Advice on foundation landscaping

12 years ago

I have about $1,000 to spend. A local nursery in my area provides a free design service. You fill out a questionnaire and provide pictures of your area to be landscaped. On this questionnaire they ask for measurements, how high your windows are, what your likes and dislikes are about plants, etc. You provide a picture or two. They set up a meeting with you and design a landscape, deliver the plants and set them down where they should be planted. Also includes soil, mulch, etc delivered. You set the budget on this from $500 and up.

I have no clue how to design a landscape. I've looked at pictures, I've checked out other houses, etc.

I'm just looking for some feedback, some place to go look for design ideas for regular people homes. Everything I see is for over the top homes. Not your average person's house. We have a center hall colonial with a farmer's porch. About 2500 sq. ft. Nothing fancy, but not a shack.

Comments (5)

kellycrash
Original Author
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Here's a picture if that helps any.

{{gwi:20357}}
uppervalleygarden
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Gorgeous house, I love the color. Take a look at my post a few down, Foundation Ideas for a Northern Garden. I asked a very similar question and received lots of good advice from experienced New England gardeners. We're in similar zones. In terms of design ideas, I heavily use this forum, as well as the Cottage Garden forum, the Daylily forum (less useful for your issue but some good landscape shots), the New England forum, and the Trees forum. Also the Landscaping forum - you can post your image there and likely someone will come up with a design for you. Might be helpful to have a wider shot of the house situated in the yard, as well as sun/shade/soil information. There are some excellent books available too. Anything by Tracy DiSabato-Aust, esp. "The Well Designed Mixed Garden." I also love "Creating Beds and Borders" by Fine Gardening, as well as "The Perennial Gardener's Design Primer" by Stephanie Cohen and Nancy Ondra. Ondra also has an excellent blog, Hayfield.com.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nancy Ondra's blog
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one CAUTION ... foundation plantings should mean.. plantings to hide the foundation ... THAT DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE PLANTED ON OR NEAR THE FOUNDATION .... plant them as far away from your house foundation as possible ... i grew up in a pasture that was turned into suburbia in the late 50' ... by the 90's all the cute little bushes planted within 3 feet of the 'foundation' ... were taller than the houses ... those who had foresight.. removed them sooner ... other still remain .. and they make the whole neighborhood look like carp ... make big beds.. and place stock appropriately .. i know they will be tiny.. and sparse for a few years.. but in 10 years.. you wont be tearing them all out ... good luck ken as an example.... there is a tiny bed on the foundation ... then the sidewalk.. and the bigger plants exterior to the sidewalk ... another view ... i may regret that i left the rhodie there.. but it was the only ornamental on the 5 acres when i moved in .. and i was sure it would die... lol ... and i doubt the azelia will ever outgrow the spot in zone 5 ... the bed is 5 to 6 feet wide and another .... think outside the box..
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How tall and wide are the arborvitae expected to grow? New plants are ALWAYS small when first planted, but that does not mean you should plant them against a wall or fence. The photo below shows what can happen when a large growing shrub or tree is planted close to a wall because it was sooo tiny when I got it! What you should do is fill in around and between the plants you already have with perennials and annuals. Most perennials won't need attention until at least 3 years after you plant them. Choose several types of plants that bloom at different times of the year if possible. In the photo below I added tall iris under the windows, creeping phlox in front along the walkway and another white salvia to fill out the border. Finally I added a wegelia shrub in the back middle of this bed. All of my plant samples were pink-purple, but you can find plants with yellow flowers. Visit your local nurseries as they know your climate and soil conditions best and can suggest plants most likely to succeed. I do want to caution you that winter is just around the corner, so it might be best to wait until spring to add plants. Yes, you can use evergreens, but I think you should look for more color. Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald and Gold' has yellow edged leaves and only grows between 1 and 2 feet tall. Once again, your local nursery personnel will know more about what will work in your area.
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One thing comes to mind right away - small and sharp curves (next to the stairs) are going to be a PITA to mow and trim. Do large and gradual swoops instead. Don’t make your work harder. Pretty house.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
i wish i had a dollar for every time i write this ...

