Need advice for front yard landscaping!
9 years ago
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- 9 years ago
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Need advice on front yard landscaping project
Comments (8)Colli - grass-less front yards in Seattle are common and with our increasingly dry summers and ongoing water limitations, they make a good deal of sense. Perhaps one in 4 of my design clients are asking for the same approach as you - they no longer want to water or tend ridiculously small patches of unused lawn when something more aesthetically pleasing, drought tolerant and low maintenance can be had just as easily. Reconsider the raised bed approach. This is not always the best idea for a high visibility entry garden, looking a bit like a leftover vegetable garden regardless of what was planted. And seldom does the very precise geometry of a raised bed garden successfully accent the residence unless you are going with a very formal house and a very formal parterre garden with bricks or stone forming the beds and paving the walkways. And this is just not the character or attitude of most Seattle neighborhoods and certainly not your home. Try for something a little looser and more organic in its approach. Go ahead and remove the sod, add some organic amendments and till, forming gradually raised planting beds (mini berms) with a slightly recessed, softly sweeping pathways moving you around to the side yards or wherever access is required. You have your choice of path materials - just allow sufficient width and/or durability to make walking and transporting equipment and supplies easy. For your situation, I'd consider two paths, one staring about 1/3 of the way along the drive, the second starting just past the 2/3 mark, and have them meet up towards the side of the house with the organically shaped mini-berms flanking them and in the center. Add some rock, some low growing and drought tolerant plant material with perhaps a midsized tree for a focal point (place off center in one of the beds) and you're good to go!...See MoreFront yard landscape design advice for unconventional home
Comments (5)This is a cute garden that I snapped a picture of the other day. Could I do something like this with the addition of some shrubs or other taller plantings as focal points? Although there are a lot of plants, it doesn't look too terribly hard. Lamb's ear, sedum, not sure what the variegated ground cover is. I should have added in my first post that I have a 3 y.o. and 1 y.o. and a large vegetable garden in the back, so I'd like the front to be relatively low maintenance. I am not opposed to covering the whole bed with shrubs and ground cover, then adding interest as the years go on....See More9a front yard landscaping advice
Comments (28)Rock gardens provide excellent drainage, so in theory would allow you to grow plants that can’t make it in Houston’s heavy, mucky, clay soil. However, rock gardens in Houston are tough, mainly because of the torrential and violent rainfall. Any soil you pile up, and any mulch you place will get washed away. Large decorative rocks are pretty in most parts of the country, but in Houston they grow mold and mildew, so pick dark colored ones or you’ll be power washing them along with your driveway. Add some searing heat and deep freezes, and you’ll see why you can’t design a California landscape and succeed with it in Houston. So, I’d look around at what succeeds in the Houston climate. Holly ferns, azaleas, camellias, crape myrtles, and mondo grass. You can make an attractive and easy-care landscape, but stick with the few stalwarts that thrive in this climate. I’ve lived and gardened for decades in many parts of the country and the best advice is generous planting beds with lots of mulch populated with plant species that thrive in the local climate....See MoreFront Yard Curb appeal - Landscape / Hardscape advice needed!
Comments (46)Dennis - Unless I missed it, you didn't say what direction the front of your house faces, and how much sun it got, that is, if it's sun is obstruction by tall buildings on the other side of the street. The other very, very important thing for you to think about, of which other Houzzers might not be aware is that Southern California goes through extreme water shortages pretty much every single year, and many areas are told to not water their lawn or do it only minimally for parts of the year. That should really inform how you think about landscaping. Admittedly, I do understand if you despise cacti and other succulents. But you might want to seriously think about eschewing live grass in favor of artificial turf. There are marvelous artificial turfs now that would fool anyone, certainly from standing height, and you obviously don't need to water it and think of all the $$ you save in gardener's fees, and none of those those pesky varmints rolling up the sod, either.! You can can still have specifically carved out flower beds, and trees and bushes with planned irrigation for those specific areas. Your area abounds with very experienced landscape architects. You want someone who has an artistic eye, and who knows hardscape and who is very familiar with the plants that do well in your area, and is familiar with the exigencies of life in SoCal and in your microclimate and can speak frankly with you about what you want to get out of your garden and how much work you are willing to put in to it. Do you sit outdoors in the front or the back? Do you want fragrant flowers on a trellis where you sit there or will a fragrance annoy the heck out of you? Will you sit outside in the morning or night, so do you need flowers that bloom in the am or bloom in the evening with colors that will be seen sell in twilight and at night? Do you want an herb garden for cooking? Do you want vegetables? Do you want several rose bushes so you can fill your house with roses, or other flowers so you can always have bouquets? Of course Dig Doug's designs look fantabulous as always, but note that his designs show significant hardscape changes to the front of the house. You might want to think about saving up some money for the hardscape work. If you get rid of the grass and put in artificial turf, you will end up saving a fortune of money on your water bill that you can put toward hardscape. If you have never owned a house before, you would not believe how much the water bill will be, and when you add in watering the lawn, holy moly!...See MoreRelated Professionals
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Julia WakawakaOriginal Author