplishing it. There is a mistaken notion that in order to be more, you always have to get more -- as in get more stuff.

Particularly on the subject of curb appeal, less is almost always more. The first step should always be to remove the junk laying around -- like the leftover siding beside the house. Yeah, yeah, yeah ... We have heard it hundreds of times on this forum already: "Just ignore that (whatever) because we are going to (blah, blah, blah)." Quit making excuses and just do it. Besides ... then you can finally trim up the weeds growing behind the junk up against the house.

Secondly, store the trash cans in the garage (or somewhere out of sight) where they belong. There is almost no better way to say, 'Trashy people live here.' than by proudly keeping your trash cans on display! If you have enough time to tediously stack all those little rocks (a mistake, by the way) around your flower beds with the shrubs planted way too close to the house, you have plenty of time to put the trash cans away.

I know this may have all sounded harsh. It was meant to be. Homeowners who look at the same eyesores every day are the worst judges of their own place. Glaring issues soon become unseen to those who look at them everyday.

Curb appeal is first and foremost giving the impression of cleanliness and attention to detail.

IronBelly

Wow! I wasn't expecting that. All the posts I have read on these forums so far have been so pleasant. Well, thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts. Now, I will go tend to my hurt feelings! J/K ;)

You will find "harsh" on THIS forum at times, and at times it is misplaced. You will also find very good advice with a lot of philosophy thrown in for good measure. What you won't find here: warm fuzzies. That's why I like this forum so much. Not very many posters here waste time gushing.

Dont be put off by any one post.

Do a search for "curb appeal" here, or better yet, "blank slate," and also read wellspringÂs post "First Things," just posted, and read the answers as they come up.

Maro

While it doesn't often engender the warm and fuzzy feeling many posters seem to want, being presented with the truth is always preferrable than sugar coating the issue. And IB's words certainly reflect the truth, as harsh as it may appear :-)

Many new posters to this forum seem to carry some confusion as to what they really want from it and often request things in very generic terms. Like "curb appeal" for example. This really relates to how the world outside - those driving by in cars - views your home and property and was coined by the real estate industry to assist with sales. Is this really what you want (is your home that visible from the road? Do you intend to sell it soon?)? Or do you really want to make the exterior spaces and appearance more pleasing to your eye and useful to you? If that is more the case then outlining what you want your home to say to you and how you want to use the outdoor spaces is the first order of business. If you contemplate a more gracious and welcoming entry, both for you and for visitors, and you wish outdoor seating, then yes, a large, low, partially covered deck or wraparound porch may be an answer.

Also, right now there is nothing to connect your home to the landscape - it is just plunked down on a sea of lawn. It looks awkward and isolated, neither of which promote much in the way of 'curb appeal'. Developing a landscaping/hardscape plan that gives the house some grounding and context and very much needed architectural interest will help.

Keep going - you'll get there. Despite what TV shows may illustrate to the contrary, developing curb appeal and/or a landscape plan does not happen overnight. Nor with a few suggestion from an online forum. But it can be a start.

Honestly, what IB said was that I have a garbage can and leftover siding out front and that things would improve once they were removed. Earth-shattering suggestion. The can was there because I was removing tons of weeds and rocks and needed something larger than my pale. The siding was there because I built a shed with it. So, since that is becoming a focus here I just figured I would clear it up. Those two 'issues' have already been resolved.

I do want the truth gardengal, but it is not truthful to tell someone that other people view them as trashy because on one particular day they had a garbage can outside their house. That is just unkind.

I will check out the archives to see if I can find a situation with similar issues and try to come up with some more ideas.

Peace,
M

The walk is nice. The curve gives it a more natural look and feel.

If you aren't a big *gardener* you can still put some very nice low maintenance plants around the building.

Look for variations in height and texture to b reak up the tall, box structure of the main building.

Also, no matter how deep your foundation bed is, it probably won't be deep enough (as far as space in front of the house) MI started with an 18" wide bed, aand then changed that to 3' deep the next year, and now, I have 20' deep in stone walkway and gardens.

You can also raise the flower beds some more, which it looks like you are doing.

Some plants for starters that are inexpensive, and can fill in quickly with minimal maintenance are

Day lilies( if you get them from a big box, look for multi branched plants that you vcan divide immediately. You might get as many as 6 individual plants per pot.

Low spreading juniper
Birdnest Spruce
bulbs
Iris

For visual evergreen interest, look at weeping pines, weeping spruce, etc.

Of course, don't forget the wildflowers and the annuals.

