I included a link to my original post.
I also included a pic of the front of the house. If you didnt see the original post, we are trying to create a feeling of privacy as we are on the corner of a busy road. Also, the view from inside is just of street- would like some nice landscaping to improve our view from inside as well as provide some privacy.

Here is a link that might be useful: original post

View from driveway.

Your on the right path... I'm out of time, but here are some of my ideals. What I prefer to do is mix a lot of blues/yellows/reds/greens. If you have a blue next to a yellow and both of those are next to a red... then you have a lot of greens around... the colored ones really pop. If you have all green... everything fades. I've colored some of the trees and added a potential conifer/maple/plant. I'm out of time right now... I wasn't able to finish

Plant 3 you should keep a low mounding or spreading type conifer. It would look weird having a conical growing in the center of your house.

Plant 4 - This can be an upright Japanese maple or something so you can see backing out of your driveway. Then below this tree... I would put the yellow Juniperus horizontalis 'Mother Lode'. along with some red bushes or perennials.
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Im so excited! Thank you for the suggestions...off to google. :)

I bought an Ivonne False Cypress today, Botanical name: Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Ivonne'.... would this be ok for one of the spots in the front left bed?

i dont like the placement of the pungens.. so close to the sight line of the cross street ...

i dont understand the above.. the lawson.. looks just like the green arrow ... so i would not plant them next to each other.. referring to spots 2 and 3 on your drawing ... and if you are not... well i just dont know ....

glad to see you are buying plants.. lol.. how is bed prep going??? .... lol ...

ken
PS: ... its not a cypress.. so why use the word.. and then just to make it worse.. and mind you.. this is a TAG rant.. not you ... lets not only refer to it by which its not.. lets add the word FALSE in front of that which its not.. just to piss me off ... and that i was why i suggested.. you learn the latin: Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Ivonne'... see... it was a devious plan from nearly my first reply post ... way back on that other post ..

C. law's are not z5 ... but should be OK in your 6 ... but for some future z5 winter ....

Ken, I know...I know...bed prep- BUT i want to get any evergreens in the ground before the end of April right???

I like this Non- Cypress..lol. False Cypress? I dont know. But I like the gold coloring that it is supposed to get. I was thinking using this for plant 1 or 3, and plant 2 a mature tree that has some height and width to it, but slow growing so I wont need to worry about it for a while.

Hows the sun in your front yard? Most yellows need good sun to yellow up. Notice how it's green now... probably to much shade from where you purchased it. I don't think it will get to yellow though... Most of the pics I'm finding are green. One of my favorite yellows is Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Melody'

I dug through my hard drive and this is the pic of mine from planting it last year. Right now it has much more yellow to it instead of the lime green

I think 'Ivonne' should be planted against something like a fence. I would leave that front bed for a vibrant blue, bright yellow and weeping green conifer to grab the attention of people as they pass by.

Again, most of the plants I'm suggesting will have to be purchased online... most nurseries just carry basic stock... unless you want to go on a road as Ken would suggest

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We get sun from late morning/early afternoon until sunset during the summer, and almost all day in the winter.

One concern I have is our budget just took a major hit, thanks to a little snag in our basement remodel. I was planning on buying mature trees for the left front corner but will need to scale back my spending. Can I buy small and maybe plant something in the interim such as a thuja etc that I can buy 5ft and only pay $30? And then when the trees I planted grow in tall enough, move the thujas?

Here's my version:

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I have idea's for perennials as well, but this is the backbone (shrubs & trees) that I come up with.

Note that the Quercus/Oak I am using is open/not dense and as you see on my notes...which are true....this cultivar in 30 years and more never is larger than 8'. It gives you the ability to see thru it from indoors with some privacy from it, too. All the plants I selected are available online currently except the Daphne which becomes available in June from Avant Gardens. The 'Nikko' Deutzia is a beautiful dwarf shrub with bell-shaped white flowers in spring and then it stays green the rest of the year. It can be pruned to any size for the remainder of it's life. The rest I say are more self explanatory. The viburnums break up the scene with the deciduous aspect and provide fall color and beautiful berries cherished by birds. The two I selected are complimentary pollinators for each other so you will have heavy fruit set. The Acer palmatum I chose is a much more upright selection and has golden leaves all season when in leaf. If yellow isn't your style, then I would suggest you look at Acer palmatum 'Skeeter's Broom' which holds the same shape. Going from Rick's idea that you need a tree that won't block your driveway view, these (selections) fit that nicely.

