Shee, Of course your friends over here are biased because we know the work you've put into your home. Personally, I think you have a very sweet looking ranch, especially with that porch!. We have a porch with a walkway too but still no railings, so I'm a tad jealous :c) With the little garden area in front you could put some colorful hydrangea plants with a mix of perennials below. That's similar to what we're eventually going to do. I also have shamrock bulbs I'm going to plant. They are not a tall plant, good for the front and the bonus is they grow a nice lavender flower. The key (from what I understand) is to layer the plants by height, tall in the rear and so on.

You can add some rockers and a nice table to create seating, some potted plants for more color and it will look adorable.

I wouldn't be so unhappy with the walk way either, there are also things you can do to add character to it. Maybe add a small border of perennials that match the garden.

It's cute as a button shee!And will be fun to landscape.It looks more cottagey than ranchey.
Before you plant- amend your soil,to give your plantings a good place to take root.
Take a look in the yellow pages online to see if there are any garden centers in your area and call to see if they have landscape design service. There are a couple in my area that will draw up a plan with for about $150. I know people that have used them and liked the result. I am sure there are others. Perhaps they can tweak the design to your liking. One big thing to remember is to give room to grow- pay attention to the recommends for how far from the house to plant etc. Ask me how I know.
Flower boxes on the porch railings would be pretty and give color until shrubs plantings grow. No nails needed- there are flower box hooks designed for porch railings.and you can fill them with annuals and herbs.

I won't deny attitude at the LD forum (and am probably part of it) but it isn't usually an attitude to houses but rather to how people post. People come in there constantly with "this is my house, design a plan for me," in other words treat it like a free design-on-demand service. And many aren't that good about saying either please or thank you. We are getting pretty grumpy in there as a result.

Ranch houses are also a category for which options abound and so a good design depends entirely on homeowner gardening personality and how the property is used, and people are often kind of lazy about giving that information. They just want to be told what to do without having to answer any pesky questions. And even worse, most of them just want a cookie cutter landscape plan anyway, so the talent pool of the forum, many of whom are truly skilled and passionate about good design, is being not only wasted but has even been sneered at when it's offered (because whatever's suggested doesn't look normal enough). The real question is often "how do I make this look just like my neighbours? and I really don't have time for that.

We also have to deal constantly with people who don't seem to understand that plants are living things that have growth and maintenance needs - it's a bit like design gurus having to explain every day what paint is. If you can imagine Palimpsest and Magnaverde being patient with that while being asked to provide free design services for an unchallenging empty house... well, then you can condemn the attitude on LD! Not that everyone who posts there is a professional - far from it, and I'm not - but just like people here, we all are looking for interesting design issues to discuss, not for an opportunity to provide new gardener education.

I'm no house style expert but wouldn't call your house a pure ranch, and would say your house and property offer tons of scope for different landscaping approaches - there are no problems or constraints and as such special landscaping talents are not really required to make a plan that will achieve perfectly respectable results. It's entirely legitimate though that you would need expert help to achieve a particular effect (singing with the house is a laudable goal!).

So I would strongly suggest that you or your husband post his draft plan on the LD forum. People will, I suspect, be happy to contribute their thoughts on how it might be tweaked, if necessary, to achieve the best possible result for your needs, and will no doubt mention where he's gone off track.

There is certainly lots of scope here. The slope offers a bit of a challenge but also offers chances for some fun (flat can be deadly boring), and you have so much space! Wow. In addition, I like the shape of your pathway and the width of the bed it provides - adequate for a good display without being overwhelming, and the pathway is wide enough! But even with all that design fun just waiting to be had, I wouldn't begin to know where to start without knowing what kind of gardening taste, expertise, and interests you and DH have, what you can do yourselves, and what your property use needs are. Can you move rocks? Do you like rocks? Is one of you into lawn mowing as contemplative exercise? Do you want a volleyball court? Are you passionate about any kinds of plants or trees? Where on the property do you think you will spend time? Where do you need shade, a windbreak, privacy? What view matters most to you,from inside or out, and what impression do you want that view to give you?

In other words, post a verbal snapshot of yourselves as well as a photo of your property itself for best results.

It's really no different from posting here. If you posted a picture of an empty room and asked what colour to paint it... well, you'd get attitude here too.

KarinL

Well, don't worry Shee, you won't get the same negative response here. One of my favorite things about our house is that it's on a hill. Your lot looks to be a decent size, how big is it?

Shee, try again on one of the plant forums. Lots of nice folks there. Cottage gardens, perennials, hosta, and shrubs forums might give you some good ideas and lots of the posts have great pictures, especially hosta forum and cottage gardens forum. Also, a lot of the folks on the Design forum are professional landscapers and, although some have definite opinions, you can also get some great ideas. Plants and shrubs that overhang the walk will soften it and could make it something you end up actually liking-okay, maybe not hating-lol. Anyway, you can make it lovely.