Butterfly Bush grows quickly as a perennial here, with profusion of flowers.

So, I guess the idea would be to start off with the filler plants that are inexpensive, durable and quick, then adjust with rarer specimens as you go. That way you'll, get an instant garden with minimal expense and labor.

Mark-

Lastly, for fragrance, you can even try something like Clethra

Okay, with the issues precipitating the harsh reply addressed, you've got a few more months of a Pennsylvania winter to ponder some ideas. Have no credentials, but follow these forums since I've got some pondering to do myself.

First off - very nice cupola and weathervane; an enviable architectural detail. And secondly, I'd make the slate even blanker by removing the rock borders (rocks are just too small to be effective) and repositioning the small too close to the foundation shrubs into a grouping somewhere else. The flowering or winter kale in the barrels seems too small to make an impact - I know it's winter, but in the growing months an arrangement with some heigh, density (even a touch of bold color) and something cascading over the edges would be an inexpensive fix with annuals.

I suspect your property is subject to scavenging deer and wildlife - although nothing is foolproof, some research into those items more reliably resistant is worth the trouble. And, yes, as mentioned, your house does need some kind of landscaping to anchor it to the property. So, you have to decide if you want foundation plantings (quite a few threads on the pros and cons of foundation planting) to draw the attention to the house or off set plantings to divert the attention to the property as a whole.

What kind of landscape did you envision and how much of the immediate surround of the house did you plan to devote to landscaping? Is it important to keep all the grass or would you like shaped or island beds? How much maintenance are you willing to do? Do you like conifers, ornamental flowering trees, cottage or potager gardens, a riot of color or a more subdued palette? Are you planning decks or patios or any other type of hardscaping?

I like shutters, but with two front facing windows in relatively close proximity and of differing sizes, you might be a little unhappy with the look. Window boxes might throw off the kilter, too, as the house looks now. But a planting of shrubs under the larger window, allowed to grow naturally (and not tortured into all manner of shapes which seems to be a popular pasttime in the Mid Atlantic regions) up to the height of the window, could be counterbalanced with a window box under the shorter window along with foundation shrubs. A box there would serve to "lengthen" the shorter window. Too bad the light dividers are going in different directions.

There's also a thread going on the cost of pergolas.

Nice suggestions duluth.

You make some excellent points re's symmetry, etc. I'm not a big fan of symmetrical gardens...they tend to take too much work. I like to plant and go...weed a couple times quickly and just watch things grow.

Hehehe...

Then go back move things around if they are either not happy..OR if they are too happily overwhelming things....

I find it can be a real challenge to place some plants in the right proximity so they don't need to be divided or moved too often...because of that., I've expanded some beds 3 times since moving here in 02....but this isn't about me (sorry bout that)

Mark and Duluth--I really appreciate your thoughtful responses. The deer practically live in my yard--they are napping in my snow right now actually. My dog has befriended them, so there goes plan A. ;)

I think having a cottagey style out there would be nice in the sense that it would tone down the starkness of the lines of the house. And I'm not really a fussy person to begin with so I probably couldn't keep up with a really tailored look.

One thing I hadn't thought of that you mention is having island beds throughout the yard. It does complicate mowing, but I think the effect could be great in terms of diverting the focus to other more natural looking spots.

Also, what I think you thought was a fountain is actually a fire pit I put together. Since I took that picture I de-sodded a large circle slightly intersecting the fire pit. I was thinking I would stone that for a sitting/eating area. I was thinking of planting another series of intersecting circles ending back at the bed alongside the path. It is hard to explain so I attached a little sketch.
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I am also planning a kitchen garden that I will need to fence with 7 foot deer mesh. Here is a little sketch I just did. The land is very rolling so I am restricted with where to put the large fenced area in terms of flatness.

What do you think of the heavy barrel planters flanking the door? Too heavy? I could relocate these too, down away from the property by an area of old oaks and a swing I am developing.

If I could get my hands on the same metal roofing that is there now, do you think it would be worth the expense of building out an overhang over the front door? Or do you think an arbor would have a similar affect and maybe even soften it up a bit? It's hard for me to imagine stuff like that. An arbor with vines might look strange on this house.

Thanks again for the input. It is fun to have this time to plan but I am anxious for the nice weather to come so I can get my hands dirty again. :)

Peace,
M

In looking at your house etc, I am reminded of the casual looking gardens that Tracy diSabato-Aust has in her books on perennial gardening. She lives in Columbus, OH and there are a number of photos of her own gardens in her books http://www.timberpress.com/authors/id.cfm/380
She has a log home but I see similarities in style of property. I think every library out there has copies of her books for you to look at. Just go look at her meandering stone paths and large swaths of color set with permanent evergreens and large stone.