Best regards,

Dax

Dax... I love everything you suggested! I wish I could look at my yard and just figure out what would look good. Its so weird, but i just stare at it with a blank deer in the headlights look. lol. I am just NOT a natural...but i am willing to work at it.
I really do love all the color combinations you suggested and how you thought about flowers etc. This is definitely getting printed out!!! Where you have the Viburnums, do you think I could do Holly bushes or would they get too big? I have always liked Holly bushes and our neighbor across the street has some really interesting ones.
I had asked above and I am going to copy and paste what I wrote and hopefully you can give me some feedback:
"One concern I have is our budget just took a major hit, thanks to a little snag in our basement remodel. I was planning on buying mature trees for the left front corner but will need to scale back my spending. Can I buy small and maybe plant something in the interim such as a thuja etc that I can buy 5ft and only pay $30? And then when the trees I planted grow in tall enough, move the thujas?"

The Thuja question seems like a waste of time and money. I simply don't like Thuja either as they look the same day in and day out...there are a few premium selections though. But I bet you are talking the common selections.

There are some nice selections suggested so I'll just add a few other points.

In the front yard do what you can to group and repeat plants. Although you don't have to repeat the exact plant. The goal is that you have a flow of similar texture and color between those groupings. Chose your color theme to compliment your current (or future) home colors. For example use green near the red door (reference opposing colors of the color wheel).

Your front porch area is screaming for Fothergilla gardenii (spring blooms and rocking fall color) and Little Lime Hygrangea (long lasting summer and fall blooms). Those would be used for course texture so you'd need to mix in fine texture as well.

This is completely subjective but I really dislike using tall plants in the front of the house (middle of the yard) unless its a shade tree you can limb up. So I'd used smaller plants for the 2 and 5 selections. Ecspeically 5, that tree needs to move off to the corner of the house.

Good luck, take your time and know that you'll change things around after the fact. But really take your time selecting the larger specimens for a purpose (ie screening, shading, color pop, etc). Thats the fondation and its tough to change. The other stuff is like painting the wall and hanging pictures.

If you don't mind me asking, what took a hit in your basement remodel? I've been remodeling my basement since January. I did everything myself with a little help from my dad. All the drywall is hung and the drywall finisher is down there right now. We're also over budget on the basement... just because we under estimated the lumber, how much drywall, electrical, etc. Our plant budget went from around $600... down to almost nothing.

If I were you, plant smaller things that look good instead of settling for some Thuja's. I'd plant a 1' tall 'Melody' over a 5' tall Thuja any day. They both probably cost around $30... but you can't compare the two.

We went from finishing about 400 sq ft of the basement to now approx 680 sq ft. We are also doing a LOT of the work ourselves, well my husband is. We are paying to run electric and we had to move some pipes etc. Also over budget on lumber as the price of 2x4's went up from when we originally budgeted. So the extra sq ft ate up my landscaping budget and then some.

I just wasnt sure if i could plant both and then move the Thujas...but I guess that would cut into space and also sun exposure etc.

Hi,

I would get it done right the first time. Skip the Thuja's. Should you want Holly, no problem. They can be trimmed. Your sacrifice is Fall color but you gain winter evergreen interest. When I look at the elements of a true garden (not one just made of conifers and evergreens) I want fall color.

No matter (whaas) how I say this it is going to come off wrong, but I say to her, leave the tree at #5. Don't go with the flow that it need be a corner planting. Sometimes you have to live a little.