Nowhere in PA is zone 3. You are probably 5 if in the northern parts (Erie, Sayre, Poconos, etc.) or zone 6 (lower part of state including Pittsburgh and Philadelphia). In reality, both these areas are more like zone 7 these days-I grew up in the Philadelphia area west of the city. I would add several big trees (oaks are always good) a little away from the house (maybe one a little in front of and to the side of the rock)and then some smaller flowering trees, too. Shrubs could include azaleas,hydrangeas (love H. panicula and lacecaps), purple beautyberry (callicarpa)which is one of my favorites. Hosta are so easy and good for almost any light level from sun to full shade. Most people think of them as only shade plants, but they do very well with some (even a lot of) sun, especially in your zone.

Definitely amend your soil. It will make a world of difference when you plant, but don't wait to amend at the time you plant. If you amend the soil only in the hole in which you are planting, the roots will be so happy there, they won't spread into the existing soil as well as you would like. At least with trees, it is better to just backfill with the soil you dug out than it is to add soil amendments at that point.

You are so lucky to have a blank canvas. Putting the plants in will be work, but if you choose carefully and site them well (always start with the trees!), you will be repaid with a landscape you love. Of course, if you are like me, you'll find yourself adding, moving, removing, and changing something every year.

Oh and do plan for the garage and breezeway when you plant trees. Other things are easy to move.

Can't wait to see what you do!

Since you're not a gardener ... yet ... why not give some thought to estimates from landscapers? Nothing says you have to hire them, but that might be a good starting point for you. Give you some ideas.

My initial focus would be a few trees and low-maintenance shrubs. Lot of forums on the gardening side to help you out. Take a look at the Pennsylvania forum along with Perennials and Shrubs.

My mom lived in zone 5 in Indiana. Some of the things we planted in her yard were a Sunset red maple, Colorado blue spruce, hydrangeas, azaleas, burning bush, Virginia sweetspire, butterfly bush, hostas, black-eyed Susans, lavender, etc.

Btw, what did dh draw up that you're not crazy about?

Lukki - Thanks! By code we had to have the railings and I'll admit at first I wasn't happy about it. Not sure why because I really like it now. :) There are two white rockers and a small table on the porch but they kind of blend in the photos. I think once we have some stuff planted I won't hate the walk so much. Right now it's kind of like when I was unhappy with some of the drywall work inside. Now that the house isn't empty it's not as noticeable to me.
The main floor of the house is 1846 sq.ft. We're getting ready to start working on finishing the basement area. It's a good size for us.

Cooper - Thank you! The room to grow thing is another reason I'm nervous to not do any research. I remember seeing a beautiful landscaped house on the landscaping forum, lots of large rocks involved etc, but it ended up being too close to the house. I saved the photos but they must be on a disk somewhere.
Flower boxes on the porch railing sounds more appealing to me.

Karinl - Sorry that I came across grumpy about the landscape forum. There does look to be lots of great info there. I see what you mean about it would be like not posting a photo here with little info. The one thread I remember reading just didn't go very well. Nobody was really getting to the point and helping the OP. I know they're not all like that.

To answer some of the questions you mentioned..
We're both physically able to do things ourselves. We can move rocks and we like rocks. We both like to mow. No volley ball court. The backyard will end up having a patio and pool someday. Probably a swingset for the future kids. So basically I don't see us down hanging out in the front yard. The whole yard front and back is almost 2 acres. I don't feel any strong desires to have shade one place over another. Privacy isn't an issue. I don't like things to look skimpy. I like greenery/shrubs. I do like flowers but really don't know enough about them. I like when things are layered and full and compliment the house it's at. As far as particular trees, plants etc. We'd like a white birch somewhere out front. Really like hydrangeas but again don't know much. I like ornamental grasses. I think it would be nice to have some evergreens somewhere so in the future at Christmas timne I could cut some fresh limbs for inside. I'm open to suggestions etc. The outside view is more important to me than looking inside out.
Cyn - I didn't realize there were all those other forums. I'll have to go searching. Thanks for that info! Haha so I'm not zone 3 huh? Not sure why I thought that. I feel silly now. I'm in central PA. With the sandmound being out front I also wasn't sure how close we're allowed to plant trees to it. I like all the trees/shrubs you mentioned. Hostas do seem to grow well here.

Natal - We'll have to look around and see about finding a landscaper.
I don't have a scanner so I can't just scan DH's drawing.
His suggestions were:
-One of those tall, blushy plume type plants on the left corner of the house.
-Two small, skinny blue spruce (I'm sorry I don't know the proper namse for this stuff!!) one each between the bump outs.
-in front of the porch he said about hostas and a couple rose bushes.
-White birch down a good ways in the yard to the right side with maulch around it.

I always thought rose bushes needed lots of tlc. To me, it just sounds like we're throwing stuff in there. Not to mention again about I'm not sure how far things need to be planted from the house etc.

