P.S. At the present time, just need advice for the front yard. For example, does anybody know of any tried-and-true ground cover for New England soil? The other pics were really just to give you a sense of the whole environment.

TIA.

What do you want your front yard to do for you (besides not cause headaches from struggling grass)? What looks beautiful to you and your husband?

The difficulty with ground covers in sun is that they have a hard time outcompeting grass. So unless the area is regularly weeded, it turns into a mess. Creeping junipers may do the best job, but they are also the nastiest to deal with. Most ground covers are for covering ground that is too shady for grass, where this isn't as big a problem.

If the problem is more managing grass, these are my ground rules.

1. Mow High. The recommended mowing height for cool season grasses is beween 3 to 4 inches. This is about the maximum for most gasoline powered mowers, and considerably higher than the maximum for any reel mower I've seen. The increased length means it requires mowing much less frequently, shades out weeds like crabgrass, and supports better root growth. The last two make it much more drought tolerant. The downside is that to bull through 5 inches of thick, healthy grass takes serious guts

2. Leave the clippings on the lawn. This could be thought of as a form of sheet composting.

3. Overseed with white clover. White clover will grow in soil too poor for grass, and improve it to the point the grass can outcompete the clover.

4. Patience.

Hi....there's so little grass in front, I'd get rid of it and do a combination of evergreen, small deciduous shrubs, creeping junipers like Sargent for GC, a small tree like a Kousa Dogwood and some perennials. Mulch it and you're done!

Those are Yews in front? I'd get those out and perhaps move one to the foundation and another in front of the stairs....let them take a natural shape instead of pruned. I'd love to see something to soften the foundation....perhaps in addition to a few shrubs, a clematis on a trellis on the left? I'd put a Kousa on the left side. You've got great exposure here so lots of choices. You've got enuf grass in the back to play with, lol. You could also use a yew or two by your back patio to soften that and give some privacy....Pretty much a blank slate!

I'm going to suggest that you stop for a bit, take a deep breath and a step backwards, and start with answering a few questions.

As York Rose said, what do you want from your yard? Low maintenance, obviously from your post. Anything else? Do you or your family use the yard in any way? (play, entertaining, cooking, relaxing, growing food, etc?) Do you want it to look decorative? What types of yards appeal to you? (collect pictures from books, websites, and magazines, or take photos of yards you like.) What are the traffic flow patterns around your house and yard? Are there views you want to block or enhance? Do you want to have more shade in your yard or to help keep the house cool? Do you have pets that use the yard? Are there other problems that need to be adressed?

Have you done a soil test? (Do a search on this forum to get info on where to send soil samples.) Good soil is the key to success to growing anything organically.

Have you checked out organic lawn care in any of the forums here? There's a lawn care forum, an organic gardening forum, and an organic lawn care forum. You can do searches in each forum (at the bottom of the page that lists postings) to get some of your lawn care questions answered.

Mad Gallica's lawn care suggestions are a great start, and figuring out what organic amendments to use based on the results of your soil tests is another way to help your lawn. Not using chemicals on your lawn is a good thing from my perspective, but there are ways to deal with grubs and weeds organically. (Plus you will still have issues of weeds and grubs in groundcover or anything else you plant.) For instance, spreading corn gluten when the forsythia starts blooming will reduce the annual weed load, and again in the fall to reduce the perennial weed load (but it won't have the instant results of a weed and feed - it's an ongoing reduction that will accumulate over time.) I find a bit of weeding is meditative. A one time application of milky spore disease will help rid your lawn of Japanese beetle grubs, though like the corn gluten, it won't work at once, and beneficial nemetodes (though needing reapplication annually) will help get rid of other grubs.

For sun, grass is about the lowest maintenance ground cover, but you may need to reseed with a mix that suits your growing conditions well. Once you have made some decisions on how you want to use your space, you may want to put in something else to replace some or all of your front lawn, but for now, I'd try addressing some of your lawn care issues and work on the bigger picture before you do anything else.

Thanks for posting photos. It always helps to know what we're working with! Also, the Landscape Design forum isn't just for professionals, though there are several pros who contribute. However, the questions I've asked came from my reading there; they tend to like to look at the bigger picture as opposed to just solving one problem out of context of the whole design.