Some of my other suggestions to be are:

Your photo above: "View from driveway"
Behind the lamp-post plant tall bright red Bee balm and then for the narrow strip leading the rest of the way to your front door plant lavender. The pink clematis with the red bee balm and then the purple flowers of the lavender with the silver foliage of the lavender will be outstanding, and, lavendar 'Hidcote' is the perfect plant for that width. Make a tight lavender hedge. Currently you show (3) perennial tall grasses, get rid of them. All perennial grasses have blades that are sharp. Most people don't know that. You don't want to brush against them carrying groceries in your home or have people feeling them, or anything of the like.

behind #1 #2 #3 you show two "spots" directly behind the two "grasses". I'd switch those and put ornamental grasses at the back and in front of them I'd plant a colorful foliage perennial facing your home. I think Heuchera 'Tiramisu' will compliment well with the rest of what I'm proposing.

#4 tree bed:
Plant 3 groupings of Heuchera 'Purple Palace' where you have (3 spots). And where you have two grasses, plant two dwarf perennial Blue Fescue.

Kick it around. I can guarantee you that this is a gorgeous plan. And keep Heuchera well-watered. Especially in extreme heat.

Good luck and knock it out of the park!

Dax

You'd put that oak a few feet in front of the window? They grow much faster than what you stated. Perhaps you're thinking of CF Miller's growth rate? Push it to the left and its a great spot.

I'm guessing the bed is 5-6' where her spot is. I'd plant it 5' away w/o thinking twice.

That oak will grow to 8' and basically not grow anymore. It's one of the oddities that exist. People always want something that will grow to a certain height and then magically stop...this does.

She can spot it a little more to the left if that's what makes her comfortable. This is one of the most awesome oaks there is. It stops people dead in their tracks and never do they think it's an oak. That's the cool part. Anyone wanting a hardy "Japanese maple", they get it with this! Whether she uses it or not and certainly climate isn't a concern for her, people should be subjected more to this tree to propagate the idea.

Dax

This post was edited by gardener365 on Thu, Apr 11, 13 at 21:38

and a week before you decide to plant.. you will ask how in a new post ... ???

its much more than sticking a pot-wad [new word there] of circling roots in a hole..

ken

How do you get to the lawn from the front walk without walking through the flower bed?
I would have the lawn right up against the walk and driveway. It's already edged for you. To me, the lawn should start at the driveway and sweep around to the left corner of your house in a horn of plenty shape, getting narrower as it approaches the corner of your house. Then have a rock outcropping on the point at the end of the driveway where it meets the road. Plant small things there and gradually get larger as it goes across the front of the yard to the property line.
As it is, your lawn looks piecemeal and doesn't 'flow'. There is something to be said for 'unity' in design.
Mike

Mike, your right it doesnt flow...thats why I am trying to find ideas on HOW to landscape it. We didnt even have a blade of grass last spring, we went the hydroseed route and that has proven not to be the best method. So we are going to seed this year once we dig out the beds.

So I did a lot of googling yesterday, looking for some images to try to capture what I am looking to do. Its hard for me as a novice to imagine what it can look like without seeing pics of what i WANT it to look like. So I found some pics and will post them. I have decided to go ahead and order the hoopsi. I figure, if it gives me a good 10 years, then what more can i ask for- maybe we will chop it down and use it as an xmas tree at that point- we have high ceilings. lol. I think I am also going to order a Juniper Skyrocket - Juniperus scopulorum 'Skyrocket', and need to think of something with a nice deep green. I have written down or saved all of the suggestions everyone has given and am looking through those today. I have the "false cypress" that I bought the other day and I think that will look good on the edge of the bed. So I am going to start with the front left bed and go from there, as budget allows.

Another pic...

And Ken just wanted to add..... in regards to the stop sign. I was out there in the car yesterday seeing what would be a distraction for drivers etc... the stop sign is so far back that you have to pull up in front of it a good 3 feet (almost into the road) to be able to see into the street anyways. The passenger window needs to be parallel with the sidewalk to see whats coming down the street- so nothing needs to be based off of where the stop sign is.

Perhaps its best to get layout feedback from the design forum. Once you get your beds locked down this is the place to get advice on actual plants selections. Some of us have an eye for design and other don't as their goal is to collect (more so in this forum than any other)...I'm lost in the middle, I think.