I think your biggest challenge will be scale. I think many will agree with me that beginners always make things too small. Not that I'm a pro- unfortunately too far from it, but I try to show myself what other people see by taking lots of photos season by season and year by year so I can see what others see. I have a really poor eye all by myself.

To balance the relative height and plain-ness of your exterior, you are going to have to add either depth in your front planting beds, or more interest in your plantings, and I hope you will use lots of evergreens, as it could be very bland looking for multiple months of the year with only perennials. I could see using big boulders too and lots of meandering paths all leading up to the front door.

AT High Country Gardens, there are many xeric plants that might suit your water, maintenance and critter-resistance needs. Here's a link to what I was thinking of when I looked at your house. Only I would do beds that had various kinds of evergreens, low shrubs, butterfly bush, small trees like the new 10 ft white birch, small flowering hawthorns or crababpples, winterberry, holly, etc. http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/browse/gardens/

Just don't keep everything up by the front door or you will never shed the look of a pole barn I think. Also I think your barrel planters are too small and set the feel too definitely toward impermanence. Its also really hard to keep them level without cement or pavement to stand them on. I would remove the stones in your stone edged beds up by the house - they are too small and will get kicked into the beds or back somewhere they don't belong. I see a lot of stone scree in your beds - that tells me you have plenty to do to amend your beds anyway - that was probably construction stone from the foundation or got kicked in from the driveway. Don't get too unnerved by Ironbelly. He is blunt but usually correct in his assessments. I've come to value his comments for myself the occasional times we've crossed paths. But I tighten my belt before I ask his opinion :)

I can't remember if you said you were making a vegetable garden but you could easily have a few easy salad things right out front in your garden like basils, a tomato or 2, or even a few rows of lettuce for spring and fall.

Every new undertaking is fun and a lot of work. The stage you are at now is an important one. So keep looking around for ideas and talking to people.
a

Looking at the sketch I think you are on the right track.

Maybe move the barrels up to flank either side of the drive entrance, that way you can have a shrub mass all green in front.

As for overhang up front....that's what I did. I built a 6x12 post and beam front porch and a stone path across the front..perhaps a little too straight, but I like it.

Here's a pic of that

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Like you, I don't want to do too much maintenance...no time what with all the projects I'm working on.

My home has more symmetry, so I planted a little asymmetrically, to add more variety and make it look more natural. Even so, I used stellas as edging through much of the beds and things like that.

My main problem is flowering times....not enough in bloom at any one time. But that should get bette3r this year with the scattering of other plants I put in this last fall.

You should post your house in the home decorating forum. It is in the home section of garden web. Talanted people do amazing things with photo shop.

Mermanmike,
I am so jealous you have 7 glorious acres to enjoy!
It takes time and patience to landscape your big garden area, and it is an ongoing process changing and growing just as you will change and grow.
Go inside your house and look out of the window.
Try your living area first.
WHat do you want to see when you look out of the window?
DO you want a nice porch to sit on out front someday?
What do you want to see when you sit on the porch?
DO you want some shade to cool the porch off? Then research planting a tree on the front yard.
Not real close to the house, but after you build your porch,
see where you want it to shade you.
That is how you slowly develop your garden.
Instead of the tiny rocks you put in, stepping stones are nice.
DOn't be afraid to plant something, if it doesn't work out, you can usually always transplant it somewhere else.
Congragulations on your new home.
Enjoy it. That's an order.

Thanks for all the good advice. Your porch looks really attractive Zen. I would consider almost that exact design if my roof had a steeper pitch. The green is really nice.

That High Country Garden page is awesome Alyrics...if I could achieve 25% of what they have in some of the pics I will be gleaming ear to ear. I think you're right that lots of color and depth will make a big difference out front. That could soften things up quite a bit.

The soil is very rocky in this area. The nursery down the road said not to worry too much about ammending my soil because it hasn't affected them very much. She said just pull out the big ones as I plant. The land I'm on was subdivided from the neighboring cattle farm. The angus beef grazed this land for decades so I'm hoping that has increased the fertility of the soil a lot.

Thanks again for all the help and peace to you all..
M

Oh wow, a neighboring cattle farm?! You have seven acres, and easy access to loads of cow manure? I'm sooo jealous.