I live in the same area and have a similar situation: a house with an underneath garage and a fairly high, exposed foundation, with a blocky staircase to the front door. We've just planted a clematis to try to soften the stairway wall, I hope it does well. As others have said, you probably want foundation plantings to soften that foundation, but you'll also want to keep light going in that cellar window. You'll also need to think about where you shovel snow and what plants will survive under a snow pile. How about some shrubs that casade over the front retaining wall? With all that sun it also would be a nice place for creeping phlox. You're lucky that there are a lot of mature trees on your lot, that really makes the neighborhood. It's a very pretty, classic house.

Many, many thanks to all of you. You've given me a lot to think about. I'm going to show your responses to dh and then do a little more research and decide. I really don't like the look of the yews along the retaining wall, either, so the idea of removing and repositioning them is a really good one. I'm wondering how deep their roots grow and how to remove them without damaging the retaining wall, because they're so close to it. We can try it, though.

Thanks very much for taking the time to address our "issues." :)

I agree with first focussing on the "big picture" and prioritizing - the objective/organizational stuff. With that said, HAVE FUN! I love looking through garden magazines, web sites and making a folder of the pictures I've cut out or printed, as well as notes about interesting plants or design ideas that I saw on a gardening tv show. Ride arounnd neighborhoods looking at other peoples designs and take notes/draw pictures/snap photos of what you like. There's no rush, (right?), since it seems that you're not doing this to re-sell the house quickly (or do a make over because the in-laws are coming over next week!) Savor the process. Sometimes we don't get it right the first time so we make a change - some of the fun of gardening happens to be the adjustments we "need" to make to correct "design or plant material mistakes" (actually, in my case, it's really just an excuse to buy more plants).
What I would like you might not (or may be too much work, although it's so easy to get hooked once you start. It can be an addiction!) For example, I'm a cottage gardener type so I'm all for softening the look and being a bit rambunctious - get rid of the yews, put in cascading plants to spill over the retaining wall, window boxes if they don't obstruct people walking up the stairs. Looking at the picture of the front yard, get rid of all the grass on the right side of the front yard (the side closest to the driveway)and go wild with tall hollyhocks, digitalis, or a butterfly bush in the center, medium tall plants around those - coneflower, iris, daylilies and mounding smaller plants like catmint, dianthus, snow-in-summer, and those with interesting foliage at the edge of the walkway to the door. (mix it up some though so that it doesn't look formulaic big to small.) Edge the other side of the walkway with mounders/spillers too so it doesn't look one sided and softens that side too. Maybe a couple of 5 foot-ish slender gray cypress on either side of the top of the steps to the street would cap it for me. But if you're a classic-look type, or someone who wants no maintenance, what I've just described would drive you nuts! You may be happy with a japanese maple, some cascading plants instead of the yews, a planter or two and you're done.
Take your time - get to know what you like, do some research and enjoy the process.

My, my, my! lookee at who has show up here?! :) (Your home is adorable! you need windowboxes!).

GREAT thoughts offered above. NOW, here are my questions:

1.) What geographic direction does the front (roadside facade) of you home face? Until you know that, you can't even begin to make choices that will be remotely appropriate. That single bit of knowledge is the "10 fingers" you need!

2.) Where do you and your "partner/spouse/room-mate" like to hang out when you're at home? It's MY opinion that you should begin any landscaping project in the area to which you most often RETREAT! Start with the private areas that will provide you with a cool, private retreat. And then think about the more "public"/visible areas.

3.) The Landscaping forum isn't just for professionals, but it's a "tough" room. Most of the regulars are pro.s, and they really enjoy "talkin' shop" with each other. You will get really terrific input and advice but only IF you give them rock solid information about your site. Basic, general questions such as, "Blank slate", "What should I do?" are tantamount to chumming shark-infested waters. LOL! The "regulars" are quick, sharp, brutal in their assessment and that's one reason I REALLY like that forum, frankly (I very much miss that aspect at Home Dec.!). Don't be freaked out by them... but as you learn, craft your inquiries appropriately. (Right, Patti?).