Thank you whaas, Im pretty sure we are going with the bed designs above... we are going to work on digging them out this weekend, grass isnt an issue since it never really "took" when we hydroseeded so should be pretty easy. i hope!
I just need a plan on what to fill the beds with and i have gotten some GREAT advice!
When I 1st came on here, I wanted tall trees asap to block the view. Since that post, I have learned the problem isnt really "blocking the street" its more that we have no feeling of privacy. I dont need tall trees right away, I think once we have stuff planted- its going to give us a sense of privacy in that our yard wont just drift off into the street. Make any sense at all??? lol.

On a side note, I am thinking Japanese Maple for the front right bed. I have a couple of different varieties in mind, Acer Palmatum "Osakasuki"... "Sango Kaku"... or "Trompenburg"...the last may get too big though.

Do people generally mix conifers and JM's?

Conifers are generally green or blue.... they mix well with dark red Japanese maples. It provides very good contrast in colors.

I have a Trompenburg and love it! The leaves are like no other and it goes from a dark purple red to a fire engine red in the fall. Holds it's color very well (others green out in the summer), but it may be to large for your area. I don't know the exact 10 years size of it off the top of my head.

Im excited, I think something finally "clicked" for me yesterday. I finally got what you guys are saying. I think its when I went to costco and looked at the arborvitae they had and was BORED. lol. Im excited to get some unique trees etc.
Rick...this is from www.thehoneytreenursery.com regarding the Trompenburg

Zone: 5-8
Hardiness: hardy
Height: 10-12 ft
Spread: 18-24 ft
Growth rate: upright- vigorous. Super fast!!!

And Ken just wanted to add..... in regards to the stop sign. I was out there in the car yesterday seeing what would be a distraction for drivers etc...

==>>> SUPER!!!! .. and now you are working with facts.. not speculation..

read.. and reread botan suggestion.. i wish he would have put a pic of his garden for his CV ..... so you would understand his 40+ years of experience ....

OMG!!!!! ... and the angels sang.. GLORIA!! ===>>> I think its when I went to costco and looked at the arborvitae they had and was BORED. lol.

why are you digging grass out.. ???? didnt i link you to how to make beds.. with roundup and mulch.. ????

you are leaving grass paths .. you next need to learn how to grow grass ... which involves fertilizer and water ... and you will now be watering your new beds ... so may as well perfect the lawn ...but never confuse grass watering with conifer watering.. one is watering to one inch.. often.. the other is deep infrequent waterings ...

ken

I cant visualize the advice given by Mike....
And yes...the only way to get onto the lawn is through the bed or from the driveway step up over the rocks. Hmmmm.

Ken, re: the grass- it has like no roots at all.... You just skim the shovel across the grass (get it about 1/4" under) and thats it. Its got to be the hydroseed, it just never took root.

A local nursery has a "PICEA PUNGENS 'BABY BLUE'"
Picea-Baby Blue #7, 24-30"
10-7022
$99.99

Is this the same as Baby Blue Eyes? If not, what is the growth habit on the above? I am comparing to Hoopsii in regards to cost and growth.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Nursery page

This post was edited by lindsroc on Fri, Apr 12, 13 at 12:36

i will paste his comments here.. and add words IN CAPS :

How do you get to the lawn from the front walk without walking through the flower bed? YOU WALK OUT THE FRONT DOOR.. DO YOU GO ALL THE WAY TO THE DRIVEWAY TO WALK INTO YOUR GARDEN.. OR DO YOU TROMP THRU THE BED THAT LINES THE SIDEWALK ... NEED A PLAN.. WE DONT WALK IN OUR GARDEN BEDS BUT FOR MAINTENANCE....

I would have the lawn right up against the walk and driveway. YOU WANT IT AT THE DRIVEWAY.. FOR PEEPS GETTING OUT OF CARS.. YOU DONT WANT THEM OPENING THE DOOR AND STEPPING INTO YOUR BEDS ... ON THE SIDEWALK.. WHERE WILL YOU PUT SHOVELED SNOW.. ON TOP OF YOUR PLANTS????