Here's a recent photo I saved of a ranch house when trying to find inspiration. Not sure if this really helps or not. Obviously this house and yard doesn't look like mine but I really like the look. I love how full it looks.
{{gwi:1610409}}
I feel lost and I don't know where to start. Was hoping to have some ideas thrown out so I can go from there.

Oh, thought of another. DH is in love with Dwarf Japanese Maple trees. I like them. Originally he wanted one of those near the house but didn't have that in the drawing the latest sketch.

Ahh now that you mention the chairs I can see them, I really want to install railings on our porch. When we first moved into our house we met with a couple of landscapers to see what we could do with what we have to work with. I was so surprised with some of the ideas that were thrown out to us. Things I would have never thought of. You may want to consider at least meeting with one or two to see if they can suggest something for you. Maybe you'll find you can even afford the help.

I'm in the process of landscaping my own house; it is going to be my second summer. If you want to do it all by yourself and not make too many expensive mistakes, the first thing you need to do is to educate yourself about the whole "landscaping & planting" world. There are so many good books written for the non-specialists. You will learn about your zone, your lighting conditions, soil preparation, maintenance, etc. This is all covered in basic gardening books. As you do with decorating, you will look at tons of pictures and it will help you refine what you like and what you dislike. I even took several courses offered by my local botanical garden; one was about doing our own plan and professionals critiquing it. It was great. One thing you could also do is look at all the plans available on line. For example, there are many landscaping plans in the gardening section of BH&G. While I didn't use their plans, I look at them to see what I liked/disliked, learn about proportions, looked at their grouping and plant recommendations... I thought it was all very valuable. I also use the web a lot to learn more about a plant habits.

Time is also something to seriously consider (do you work full time? how much work can you dedicate to gardening each week?) Be careful not to underestimate the time needed for maintenance. Choose your plants carefully. Having nice landscaping around the house is a lot of work and mowing the lawn is only a small part of it (watering, fertilizer, bugs, deadheading, etc.). Contrary to decor, landscaping is never a "it's done" thing. Of course, you can just look at them grow... but you won't have a nice landscaping this way. Plants and shrubs are the easiest; anything with flowers needs more maintenance. Flower boxes and containers in general are very nice, but require constant watering and fertilization during the summer (so, I kept these to a minimum in my garden...). The good thing about our zone is that we can take a long break during the winter!

If you get too overwhelmed with the whole thing and you decide to hire someone, I think that educating yourself a bit first would help you get the landscaping you want.

Good luck! Learning before doing is a necessary first step to get the landscaping you want. It is hard work if, like me, you start at zero (this is also partly why I still have no door handle, nor light fixture... prefer to be outdoor during the summer...), but is is also very rewarding. I cannot wait for the snow to melt to see how my babies have spent their winter...

Start with TREES! They will be the bones of your yard. There is a tree forum on the garden side! River birches are beautiful. We have one out front and one in the back and they offer interest year-round. Japanese maples are wonderful, too. Your inspiration picture is a good example of starting with trees. One of my particular favorites is the crabapple. We have two out along the road. They are fabulous in bloom and pretty year round, especially if you get one of the spreading varieties (which I don't have at this house).

IMHO, roses do take a lot of care (black spot, Japanese beetles, pruning) and I am a pretty lazy gardener.

You will be surprised at the difference if you start by planting a at least couple of oaks or other large shade tree (sycamores are pretty, too and should do well for you) and some flowering trees like the crabapple and dogwood. With two acres, you could have A LOT of trees. We have more than 30 trees on our half acre and that includes 15 oaks and nine dogwoods (if I am counting right and not missing any), and two Japanese maples in addition to the two birches. I did plant two chaste trees (Vitex) last fall and can't wait to see them bloom.

Most of the oaks were here when we moved in and I have replaced two we lost. If you start with five trees or so and some shrubs, you can add a tree or three every year until you get the look you want. Do plan for mature size and plant the oaks (or other shade trees) about 15-20 feet from the house. I haven't worried too much about that and lots of ours that have been here forever are closer, but that is what most people on the Trees forum seem to recommend.

These are just some more ideas for you and I may have repeated myself, but the trees really are where you should start.

OK that's very helpful. Seems to me that what you want is to take a house exposed on a hill and give it some greenery to nestle into, if your inspiration photo is any indication. So most of what you and DH are both talking about at this point is just foundation planting, not really too much about the property as a whole at this point. That's starting to make it easier to make suggestions.

But I will point out that much of the "nestle" effect of your inspiration photo comes from trees that are placed well away from the house but that have achieved some height. So my first bit of advice would be to plant some trees out on the lot: plant them early, and you'll be enjoying them sooner.