I would definitely test the soil before planting shrubs, amendments depend on what you choose. But adding organic material like compost should be a yearly, routine thing in a cultivated bed. Raising the beds, depending on how much you raise them, could really change the look of your property, this is where I would consider paying for professional advice. You don't want water to run off into your house, but taking advantage of the rolling pasture might require more experience.

The first thing you should consider are where the trees may go. Do you need a evergreen screen or windbreak.....would you like some shade? You will be able to use smaller stock if you make up your mind sooner. Smaller trees can better adapt to their environment. Just make sure you understand what you are planting in regard to spacing and hardiness.

Umm, how about a water feature? It would add some dimension and both visual interst along with a area where you could relax and take all your hard work in.

As we have hit rock bottom with the 'water feature' thing unless we mean a lake on those 7 acres I feel compelled to offer my humble opinion. A house such as this within the acreage does not need to be the focus so the whole 'curb appeal' bolloc8s doesn't apply. I am not knocking the house, although cedar cladding would be better, it is what it is and having it fit in its place would be more what I would be looking at. Curb appeal is a suburban idea that doesn't apply. So The House is within a landscape and it is the landscape that you should concentrate on not the house. I see a barn in a garden if that makes any sense to you.

Mermanmike, you must have walked under a lucky star to have found such a little slice of paradise as your "first" home. Once you've brought that sketch of yours to life, and grown accustomed to having all that gorgeous space around you, you may never want to leave it ...

Unlike most of the regular posters here, i'm neither a landscape professional, nor an accomplished gardener. But like you, i found myself in the position of having a bit of empty acreage to fill. So i have a few things to share ...

First, trees! Some may disagree with me, but it's my belief that trees are a "can't loose" place to begin, even if your vision for the whole acreage isn't thoroughly developed. Grab your favorite beverage, walk around your property, and try to look at your entire space with trees in mind (factoring in their mature proportions of course). I'm guessing your local nurseries would happily provide a wealth of information regarding what trees will grow well in your local conditions.

Along with planting a few key trees, i love the idea of taking on an "immediate gratification" project. Someone above suggested a window box under the smaller of your two windows, with foundation plants beneath both to create the illusion of symmetry. I LOVE this idea! I would do that right away as well ...

Beyond that, enjoy your space, enjoy the changes as you make them, and remember that it all doesn't have to be "done" in a season, a year, or even a few years. Even right at this very moment, there's something sublime about having all that wide open space at your front door ...

mermanmike-
Congratulations on your home! I don't have a green thumb and needs lots of advice myself but one suggestion to imcrease "curb appeal" is to paint your front door. Currently, your sidng and door seem close in color-have you considered painting it a dark green or another color to make it pop?
Good luck and don't feel like you have to do everything at once. It may be helpful to live with the space before spending lots of money!

I would add shutters. The front of the house looks very flat to me. I also agree with the op who suggested painting the front door. I would widen the side beds and add some shrubs. It looks like the soil could use some amending and mulch. I love the fire pit, perhaps you could build that area up as a focal point using benches or an outdoor furniture set. Your place looks very airy and peaceful; you'll be amazed at how it slowly transforms over the years as you try out different ideas. Enjoy!

i love your PA hillside...wonderful!
i think that you could have a nice large porch most of the way across the front and maybe even wrapping around the side. that would be very welcoming...as well as giving you a place to take off your boots, it would also lessen the need to add details such as shutters or shingles to the front. trellis could be added to the front of the porch as part of the porch plan...just don't make the uprights for the porch roof too skinny (4 x 4s)

we have many deer and they eat everything, literally everything except the holly and the butterfly bush. it might be too windy where you are for butterfly bush though..i have found it to be pretty brittle..

FWIW i don't like your little cupola and weathervane...it reminds me even more that this house started as a barn. but that country style might work for you!! for the same reason, i don't like the barrel planters.

we have many stones at our house...i used to move them around, but for now they are staying right where they are until i have a plan for them. i agree that it might look better with them moved, but i would save yourself some work and leave them there until you need the space, or you have a firm plan for them (dry creek bed??)

I think some nice detail around the front door would be nice, maybe some nice moldings or something. On the left side of the photo on the corner of the house a nice weeping tree of some kind would be a nice start and some kind of scuptural bush of some kind between to the left of the garage door to break it apart from the front of the house. Shutters and window boxes would be lovely.

I'm with Inkognito - you need to think about the property, or at least a far bigger picture than the house itself. It may be the house that you want to look nicer, but giving it a garden (or a woodland?) to nestle into is the best way to do that. Whatever you need in the way of garden amenities - patio etc - can be put away from the house or will look crammed, won't it?