It's already edged for you. THE SURFACE ITSELF IS A PERFECT EDGE

To me, the lawn should start at the driveway and sweep around to the left corner of your house in a horn of plenty shape, getting narrower as it approaches the corner of your house. Then have a rock outcropping on the point at the end of the driveway where it meets the road. Plant small things there and gradually get larger as it goes across the front of the yard to the property line. I THINK HE MEANS GROUNDCOVER TYPE PLANTS.. AND THERE ARE CONIFERS THAT DO THAT ...

As it is, your lawn looks piecemeal and doesn't 'flow'. There is something to be said for 'unity' in design. THINK OF YOUR FUTURE GREEN GRASS AS A RIVER.. THE EYE SHOULD FLOW ACROSS THE DESIGN.. NOT BE A BUNCH OF GREEN BLOBS ... OR THE BEDS BEING INDEPENDENT GREEN BLOBS ... JUST LOOK AROUND AT GARDENS AS YOU DRIVE AROUND ... SOME LOOK ARTIFICIAL.. AND SOME JUST SEEM SO NATURAL.. THE NATURAL ONES.. 'FLOW' ...

====>>> define your spots for the back bones .. as dax alluded to.. and the whole flow thing can evolve over time..

and mike can correct me.. if i misunderstood

ken

Here's a couple of things I'd like to bring up.
I'd reconsider pruchasing the Skyrocket Juniper. They get big and floppy and don't maintain their 'rocket' shape without a lot of maintenance cutting in a normally watered residential landscape.Fine for a semi-desert landscape though.
Hydroseeding is not practical for the average homeowner. The seed bed preparation is the same no matter how you put down the seed. Why pay for a diesel powered truck with two people and premixed lawn seed with mulch? Putting down the seed with a hand powered seeder is the easy part. Then rake it in with a leaf rake and lightly water.
If you're going to have a rock wall in the front yard, at least redo it. Start with the largest rocks for a base course and work up. I would contour the lawn to meet the driveway and skip the rock wall there. You, or your guests, don't want to step out of the car at night and stumble into a wall.
Dax, not all grasses are sharp. You're thinking of Pampas Grass, Cortaderia sellloana. Yeah, it can cut you to shreds. Miscanthus sinensis won't. I have four kinds and none cut, even when I wave my bare arms in amongst the 'blades'.
Ken's got it right. No need to dig up sod. I did a lot of yard makeovers and rarely took up the sod. Roundup... and then they were buried. Much easier and faster too. I carried Roundup when I made the bid. If it wasn't raining ( I live near Seattle) I'd spray right away and when it came time to do the landscape, it was ready to go.
Ken, my ten acre landscape in the country is way different than what you would find in the suburbs and doesn't relate very well with a normal one.
Pic taken this morning. No leaves yet.
Mike

Ken, you said it so much better than I.
Thank you very much.
Mike

Thank you both!
Mike, your landscaping is beautiful!!! Im always envious when people post pics...if it were up to me I would be on 10 acres in the country without a doubt.
My husband actually mentioned taking out the stones on the driveway side of the lawn and using them on the front and also around some of the beds if we build them up. not sure if the rocks will be too large but we may mess around with that. This stone "wall" is going to be the death of me.
Any thoughts on my link above to the Baby Blue at a local nursery? I would like to get the main focalpoint tree ordered or purchased and in the ground sooner than later. Im sure at some point the weather is going to warm up.

Ken,
I have the link to the bed development but where is the info on getting rid of the grass to begin with?
Also what type of mulch is best?

This is the link I had saved, is it the correct one?

Here is a link that might be useful: Link

If your Massachusetts yard is like mine, you will have plenty of stones for the wall after digging/planting your trees. Out of 20 holes I have dug, I think I got lucky and hit no "un-movable" rocks in 2 of them. Most people would just pick another spot when they hit the type of granite rocks I have found, but I am crazy and just go to town with a SDS hammer drill, carbide drill bits, cold chisel, and a set of wedge & shims (sometimes called Wedge & Feathers).. Good Luck, your plan is coming along nicely!