For foundation planting, don't think too much about specific plants to start with. You could start by sketching out (on paper) where around the house you want planting beds. Make them a good depth (or width if you prefer the term) - it will look stupid to cram plants up against the house when you have such a big lot, especially anything that has the word "tree" in it's name. If that one section is 6 feet, I'd probably go up to ten on the others, but I don't have much of a sense of that kind of scale as my whole lot is only 25 feet wide! I've seen some properties on the LD forum shown with even wider beds.

Now, anywhere your proposed beds slope away from the house, you can consider whether you want to build them up with retaining walls to make the beds flat, or make the slope a feature by making them rockeries... basically just stepping down the slope using rocks to create planting pockets. You can simply plant on slopes without rocks too of course. You could use other edging too, or none at all, just a V-groove to stop grass encroachment.

Once you have your ideal bed placement laid out, think about the conditions each of them offers. North facing will be shady and coldest in winter, south facing will be brutally hot. You CAN grow plants in every exposure, but depending on what you want to grow and how hard you want to work, you might like to eliminate full south, or at least plant a tree further out in the yard to (eventually) shade the bed a bit so the plants won't expire there.

NOW you can think about plants.

Evergreens? They can be conifers (needle) or broadleaf (rhododendrons). These will give your plantings the structure and mass you like in your inspiration photo. They are the bones, we often say. There should be groupings of evergreens throughout your beds. There are specific types of each of these plants that will thrive in all exposures, north west east south. You'll have best success if you choose appropriately: junipers and spruce for sun, yew and rhodos for shade. You can of course put a few full size evergreens out in the yard for branch cutting and just general property enhancement, but near the house you don't want the natural species conifers, they grow big. Near the house you want what are called "cultivars"... named selections that will grow more slowly and have special properties. For example, a cultivar name would look like: Juniperus scopulorum 'Wichita Blue'. I'm hoping that's the sort of thing your husband is thinking of with the "spruce" trees he wants to put near the house.

You like Japanese maples? I'm a big fan too. They do well in part shade to mostly sun, so east or west facing is best for them. I wouldn't call them drought-tolerant, though, so they might not be best on very slopy areas where the soil will be very well drained. So decide where you will put a few of those. Yup, a few. The very small number of plants you're talking about so far will make much too small an impact for your size of property and house. Maples look nice with rhodos in my opinion.

Next you'd add other deciduous shrubs besides the maples, hydrangeas for example, which are sticks in winter but very nice through spring summer and fall. And then you think about the perennials or annuals you might want to grow on the ground. That part is often referred to as the jewelry. Remember, it disappears in winter and makes very little impact from a distance.

Imagine your beds from facing the house, and think about the shapes you want to see: tall and skinny here, tall and arching there, short and spreading there. You can also think about other plant attributes that you want in different places such as fragrance and colour.

Go plant shopping. What you can do depends a lot on what plants you can get. You can mail order plants.

Oh, and one more thing. It is way easier to move plants than it is to repaint a room. So if in doubt, plant things you like where you think they might work. Watch them for a year, get to know them a bit, and then if that doesn't work, move them the following spring (don't move plants in summer).

Don't know if that hits about at the right level for you, but if I'm off I hope it helps a bit.

KarinL

And I forgot one important thing: you don't have to make all the beds at once even if you plan them all at the beginning. You could start off planting up the bed you have beside the sidewalk while developing an idea of where you want to put other beds and what you want to put in them. You could even start with what DH has already visualized in each area, but planted so as to fit in with things to be added in subsequent years.

Roses... not bad really, depends on which you buy. But I like them mixed with other plants as they don't have enough foliage interest to be the only thing I would be looking at from the porch. Just flowers for a month doesn't cut it for prime planting space for me - but articulate what you need from the plants there.

KarinL

Oh bless you all. :) I've spent the past couple of hours now reading tons of stuff online trying to stuff my brain full of info. Brain is fried for the night. LOL I'll be back tomorrow.

Trees sounds like a good place to start! I don't know if anyone noticed but in the last photo of my house I posted there's a road on the other side of the propery. It sits up higher than the house but I don't want to totally cover up the house with trees when we plant them. I guess this goes into the planning process. Also wanted to mention the very bottom lower part of the yard is more wet. There's a small stream at the bottom and when we get a bunch of rain it's like a little stream for a day or so until it dries up.

Thanks again and I'll check this all out again tomorrow after a good night sleep!

Karin you were hitting in to the head btw. I couldn't put what I was saying into words. Even how you described the roses with not enough "foliage interest to be the only thing" is right on.

I guess I'm in panic mode right now because 2.5 years ago I didn't care about the outside of the house and told DH he could do whatever he wanted. I know if I have a good game plan he'll think it's great but I don't have a plan!

I can never seem to make these short when I say I'm going to. . .

Sheesharee-

The thing you'll want to keep in mind is that perennials are throw pillows. It's another thing that seriously disturbs the pros over on the LD side. People tend to assume that landscape = planting something.

