Front Yard is making Cream Walls look Green - any fixes?
bellajourney
11 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (21)
graywings123
11 years agobellajourney
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Any curb appeal ideas for a ragged looking front yard?
Comments (21)I did lots of thinking on this and came up with this non-constructive thought. If you were to want to sell you home, you would probably ask some real estate agents for proposals (price, their way of marketing, commission, etc.). Once you determined which one you want to represent you and home, the agent will take some pictures as part of the marketing (mostly online anymore). The agent is looking out for you, but also seeking the sale. If the agent believes that something is not right with the photo taken, then you would have a tendency to listen. A real estate agent is not an artist, nor a landscape person, but a good one will have seen lots of homes and knows what works and what doesn't. Stand at the curb. Take a picture, walk to the left and right several paces and take more pictures. Walk up the drive a bit and take pictures, not just of the house, but the view from the house. What would you want to do if you were thinking about buying your home? Now for some other comments: You have many horizontal lines on the actual house. The windows and doors are rectangle. All of that is very typical. Your yard counters that look a bit, but it also moves the eye in an awkward manner. You need to negate that. In your first photo, it appears that the house is leaning because of all that. I concur on getting rid of all that grows between the current walkway and the house. I concur that you ought to not have a straight line walk to replace it. My suggestion to balance the overall look would be to create a small berm on the left side, about 20' out from the house. Nothing large, but something that would break up that falling away appearance. In the first photo, there is lots of shade coming from the left side, I'll assume that there are some tall trees there. I'm a big promoter of color in the front yard; something that complements the colors of the house. Some might think it trite, but a burning bush on the berm would look good as the leaves are changing color this time of year. Those can be pruned to shape or let it go. I would also include blooming perennials that show different colors throughout the year. Poppies might work, as might some Veronica. There are many, many options for that kind of thing. Jim...See Morefix/replace 1/2 of back yard
Comments (6)Hey now Gary, let's not be too negative. Sod is probably not going to work out for you since it can be pricey, but not sure what units you are using when you say 20X30, feet or meters? If it's feet, then that's not too big, and the cost might be less than you think, especially if you do the labor of laying it. You need to call some sod farms to get a ballpark price, that's your job. If you decide to seed, then the dogs are going to have to stay off the area for at least 6 weeks, 8 would be better. Maybe split the yard with a temporary fence and do half now, the other half in late summer. Ideally the seed bed should be free of weeds, and graded. You can do this yourself, to a degree, but a professional with a box blade is going to do a much better job (this would also be the case if you sod). For seed, I would either go with a Kentucky bluegrass blend that uses traffic tolerant cultivars that do well in your area i.e. ones with longer growing seasons like Rush, Four Seasons, etc. The other option would be to use Poa Supina. This is a European grass found in the Alps that has a long growing season, spreads aggressively, tolerates shade, does very well in traffic, and in some instances does better if there is traffic. The seed is pricey (35 bucks a pound), and you will need 2-3 lbs per 1000 square feet. Which ever grass you choose, you will have to water in extended periods of no rain, and you will have to fertilize....See MoreNeed help fixing parents yard starting with this front bed
Comments (11)@NHBabsMy mom really likes the idea of opening up the porch! And thanks for your insight in general, I appreciate it. I'll see how redbud is doing in fall and play around with how the bed looks without it in photoshop. I think I still prefer the bed with height (we have a mature red maple and a mature laurel oak on either side of the house and having nothing treeform in the middle looks kind of stark to me for some reason). As for the mulch+groundcover, that is true, I'm still just worried since I'm only really here summers but it's worth a shot. As far as theme goes: Since I've always disliked how narrowly people thought of the "tropical" (imagine if we claimed every style using deciduous plants was "temperate"), always thought of as the exotic rather than the default, I kind of wanted to combine this "tropical" with something our very English colonist-inspired society thinks of as more nostalgic. I really love cottage garden styles and so does my mom so ideally we'd have "Florida cottage garden" be the look but that isn't really achievable in this neighborhood (would make yard stick out way too much + is more work to maintain than parents have rn). So basically what we're pursuing is a watered down version of that. Hopefully that makes more sense now. But mostly, I just plant stuff that works + has some utility (either for wildlife or is edible). If there's a plant in the yard without these qualities, it was here before I was. I would say I orient more around color than style (oranges & blues repeat a lot, reds are avoided) and I think I should make that more apparent in my choices of annuals and perennials to better tie things together. Mom's somewhat flexible but we're unwilling to make any big "structural" changes (e.g. removing anything large or dramatically altering the shape of a bed). We're looking for the biggest bang here without too much effort.. if that makes sense. -- I'm now thinking that perhaps the yaupons are enough if we want to keep the porch "open". Then underneath I can have a mix of Evolvulus 'Blew My Mind' (groundcover I have on hand/can propagate), existing gaura, and then add in some of the purple coneflowers I got going + 'black and bloom' salvias to make it go with the other beds more? Now it's just a matter of do I want them towards the back of that bed or towards the front (but not too close to path)? @kiminpl My mom doesn't use the porch much but my dad likes to a lot. Once this is done though I do plan on buying a gardenia or an abelia in a large pot and putting it in the porch area so that might give her more incentive to use it c: so I think orienting it around "looking good from porch" might be a good idea....See MoreFront yard makes me want to cry! help?!?