start by understanding.. that foundation plantings.. are planted TO HIDE THE FOUNDATION .... not 'ON' THE FOUNDATION ... of most importance to me.. is to leave 2 to 3 feet at the foundation to walk ... for xmas lights.. window washing.. ladders ... maintenance.. etc ...

so i would start by building some nice foundation beds ....

on the left ... by the steps ... the garage.. i would build a wall ... to make a leave bed ... its not hard.. but it needs to be done properly .... and in that bed.. i would go with perennials .... nothing big ... just a selection of plants that will give some flower interest all summer and fall ... is there a man or a burly son available.. to move retaining wall bricks ... its not that you cant do it.. but it can get heavy ... [after messing with your pic.. i dont know about the wall.. lol] .. its hard to grow things on a steep hill.. one solution is the retaining wall and leveling it all .. but that might be a long term plan

i would then put a minimum 3 to 4 foot bed on the outside of the sidewalk ... and go all the way around the front of the house ... but not a straight line ...

and then i would go 20 to 30 feet out in the lawn.. and look for some trees or shrubs.. to lend a vertical to it all

i am not familiar with the 'new england look' ... so be this what it may ...

use your money to build good beds.. and get a few of the bigger plants in ... and fill in with some annuals for this year ... and consider the rest your new 'hobby' .. lol ...

check out the link for how to do the beds .. and use the search function above for 'building new beds' .. or some such thing ...

your worst mistake IMHO .. is to think that this has to be all done this year.. and only with that budget ... build the backbones.. and the rest will follow ... gardening is a lifetime thing.. and usually not instant gratification ... [and i bet those are the landscapes you are not liking in the area ... unlimited budget.. and had to be done all at once ...]

and just cruise the 'hood' .. and steal ideas ... lol .. and see if you can differentiate between those peeps who jammed it all right on the foundation.. and those that have used the area ...

as i tried to describe above ... i bet the ones you dislike.. were perfect the day they were planted.. but those darn plants just keep growing.. and all of a sudden.. it looks like the jungle is trying to swallow the house ... [in fact .. take pix of the ones you dont like.. and post them here.. and we might be able to tell you why you dont like them .. its a back door to figure out what you do like]

after the backbones.. and the beds.. i just collect thing i like.. i dont really care what others think.. nor how 'professionals' [and i use the term lightly] ... would do it ... its my castle.. its my realm .. and i am the king .. and if you dont like.. bite me.. lol [actually my boy did once.. dont say that to a 3 year old.. lol]

my bottom line.. i just wanted to get your head out of that small space between the walkway and the porch.. and make you understand you have a big ugly lawn out there.. use it ... who needs grass to mow ...

ken

ps: we can work on the back of the house next year.. and the side in 3 years ... as the budget allows ... dont spread yourself too thin.. do it right the first time ... and dont look back ... in fact.. with $1000 bucks .. we can build the beds all around the house.. and get some backbone large plants in real easy.. if you can do the labor yourself ... i am hitting send .... cuz this thing may never end.. lol ..

{{gwi:241089}}

Here is a link that might be useful: link
kellycrash
Original Author
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I definitely know you don't plant stuff right up against the foundation. lol Thanks. I like what you did on the left and that was my thought for that area exactly.

I think there is more space on the other side of the walkway than is seen in the pictures. I was thinking of some type of simple border plant along the walkway. It's definitely something to think about. I need to read through the responses so far and think on it some more. I am running out the door as soon as I hit submit, but I did want to respond and say thank you for all your responses!
botann
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I like evergreen shrubs for foundation planting. Deciduous shrubs planted with evergreens look like missing teeth in the winter.
Mike

Advice on foundation landscaping

Comments (5)

kellycrash
Original Author

uppervalleygarden

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Advice on foundation landscaping

Comments (5)

kellycrashOriginal Author

uppervalleygarden

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

kellycrashOriginal Author

botann

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kellycrash
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kellycrash
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