Hi again....re moving the yews. They're the toughest plants on the planet. I've had them sitting out of pots for months on the ground and they're still alive, lol. They're not very deep rooted either so even if you lose a lot of the rootball, water well and you're probably good to go! They're sooo pretty in partial sun vs full sun and left to take their natural shape.

It's a very attractive house, and doesn't need a lot of fussy landscaping in the front; I'd suggest you stick to something simple. Because of the height of the entry steps, the elevation of the front lawn relative to the street level, and the height of the foundation, the overall effect is a little dizzying; this may mostly be the photo, but it's likely to be at least partly the way it would look in person.

So, I think the major issue is to tie the height of the facade back to the ground level. One way to do that would be to add a tall-ish, but not too large, accent tree off the left front corner of the house. Something that stays fairly narrow and maxes out at about the height of the gutters (or the lower edge of the roof) might work. Maybe even an old-fashioned lilac, depending on the conditions (sun, soil, etc). This would also balance the much longer right edge of the house (which includes the below-grade garage) with the shorter left edge.

Or, you might get more mileage out of two large, but not too wide- spreading, shrubs; one in front of the steps and one to the left of the basement window (placed so it will not block the window when it's full-grown). This would tie the rather high main floor windows back to the ground level (the bottom of the window would be a foot or so above the top of the shrub) and would give a hint of the feeling that you were climbing in the treetops when you were approaching the door - that might be nice!

One comment on the other photos, although you're not asking for advice on the other areas. Many of the plantings seem to be too close to the house - a very common mistake, especially with new gardeners, and most especially in small yards. The plants will do much better, and you'll be much happier with the effect, if you leave a few feet between the foundation and the plants. Narrow beds give a skimpy look and make the yard appear smaller and cramped; a wider bed more than makes up for the extra space it takes and makes the yard appear larger. The difference between a 10' wide lawn and a 7' wide one isn't as apparent as the difference between a 2' wide bed and a 5' wide one. I hope you get what I'm trying to say; it's late and I might be babbling a bit! You could improve on the beds in the side yards by using an edging material, such as wooden "bender board", to give some definition to the edges.

Your back yard is really nice - those mature trees provide a great buffer from neighbors. It looks like a very relaxed and comfortable oasis; I'd try to keep it simple back there too.

And one last point - your lawn looks fine! If you really wanted a uniform green carpet, you could have the back yard rototilled and install sod. Because it's not a large space, it probably would not cost too much - although I haven't priced it out. Otherwise, a few seasons of following the ideas others have given about lawn care should do the trick. I use corn gluten every spring and it makes a world of difference.

Keep us posted on your progress!

Hi again....I was playing early this morning with a virtual. Now to defend myself, these colors are a bit BRIGHT, lol. But it helps to show placement, scale etc. Ya know one thing I'd do depending what colors you enjoy in the landscape? Paint your door a bit lighter/brighter. It kinda muds out a bit. I'd get rid of this grass and concentrate on shrubs, perennials and a tree...landscape fabric around woody plants and mulch. If you don't use chemicals, you'll need to kill the grass with plastic or newspapers layered over it. For planting immediately, I'd rip it out with a sod cutter...or whatever they're called, lol. Anyways, just some random thoughts! Also, boy could you use a small tree on the west side of that patio...must be hot in summer! I've bought small $29 Kousas that are already at 10' after 2 yrs....gorgeous tree and I love the loooong flowering period in June into July.

Here is a link that might be useful: virtual

And yes...you were right about the hostas. They do best in afternoon shade. You can even do it now....tough, tough plants. Drown it and they probably won't even wilt....particularly if going into shaded areas.

Oh...I'm havin' fun with this I guess! To provide quick privacy on your deck? Look for Pink Diamond Hydrangea...this is one GREAT, BIG shrub that blooms it head off from late June or so to frost. Gets quite big if you let it but easy to control shape and height. Gorgeous next to your patio. Also everyone needs a Lilac...my fav is Korean Dwarf. Another heavy bloomer...compact size. One would be nice in your front yard too. They stay at about 5' or so but you can always keep them smaller as well. What's your soil like btw? This can be a gorgeous yard with not too much effort. Reuse everything you can ...