This post was edited by SC77 on Fri, Apr 12, 13 at 13:54

I also dig up and use every rock I find. Sharp edged ones for outcroppings and walls, and round ones for water features and small walls. Small ones for my road that wanders around my property.
lindsroc, think of those rocks you have as an asset rather than a liability. Have fun with them, but lining a flower bed with rocks is contrived and amateurish in my opinion. Set the topsoil back a ways from the lawn rather than have a single layer of stones try do the job of holding the soil back. It doesn't work, and is a maintenance issue when the grass invades them. They also get in the way when you are mowing.
Hope this helps and if it doesn't, maybe Ken can explain it better than I. (Big smile)

LOL....no you put that in perfect newbie speak for me.
Thank you for your advice. I really take everything and will try to use it. I am totally new and have no idea what I am doing, so I appreciate everyone that takes the time to post and guide me in the right direction.

cruise down thru the link.. looking at how peeps play with stone in their gardens...

the whimsical stacking.. always made me think.. certain of us have too much time on hands.. lol ..

or think of it this way.. some peeps pay thousands of dollars.. to have rocks like yours trucked to the garden...

ken

i notice big smiley boy.. still didnt post a pic for you ...

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Hmmmmm, maybe an idea to keep the kids busy for a few hours. "Go stack those rocks!" :)

lots of great ideas and photos in this thread. Lindsroc- I'm in SE mass, I can tell you what I have planted that seems to be successful so far. I can try to post some pics later on if I have time). But definitely don't plant any skyrocket junipers. I lost about 12 this winter alone. Too much snow & wind for them to handle. Norway spruce, fat albert spruce, Baby blue eyes, bakeri spruce, green giants ( single leaders a must), all seem to be doing fine. Every type of low growing juniper seem fine too, ( old gold juniper, blue star, sea of gold juniper. going to try to plant some white fur this spring too. Hope this helps.

That would be great if you could post some pics! I'm on the north shore.
I'm going to a local nursery today to see what they have.

Sooooooo, anything special I need to do when planting conifers? :)

planting??? ... yes.. start a new post .. with a searchable title.. and we can attract other newbies with such ....

ken

here are a few pics from last year

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[IMG]http://i47.tinypic.com/wmjuxw.jpg[/IMG]

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[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/2mhdawy.jpg[/IMG]

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[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/29b0g1l.jpg[/IMG]

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[IMG]http://i48.tinypic.com/nyzqt2.jpg[/IMG]

Oh wow! What an incredible piece of property! Love everything, can you tell me the names of the big tree in the 1st pic and the bright green in the 2nd? Oh and the blue in the last one? What are all the thin trees that are spaced out? Ok so can you just tell me what everything is? Lol

This post was edited by lindsroc on Sat, Apr 13, 13 at 20:15

thanks- these pics are mainly from the front yard. the large tree in the first pic is a Colorado blue spruce, surrounding by smaller green giants mostly. The second pic is a norway spruce in full bloom. The last pic is a fat albert spruce- again surrounded by green giants, and a norway spruce peeking in the pic on the right. I have a few bloodgood japanese maples too to pop in some red color. Hope this helps. I know I am not up on all the latin names and such and don't claim to know as much as alot of other people here- but I enjoy doing it. Much of this hobby is trial and error. So it pays to research stuff before you pay for anything. I've lost alot of stuff too.

Thank you. How old is that 1st blue spruce? Do you know what kind it is? There was a dwarf Norway spruce yesterday, that the guy thought might have been mislabeled....it had the brightest yellow tips on it. I wanted it, but $150 was not in the budget. I appreciate the info, your yard really is spectacular.

well I planted that blue spruce in 2007. It was about a 7ft. then. Its easily close to or at 15ft. now. Originally I Planted 5. only two survived. The Nursery did take care of me- but there is always that chance with such large stock that some just don't take for whatever reason. I usually have better luck with container trees.