The first things to consider are the site itself -- slope, grade - especially in those places around your home where it's less clear which way water will drain, orientation of structures, drainage, soil quality. Landscaping well means, first of all, protecting your home and taking advantage of the lay of the land, so to speak. The bones of your outdoor living space come from the house itself, the connections between interior and exterior spaces, future garage, driveway, paths, the future pool you mentioned, outdoor lighting, utility functions (shed, compost area, garbage, power lines, ac unit, etc.)

Mapping these features out creates the floor plan of your exterior.

Trees, then, come along next because they can be as permanent as the house itself. But, unless you can afford a fairly substantial specimen, baby trees won't become "bones" for 5 to 10 years.

Yet, in your front yard, for instance, it's trees that can eventually frame the curb appeal presence of your home.

Believe it or not ... and I don't know the voodoo formula ... but there are basic ways to site a tree appropriately given the height of a roofline etc. Which trees is such a personal thing, but choosing trees that like your conditions will be something you will thank yourself for doing for years to come.

You may also want to keep in mind the nature of the root system a cute baby tree will eventually have. Maples, and white pines, and ... oh, there are others ... are notorious for their extensive shallow root systems. Once they get going, forget about planting anything in their root zone; they drink all the water and suck all the nutrient from the soil!

So ... think about the trees, and where you want them, and where you don't want them! Poolside, for instance, may not be where you want a tree that is prone to creating litter ... and I don't just mean falling leaves. You mentioned wanting a birch. Could work, not saying it won't, but birches like wet soil along rivers and beside ponds. I'm not at all sure how they do in sandy or very fast draining soil.

So ... what about a grouping of specimen and under story trees in your front? Perhaps an oak, several slow-growing evergreens, and, in the foreground of the evergreen grouping a couple of jap maples and one red-twig dogwood.

That's the other thing that has really stuck with me from reading forums, design books, and working on gardens. Think bigger. One thing here, one thing over there, will often look lost. Containers (including window boxes) are so fun, and so satisfying to work with. But ... don't be surprised if your first efforts get sort of lost in the expanse of the great outdoors.

Our outdoor spaces are usually bigger than our interiors. Think about that for a minute. The same space for indoor dining, say, may look and feel cramped on a patio adjacent to your spacious backyard.

A cousin to thinking small is the dreaded perimeteritis. Narrow beds tightly hugging the house or fenceline. Tutus circling tree trunks, light poles, mail boxes.

Usually the above dreaded disease can be avoided by having a plan and planning generously. Instead of a tu-tu around this tree or that, create an interesting island bed combining trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs. Have it function as a destination or a bed that guests walk through or along to come to your front door.

Oh ... and on the hosta and roses plan? While there are hostas that do "tolerate" sun and there are a few roses that do okay in some shade, it's not what they love. I don't even know which way your house faces, which determines the sun exposure, but it doesn't make sense to put plants together with basically different preferences. Plenty of experienced gardeners test the limits, but for me and most folks it's just easier to work with combinations that are less problematic.

Hmmm ... don't know why I wrote so much. Hope something in there is helpful ...

Wellspring

Cool ...
Karen wrote it all way better than I did. Didn't see her post till I was done.
Sheesharee - That little water spot you mention might work for a birch grove?

Hope you rest well, y'all.

shhe: We've landscaped our yard a few times and what I've learned it that a good design is extremely impt. Esp. for things like hardscape and low voltage lighting which are costly to add in later. Since you are on a tight budget, however, you may want to call around to various nurseries in the area. Sometimes they offer a free design/consult if you purchase plants through them. After our remodel, I designed our landscaping using graph paper as far as when I wanted walkways, planting beds, etc. and then I was able to consult with an owner of a nursery and she made plant suggestions based on my zone and sun/shade. Then I bought the plants and on planting day, she came out and placed them where they needed to go and then my landscapers dug the holes. A big caviat is not all landscapers know about landscape design. And that is where some of the "attitude" you may see on the LF is. They are professionals and probably get frustrated when people either underrate the importance of design or try to pick their brains. It's a tad different than the kitchen forum where many non kitchen designers are happy to provide feedback on design issues. Still I think if you go in sounding like you've done your homework (I advocate some design books at the library as a place to start) and are asking for specific feedback, you are more likely to get a postive response.

Lastly, regarding your walkway, you could always cover it over with flagstone and it would be lovely. Flagstone and/or slate both require concrete below so they don't break.

You've gotten a lot of good advice here. Sheesharee, if you think indoor decorating is fun, wait until you've really tried this outdoor decorating thing. You are in for so much fun!

I live in a cold climate too, so my advice is to not forget the evergreens. I went wild on all the beautiful flowering trees and perennials, but in the winter, there was nothing. I have been planting in some evergreens and am happier with how the garden looks in these cold months. I am particularly in love with Hinoki cypress. Ornamental grasses also look really nice in the cold months.

You are in a bit of a warmer zone than I am. You can probably do redbuds and magnolias, as well as Japenese maples.

