Landscaping ideas for front of house
oldbat2be
8 years ago
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babbs50
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Need landscape ideas for front of house
Comments (1)Please back up and show the whole front yard and house. It looks like there's a lot missing....See MoreEasy Care landscaping Ideas for front of house
Comments (0)My son is re-landscaping his front. I don't have the tool to use to show the out line for his new landscaping. If someone could help me I would be so appreciative. They want to add boxwoods in the back row as a foundation plant. I was also thinking of dystylla or something else that would be easy care. Your suggestions would be wonderful. I suggested carpet roses in the front with a pop of purple lavender or another perennial when the roses are not in bloom. I wanted to see the landscaping begin from the sidewalk around the big tree they have on the end of the house. Maybe a focal point of 2 skinny bushes on either side of the stairs. IDK. I need a little help. The house is a beige color with black shutters. I was either thinking pop of red carpet roses. I just need a little help and any other suggestions. Thank you...See MoreNeed ideas/help for landscaping at front of house NW Illinois Zone 5
Comments (34)First of all KUDOS to you!! I have rock mulch all around my house and it has taken me years to get rid of it in some spots. Of course I'm not as dedicated as you obviously were. Really amazing that you were willing to take the time to do that. Give yourself a big pat on the back!! In IL, I wouldn't plant stuff up close to the house, It holds moisture against the house, in many forms, including snow. Haven for all kinds of bugs that get into the house. I'd leave at least three feet between the house and anything I planted. You might want to start out with the less expensive smaller plants, but make sure to check how big they get at maturity. Below is a link to the MO Botantical Gardens "PlantFinder" search engine. You can look up most of the plants that would grow well in your zone and find out the real deal about them. Give your baby plantings room to grow. Easier to fill in between shrubs with annual flowers than rip out overgrown stuff. Ask me how I know . . . https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder/plantfindersearch.aspx Maybe walk around your neighborhood and take pictures of houses you like the landscaping of, and copy some ideas from that. That's what I did when I moved into my first house, for ideas on landscaping. I took nightly walks and got a lot of ideas from peering into neighbors yards . . . Check out some books from the library, there are lots of books on how to basically landscape a basic home. My favorite, probably out of print, is Cass Turnbull's handbook. She goes into not just how to design your plantings, but how to maintain them too. https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-complete-guide-to-landscape-design-renovation-and-maintenance-a-practical-handbook-for-the-home-landscape-gardener_cass-turnbull/389930/item/391485/?gclid=CjwKCAjwrPCGBhALEiwAUl9X0_79Z7hoPI67oemQK8eqUFYDEz_xHv3F_eRviJaKq4gNPhsTl3Z0GRoCO00QAvD_BwE#idiq=391485&edition=2871674 Another older book I used was "Better Homes and Gardens Complete Guide to Home Landscaping." In general, think big swaths, not tiny little edges against the house. Most people don't look at the whole landscape, the lay of the land when landscaping, they just throw plants right up against the house. Look at your yard as a whole. It's even hard to recommend things just from the sectional photos you posted. Obviously you're going to do something about that weird "C" shaped bed in front of the house. It's unnecessarily difficult to mow around. As for "something with some height" I would recommend looking into some type of viburnum shrubs. The question is, are you going to a nice professional nursery or a big box store. If you go to a big real nursery, there might be someone there who could help you find the kinds of plants you are looking for. I know last time I visited such a place, a lovely woman helped me find the perfect tree for my yard . . . You might consider a rose trained against a trellis between your front windows. Just a thought. And here I'm breaking my rule about not having plants up against the house . . . ! Here are some lovely shrubs that I've dealt with that keep themselves tidy--weigela "Wine and roses" "Margic Carpet" spirea, "Miss Kim" lilac, Gold mound arborvitae, dwarf mugo pine, dwarf fothergilla. I also love the landscape roses, but that's me . . . One kind of hosta alone is sad, a whole selection of different colors and leaf shapes is cool. No go if you have deer browsing . . . I agree though, the purpose of landscaping up against the house is for your pleasure. Curb appeal is just al little welcoming thing at the entrance. Can be a simple planter with red geraniums. The rest is what you want to see and enjoy. From the street, you want big structural elements, well away from the house, but places so they don't impede the view in or out. Unless you want a lot of privacy in the front . . . There's really no reason to obstruct the view of the front of your house with a lot of heavy maintenance shrubs, etc....See Morehardscape landscape ideas for front of house
Comments (8)Assuming you can’t change your door to face forward, you could remove the stone and then add a porch that extends to the right side of the house to the driveway. Widening and curving the walkway up to the porch adds interest and softens the yard- you could try finding pavers or stones that match the gray stones on the outside of the house/the roof to tie the landscape together. You could also try a wider straight path lined with shrubbery like this one or try planting grass around the pavers for a more modern look like this one....See Moreoldbat2be
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