Comments (44)Hi Jenny, I think the problem is not just that it's dark. It's that we can't discern a welcoming entrance and that makes us subconsciously uncomfortable. So I think all the white will help address the hidden entrance. Also the garage is over emphasized. The two plants on either side emphasize the garage even more. I'd trim those down so they are so prominent. I like the white, too. I would put on a porch but since your husband votes no for that I'd try some easier fixes: paint the door and door trim white, get a new light fixture, leave it on during the day, paint the trim around the alcove white, move the chairs and flower pots as it makes the alcove crowded, widen your steps so they run across the whole alcove. You can then move your pots to ground level. I think perhaps the back wall that the door is set into needs to be all white. After these easy fixes, if it needs more, I'd consider possibly adding additional trim work around the alcove to emphasize it more. It's possible to have the alcove area paneled with Azek or boards and painted all white. You can also do something with your landscaping to emphasize the front alcove and make it clear where the welcoming entry to the house is so it isn't so lost in the shadows. For instance a "runway" effect of small boxwoods (not sure if boxwoods are weather proof for your area) on each side of the sidewalk. Additional plants could round out the area as the designer indicated above but having that straight line to your front door I think would emphasize the alcove. Additional ideas - just brainstorming - these may not be good ideas - a pergola around the alcove (search on "pergola at entrance" on houzz), pergola over the garage doors to break up the triangle there. Trellis in white of course alongside the garage parallel to sidewalk. Paint the garage door white to break up the huge expanse of one color (which makes it appear even larger.) Extend roof over alcove forward so you can add a single white pillar at the corner. Look at how the white trim around the bay window is fairly wide and has a lot of presence. I think you need to produce that white outline around the alcove in the same way - wide enough to have presence to draw the eye. The darkness of the alcove may not even matter if the white outline is there to show where the doorway is. There appears to be existing trim outlining the alcove (at least at top and on right hand side). If it isn't wide enough - doesn't have enough presence - you can have an additional layer of wider trim attached to it at a fairly economic cost. You'll have to post pictures so we can see your home in its next phase! Sally...See Moretreasuretheday
11 years agolazy_gardens
11 years agocaminnc
11 years agoleafy02
11 years agopharaoh
11 years agochickadee2_gw
11 years agopalimpsest
11 years agoUser
11 years agoyayagal
11 years agobellajourney
11 years agotuesday_2008
11 years agoLori A. Sawaya
11 years agoawm03
11 years agosweeby
11 years agosombreuil_mongrel
11 years agoDebbie Laird
11 years agoTmnca
11 years agodivasurfbird
2 years ago
Related Stories
MOST POPULAR12 Key Decorating Tips to Make Any Room Better
Get a great result even without an experienced touch by following these basic design guidelines
Full StorySMALL SPACESHow to Make Any Small Room Seem Bigger
Get more from a small space by fooling the eye, maximizing its use and taking advantage of space-saving furniture
Full StoryLANDSCAPE DESIGNLandscaping Magic Fixes a Dangerous Sloped Yard
It had scary parking, a confusing entry and erosion issues. See how this steep California landscape gained safety, beauty and clarity
Full StorySELLING YOUR HOUSEFix It or Not? What to Know When Prepping Your Home for Sale
Find out whether a repair is worth making before you put your house on the market
Full StoryBEFORE AND AFTERSKitchen Rehab: Don’t Nix It, Fix It
A small makeover makes a big impact in a traditional kitchen in Atlanta with great bones
Full StoryLIFEYou Showed Us: 20 Nutty Home Fixes
We made the call for your Band-Aid solutions around the house, and you delivered. Here's how you are making what's broken work again
Full StoryGARDENING AND LANDSCAPINGCream-of-the-Crop Vegetable Gardens
Both trendy and traditional, these inspired potager designs turn the everyday vegetable garden into art for your landscape
Full StoryFEEL-GOOD HOMESimple Pleasures: Make Do and Mend
Experience the satisfaction of fixing, repurposing and creating things yourself around the home
Full StoryDECORATING GUIDESFix Those 'Whoopsies': 9 Fast Solutions for Decorating Mistakes
Don't suffer in silence over a paint, furniture or rug snafu — these affordable workarounds can help
Full StoryKITCHEN DESIGN6 Kitchen Fixes for Nomads
Renting? Some Affordable Ways to Make That Kitchen Feel Like Your Own
Full StoryColumbus Area's Luxury Design Build Firm | 17x Best of Houzz Winner!
Eric Sorensen