Don't forget to plant some early flowering bulbs next fall along that walkway, so that next next year, when you are starving for spring, those sweet flowers will be up close where you can see them. Have fun!

Shee, I also agree about the trees first, then plants next to the house. We moved to a bare acre with only one tree, now we have loads of big Oaks, Maple, a row of Cedars to block the north wind, a patch of bamboo, an orchard, etc.

Trees are your biggest investment but the payoff is magnificent.

Some Oaks grow faster than other's, along with Maples.

Have you checked to see what info is available through your local Cooperative Extension Office?

Here are a few things I found online.

PA tree resource guide

lots of PA guides in PDF format

Wellspring, I'm so glad you're here too from LD to add to what I said; we both said a lot but didn't overlap, which speaks to how much there is to figure out. Also lots of other good input from people who've actually walked the walk!

Val's point about about design is so well stated, and is something that I thought about overnight as well. My strength is in process and problem-solving, not in design per se (as if that wasn't clear from my other posts here!). So I can't say for sure that the process I suggested will get you to the end effect that you want - that is, whether you can really get a "nestled" look on a windswept hilltop and if so, how. For that I really do need the expertise that hangs out on LD.

If you post over there, maybe include some photos from even further away so it is possible to get the lay of the land better.

Finally, a warning about symmetry, which I heard a bit of in DH's plan. On a site and with a house that is not symmetrical, symmetry should be used judiciously if at all. Unity, balance, and flow are perhaps concepts that should supersede symmetry in your case.

Enjoy the learning curve, and I hope you and DH can work it out harmoniously!

KarinL

I'm back finally. Fun but long day of bridesmaid dress shopping with future SIL.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond to this.

The house is facing SE.

Symmetry - I've been wracking my brain trying to figure that one out since my house is heavy on the one side. lol Man, this is going to be so much harder than what I thought. Hopefully not but I could see DH and I butting heads. This is one thing where I'd rather do nothing than do it half you know what. It would really help me to see some photos of similar style houses with landscaping. Two story homes don't look like mine and I'm a visual person. I really don't know what would look good with the shape of the house. I think the lack of symmetry thing is really throwing me off. I haven't been successful looking online.

I picked up a couple different landscape books from the thrift store that appear to have lots of info. I feel overwhelmed.

I'm understand that I should plant trees first buuttt they just shouldn't be here and there right? Group them together in cool little sections? *whine* Hooowww?? I'm getting how important trees are but I shouldn't be figuring out anything for around the front of the house?

Groupings kind of like this?

Greenguy

{{gwi:1610410}}

L mtl - Thanks for the heads up about BH&G. That will be helpful!

Karin - "Now, anywhere your proposed beds slope away from the house, you can consider whether you want to build them up with retaining walls to make the beds flat, or make the slope a feature by making them rockeries... basically just stepping down the slope using rocks to create planting pockets. You can simply plant on slopes without rocks too of course. You could use other edging too, or none at all, just a V-groove to stop grass encroachment"

What do you mean "..slope a feature by making them rockeries" I can't get a visual of that. I'll have to check out what V-groove is too.

"Maples look nice with rhodos .."

What are rhodos? Rhododendrons?

Wellspring - "but there are basic ways to site a tree appropriately given the height of a roofline etc."

So I should pick trees that aren't going to grow taller than my roof eh? I'll look more into that.

"So ... what about a grouping of specimen and under story trees in your front? Perhaps an oak, several slow-growing evergreens, and, in the foreground of the evergreen grouping a couple of jap maples and one red-twig dogwood. "

I need to look up what specimen and under story trees are. lol I know I sound like a broken record..I don't know where to place them. I need to see how far things need to be planted from the septic also. Because of that won't the middle section of my front yard look nakid?

"Think bigger. One thing here, one thing over there, will often look lost"

So do the grouping thing for sure or just pick items that are larger in general. Like is suggested for on a mantel? :)

"A big caviat is not all landscapers know about landscape design..."

I know I won't know for sure until I make some phone calls but I'm pretty sure that's the deal with most landscapers around here.

Natal - Thanks so much for those links! Looks like that will be a great place to start reading!

Ha, we mail ordered some trees last year and stuck them down along the edge of the property. They were soooo pitiful when they showed up. I wonder if any of them made it.

Anyone have any good books or other online sources to recommend?

Is it safe to post over on the LD forum and ask for some suggestions? Even after I do more reading I'm not sure that's going to help a light bulb go off in my mind about design.

*Don't know what's up with the spacing! Sorry.

Those sites Natal linked to have gobs of info.

Question - Apparantly after looking at the maps there I'm in zone 6. When something says hardiness and zone 6 or 7 there's a good change it won't make it in 6? Should I pretty much write those ones off?

Do you have deer in your area?

I quickly scanned the posts & I did not see any referrals to deer.
IF you do have them in your area they will have to be taken into
consideration when you are choosing plantings.
Deer believe that all the lovely plants we plant are for them to enjoy! LOL!
Some of the suggested plants are like a salad bar for the deer.