KarinL

Congrats on your new home. I am glad that the initial harsh reply did not scare you away. Most people do not have a perfect house or yard, and understand when you post pics that your house isn't perfect either.

I second Mudpie's suggestion to post on the home decorating forum...there are a couple of people there that are very helpful w/ photo shopping.

I think the fact that it is a tin/ metal siding makes the exterior look very cold. I really think a nice warm, cozy cottage look would be wonderful. Maybe you can begin by finding a list of deer resistant plants and research each one that may be of interest to you. I love the layered look and since you have a blank slate to work with, you could really have an enjoyable time making this home your own. I like the thought of a painted door and shutters. You may want to try to balance the two windows though. Adding window boxes may also look nice, again with balance in mind. Oh, and I love the cupola...very nice =)

Good luck!

I'm very late to the party, but here goes. Well, I think your place has lots of potential. I did not read every response in detail, so I hope I don't duplicate what others have said. I'm not a professional designer.

First where in PA are you? I'm in Lancaster county and there are lots of quality nurseries with good prices.

A good book for beginners is "Garden Primer" by Barbara Damrosch.

And it is good advice, but hard to do, maybe try living thru all four seasons before you make changes. You might get surprised by drainage patterns, etc.

Is your house visible from the road? Maybe take a pic from there to help visualize the house and setting. Do you ever plan to subdivide the property or build another home, as the previous owners did? This would make a difference for large tree placement.

My sense of your question is that you just want to make your house and its setting look better. It sounds like you are new to gardening and still developing a sense of style. The curving path is nice. I would suggest making an area in front of door that would serve as a "landing", say about a 4 ft x 4 ft square (could be bigger though, but not entire width of house) that would be a transition from path to front door. Use slate or more substantial stepping stones for this landing. Then move planters away from house to somewhere else.

Make the beds deeper, with some curves. I read somewhere that if take your house and tipped it forward on its 'face', your beds should be that deep.

I would use some cone shaped evergreens by corners of the house, do not exceed the height of house. Pant a grouping of shrubs to step down a bit from these tallest shrubs next to the corners. Maybe around the corner from the garage you could make a little landing pad for garbage can, and then they could be somewhat hidden from view by the evergreens. I'm thinking in hot summer you will want the cans outside and not in the garage.

Maybe a trellis between window and driveway to soften exterior of house. Adding shutters will be nice, use the paneled type, not louvered. (you have enough "lines" with the siding.)

Not sure about good choices for deer resistant plants, that seems to be very regional. Maybe the nursery down the road can help with that..

How much sun do you get, and what zone?

If sunny then you could do a lot. Holly both evergreen and deciduous with some berries. You will need male and female plants with hollies. Also, arborvitae, or juniper, for evergreen shrubs. I would put some rounded, kind of fluffy evergreens, in front also. There are some arborvitaes like that, some have gold foilage. I think the foundation planting can't get too huge though, you don't want to overwhelm the house. Then some easy care perennials, coral bells, daylily, daisy, white and purple cone flowers, lambs ears, yarrow and some ornamental grasses.
Other deciduous shrubs that could be nice in a a separate border are butterfly bush, they can get huge, though. Viburnums, some smell wonderful, but others not so much, so check them out when in bloom. Clethra is nice but takes forever to leaf out in spring so you may not want this in front of house. Other easy care deciduous shrubs are itea, fothergilla, they both get nice fall color, beauty berry, red twig dogwood, blue mist shrub. You could incorporate these with some huge spruces in a largish bed, some distance from house but visible from inside.

Best of luck.

VERY late to the party, but I like to do curb appeal makeovers for fun. Here are some ideas:

I think surrounding the front yard with a rustic fence, covered in climbing roses or other vine if they are not hardy in your zone.
Most of the front area would be decomposed granite with paver stone walkways.
Large flower boxes on stone supprts would add depth to the front and accentuate the windows.
Consider painting the doors and trim barn red.
I added a shed roof pergola for a little shady spot to sit.
Rustic benches near the fire pit.
Farm style lighting.
A new garage door resembling an old fashioned barn door
Shutters on the side windows with "farm art" on the wall

a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/50366623@N07/4657804708/"; title="pennsylvania barn sketch by krystolo, on Flickr">{{gwi:54687}}

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Oh I really like the idea of painting the house red! And leave the window edges white! And add some black in there too. That would imo create a wonderful color scheme to start working on the yard with.

Okay, so give us an update on how your planting look now!