Southern - There are deer in the area but I've never seen any near the yards. Doesn't mean they won't show up if the food is awesome. :)

Shee,

All great advice you have been given. I can't give you advice on trees because I always had enough without planting more but I can share with you some of my fav's.
I live in a similar zone to you. These low maintenance plantings:

Hollies:
Blue Prince and Blue Princess. They can handle full sun and shade. They get cute bright red berries on them. Love the shape of the leaves. Also, there is a variegated specie that brightens up any planting area.

Compacta Holly-they have small leaves and can easily be kept low or you can let them grow. I think they grow as high as 3'. No blooms.

Spirea-they bloom all summer long at different times and get pretty big quickly, so you have to trim them periodically.

Japanese Red Leaf Maple-bought mine at Home Depot last year during a special they were running for $50.00. It was the same size as the nurseries were selling for $110. Paired the Maple with low growing blue star junipers that I also bought at HD for $5.00 each. They were small but at the end of the summer they were just the right size. When the Jap. M loses it's leaves, it has achitecutral interest. The blue stars showcase that interest.

Liriope-looks like spider plant. They come in green or varigated. They get spikey purple blooms in late summer and look great planted in large groups. If you buy large ones, you can split them before planting and save $$.

Yews-love the dark green color and the pine needles.

Rhododendrons-beautiful spring flowers. There are so many species to pick from.

I love ferns of all types in the shade. The deer don't eat them.

If you have deer, don't plant Hostas. Deer love Hostas.

I bought our Compacta Hollies at Costco last year for $15 ea. They were the same size as the nurseries were selling for $35 ea. Also, Costco had Jap. M. for $99.00. Same size as the nurseries were selling for $250. You have to get there in the spring.

Also, always plant in odd numbers. It's much more pleasing to the eye.

What were you planning to do for irrigation? Is your husband is handy? I would make that a part of your plan. You can always add on to it as you get further into your projects.

When something says hardiness and zone 6 or 7 there's a good change it won't make it in 6? Should I pretty much write those ones off?

When a zone or range of zones is indicated, it means the tree or perennial is known to be hardy in that zone(s). In other words the tree/plant can be expected to grow in the zone's temperature extremes which is determined by the lowest average annual temperature. So if the plant says zone 6 you're good to go.

Shee, I don't have much to offer, but just thought I'd give you what little knowledge I do have, for what it's worth (which isn't much)! Sorry if it's not cohesive -- just trying to jot down some pointers as I think of them...

In the wet area of your yard, a nice cultivar of weeping willow will do fabulously there (and they grow very fast, so that will help you while you wait for the slower growers to fill in). Birches are also wet lovers, but don't grow as quickly as willows. Some willows can be messy, but I love their look -- personal preference, I suppose.

You CAN plant trees/shrubs just "here and there", but there needs to be a reason why they're placed where they are. Don't plant a tree that would block the view of your entry. Look out your windows to imagine what views you'd like to see (an outdoor focal point).

When you get to the plant selection stage, your local nurseries and garden centers will carry plants/shrubs/trees that should grow in your zone. I agree to start with your trees, and I've found that the local nurseries have better stock and really know their stuff better than the big box garden centers, so you'd probably be better off buying the larger $ trees from the nurseries in your area. Filling in with smaller plants and shrubs, you'd be fine to buy from big box garden centers if they have what you like (selection can be limited).

Bluestone Perennials has an online plant finder tool that is WONDERFUL (and it's a great place to buy plants, although they're small -- but they will grow and fill in nicely). I've also bought from Wayside Gardens, White Flower Farm, Spring Hill and Breck's. It's fun to look at their catalogs (especially White Flower Farm, but $$$) and get garden ideas if nothing else.

I've heard that the most common mistake DIY landscapers do is to plant too closely to the house. You need to read how wide the plant will get and allow that much room for it to spread out and to keep your foundation dry. Keep large trees well away from the house (at least 25') so you won't have leaves in your gutters, branches falling on the house, etc.

When you plant, plant much wider than deep. The roots need room to grow out more than down. (But you do want to plant as deep as it was in the pot.) If planting ball and burlap trees/shrubs, cut and open the twine so it doesn't strangle the tree/shrub. I've heard both that you can leave the burlap on and to take it off. I take it off, personally, just because I don't know if the burlap has been treated chemically.

It's a huge undertaking, but you'll probably become addicted to gardening in the process! There's nothing more satisfying than seeing something beautiful come up where nothing but dirt used to be! Have a BLAST with it!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Bluestone Perennials Plant Finder

Shee, I wish I could give you a hug. I can appreciate how overwhelmed you feel (it's how most of my life feels from time to time!). Let me try to put things in a more manageable state, and I'm afraid I'm going to contradict some other posters in doing so. They have good advice, but it's not all what you need right now.

I really do think you should go to the LD forum, it's really not a bad place. Your question about symmetry in DH's plan is a perfect one to focus on to start with, though you should obviously present your project as a whole. Just go in looking for tips to help you design it yourself, rather than for someone to design the thing for you. That's exactly what the forums are for! DO link to this thread, so that people there don't have to repeat what people here have already said. I'm sure you will find that the conversation evolves toward resolving other questions, and people will ask you to clarify things. Perhaps what needs to be articulated about LD is that it is not a hand-holding, cheerleading forum, but rather a place for problem-solving and analysis. The funny thing is that HD and LD are almost a bit like female/male equivalents of each other. Quality analysis of design occurs in both places, just in HD it is embedded in a warm, supportive, connecting environment, where in LD that's all they're there for (though they connect in the process). Think of it as getting "just the facts ma'am!"

Some steps to focus your thinking:

(a) try to formulate a mission statement for your project with your DH that expresses YOUR needs with respect to OUTCOME in the long term.

People will tell you to make an overall plan before starting, but you don't have the knowledge yet to do that. So just try to establish a direction. I jumped to "nestle into the site" from what you originally posted, but maybe that isn't quite right. Talk about what effect you want to achieve. It can be kind of vague, like "just look normal" or "less bare", "ground the house" or "balance the house," as long as it sets up a bit of an idea in your head that you agree on. Just to give some perspective, other people might say "wrap the house in a naturalistic woodland" or "vegetable gardens as far as the eye can see" or " a place to organize my collection of irises." Or they'll want a formal Italian or Versailles type of garden. Or "Sleeping Beauty's castle." You may need to look at pictures and read books to name your objective. I find that negative identification helps too - seeing a hundred examples that you reject can help you narrow down what you DO want. This will also help you distinguish relevant advice from useless advice.

(b) establish what is most important to you THIS YEAR.

I went to foundation planting because it sounded to me like both you and DH are currently thinking pretty close to the house. It also sounds like you're focussed on the front. This means you have to ignore everyone, including me, who talks about stuff you aren't ready to do, like planting trees, which may be smart, but if your heart's not in it and you're not ready, leave it for even a year. Besides, you've already done some of that, so good stuff. I was going to mention that mail-ordered plants are small but my fingers were wearing out. But (if they survived) ou're going to look up one day and realize you already have some respectable-size trees.

(c) decide whether you can do it yourself or have to get help.

The issue of symmetry points out something quite interesting about landscaping: it can be tricky to achieve even a pretty generic effect when the house is unconventional or atypical in some way. What form of help? Why not start with the forums, as it's a format you enjoy and that leaves you in charge of your project. Hire someone later if you still feel out of your depth. But you won't know till you try.

(d) when you are doing it yourself, understand that you are on a learning curve and you will make mistakes.

Everything you do will teach you something, whether it works or not. Getting one plant and putting it in the ground is like painting a patch on the wall rather than just walking around with paint chips.
That's why there is nothing wrong with letting DH go ahead with the planting he has in mind already, so you have something in the ground to step back and look at, and watch grow. I think that Wellspring's comment about impact will hit home immediately: he'll plant it, step back and go "I need more." Then the process of figuring out WHAT more is needed will be done with a better understanding of how things look in place. ANd if the hostas start to burn in the sun (and southeast, they will), you can dig them up and move them to the north side (just catch them before they actually die). If the roses look boring up close, head back to the nursery and look for something that scratches the itch that they leave you with.
Plants will probably die at some point, they always do. I think I've killed one of every plant I have before succeeding with them.

Some thoughts to hold onto:

(a) there is no "right" answer to how to landscape this house, or any others in terms of either OUTCOME or PROCESS. Landscaping is done for the people in the house, not for the house. Put ten different families in that house, and you'd have ten different landscapes, all of them just fine.

(b) the most important thing going on in any house is the relationships inside it. Never sacrifice a relationship to get a plant or rock put in what you think is the right place.

(c) unless you pour concrete, there is nothing in landscape design that is irreversible. See (b).

I'm not going to answer all your questions right now , partly because I think you need to forget about picking trees for now to do what matters more to you, the front foundation planting. I will just clarify that yes, rhodos are rhododendrons, and a V-groove is just a way of edging a planting bed - ignore that for now as you don't need to think that far ahead. And try doing an image search for "rockery" and I think you'll see right away what I mean.

But I will add that the point about deer is EXCELLENT. I keep forgetting about them. If you have them, you might like to be prepared to think about whether or not you want to fence the house off at all.

See you on LD!

KarinL

Lots of good advice, Karin. I still think planting a few trees now is a good idea. Shee's already waited 2.5 years. With 2 acres there's plenty of room to get started. It's not like trees grow overnight.

As for the attitudes on the Landscape forum ... the same exist on Laundry and Hot Topics ... and I'm sure a few others. Not the friendliest spots on GW.