Help with Front Yard Bed Design
Hi everyone,
First time poster here. Just bought a house in NW Florida and want to start some work on the front yard. Right now its and sandy, weedy mess. I'm working on getting an irrigation system installed but I wanted to get a plan for the planting beds outlined so I'm not watering grass that will be beds in a year.
With sprinkler design as well as general aesthetics in mind, I am looking for some guidance to plan the bed shapes for the front. The area is about 2000 sqft, and as you can see, has the utilities along the left side of the lot line.
Here are 3 images of the front lawn per standard request. None of the current plants will remain in their current locations.
Here is a to-scale drawing of the lawn. 1 sq = 1 ft.
I am stuck in a rut and need a pair (or several pair) of outside eyes. The majority of my designs include something similar to the following image.
There are a number of things I like with my rough design: the bed around the utilities will provide opportunity to hide a majority of that from the eye. Also, the bed by the fence means I don't have to struggle to water that area and secondarily, allows me to hide the fence with pretty shrubs or grasses. I like the finger aspect of each bed as it would allow me to add a feature palm or grouping next year. However, I'm not sure it will work for irrigation and unsure how it will look visually.
Looking forward to hearing your feedback and recommendations!
Comments (8)
PROYardvaark
6 years agoThe sketch is just about bed lines. I'm not trying to suggest what a complete, full landscape would be.
The parts of your plan that I colored in purple would literally be impossible for you to plant an maintain. As a rule, a bed line will tie to the edge of something (curb, drive, walk, wall, etc.) at 90*, not at some acute angle.
In my opinion, it's a mistake to bring all that bed (as you propose) in front of the house, making it look either as if you don't want anyone to have access, or as if you're trying to hide a large portion of the house. It is better to have a clearer view of the front of the house and especially the entrance.
The utilities are not great to look at but neither are they horrible. I've seen many of such utilities traded in for grotesque plant monstrosities, which your bed line suggests. I think it's better to keep this minimal. Hide the box with some grass. Don't worry about those hatches that lie flat in the lawn at all. If anything, just paint them to your liking in order to camouflage better. They are minor.
nickbholmes88
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoRelated Discussions
Front Yard Design Help (with pictures)
Comments (6)First, east is a wonderful exposure for growing a lot of things. I wouldn't worry about poor growing conditions too much; just your classic super sunlovers might not get enough sun to bloom. Even with a small tree in the garden I would not be concerned about finding nothing that will grow (if you can grow rhododendrons in your zone you're definitely home free). East is also an excellent exposure for containers as they get shade just when the sun gets too hot, and a few big containers can do wonders as hardscape. Second, contorted filbert is eventually a BIG plant, and you can take my word for it, eventually arrives a lot quicker than you expect. I would not plant this near the house. Finally (rant on, not really directed at you) why does everyone always have to base their front yard landscaping around foundation planting, or make it the sum total thereof? Your house is quite cute, the area urban enough that it does not need grounding, and while the foundation isn't pretty precisely, it would be quite as effectively concealed by something like island beds or perimeter beds at the public sidewalk, or for that matter quite smart if painted and gussied up with a little flagstone pad with containers. Out in the yard your shrubs can grow as large as they like and the deciduous ones will grow better getting more light and light from all directions. Rant off. I am not here to say you should do it my way nor that my taste constitutes good design, I'm just saying that you might be able to overcome some of your constraints and concerns if you permit your brain to release itself from planting at the foundation. KarinL...See Morefront yard help - getting rid of large bed - pics
Comments (25)@ woody, my main complaint about the wedge beds is not how they affect or don't affect maintenance, but that they look bad. To have the arrowhead shape bed greeting you as you arrive into its space is not friendly and welcoming. It's not attractive in ground hugging 2-d design. If it's a 3-d shape, it's attractiveness lessens with every inch of height it gains. The shape is in contradiction to the growth patterns of almost any plant. Usually these beds are planted in contradiction to their true shape which helps lessen the mistake of their existence. How about offering a picture of any pointed bed that proves me wrong? @ growsveges, overall, I like the shape of the beds/lawn in your last picture. It's remarkably similar to my first suggestion with a couple of detail differences. The only part of it with which I take exception is completely confining the walkway to the front entrance with a planting bed. If what was planted in the bed in front of the entrance was very low, I don't think it would be horrible. If it was very low, colorful flowers that added a lot of cheer, it could even be good. Other than that, it seems to some degree a contradiction to have an expanse of green velvet carpet that leads to the front entrance and then as visitors actually get there, tell them to go elsewhere and enter a different way. Even if people won't actually access the entrance via the front lawn, the appearance that they could completes a thought process that seems logical and sensible. Being confined by foliage along a walk is not necessarily a pleasant experience....See Moreneed design help for front north side yard (plus window boxes)
Comments (10)It may seem tedious, hard, and unnecessary to move these plants, although most gardeners enjoy re-arranging to improve their garden's function and appearance. Most hate trying to move or rip out the mistake of previous owners, mistakes which sometimes then reveal damage. Because these plants are still manageable, this situation can be set right. Once done, you will be again at the point of considering next steps toward the goal of eventually having very little upkeep to handle. You will have lost nothing and gained several benefits: Protection of your home. Healthier plants. Better looking in terms of appropriate rather than crowded spacing. You will still have: Same plants. Screening of windows. And there are psychological and physical benefits: Lowered anxiety about whether the paint job and wood will deteriorate due to those pieris. Spring exercise planting your beautiful shrubs. Self-esteem up because you've gained knowledge and improved something wisely. Yes, you calculated the spacing, but forgot to calculate appropriate distance from building. Also, a shrub doesn't reach a certain number and then say to itself, "I'm 5 feet tall and wide now. I better stop or the shrub police will come and get me." Shrubs are living and, unlike humans, continue to gain height and width throughout their lives. I think the size ranges are estimated for 5 to 10 years?, but the shrubs don't know that and they will keep growing. What's to lose here? Re-planting 3 shrubs? Ah, c'mon! If I lived closer, I'd come by and help! Wellspring...See MoreFront Yard Design help
Comments (2)I did something similar, just had the beds made then did the plant selection and planting myself. I think it's a great way to reduce costs. Ideally, ask to have compost added along with the new topsoil and have them till the entire bed. When you have a new house the soil around it get very compacted from the equipment used to build the house. If you have new soil and compost added and tilling done, all the soil in the bed will be soft and easy to plant in. Often when you have a landscaper plant they will only amend around each plant, this way you're entire bed will be plant ready and not just where they put plants. That makes it nice when you want to plant small annuals. You'll probably want the beds in front of the house to be at least 8 feet deep, 12 is better if you want any trees or large bushes. If you just want low plants you can go with less depth(maybe 5 feet). Plants tend to look best when they aren't in a perfect row, unless you are going for a really formal look. It would be best to draw a picture of your lot with the house and hardscape on it to see how the beds look in the diagram, like a floorplan of your yard. Once you put in your plants, you can add your own drip irrigation system if you are not having irrigation put in for the rest of the yard, it's very easy and only costs about $100. Well worth it when you consider how much you have to water new plants those first couple years. If nothing else, lay out some soaker hoses. Take your time adding plants, research what grows well in your area and see how much sun and shade different parts of your yard receive. I have no idea what grows well in New Orleans, but I'd guess you'll have lots of options!...See More- PRO
Yardvaark
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago 
emmarene9
6 years agoIt is not attractive to allow shrubs to block windows. It is also not desirable to block an entrance view with shrubs.
If you are a gardening maniac you have plenty of room to make a bed on the left side of the yard.
- PRO
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Yardvaark
6 years ago emmarene9
6 years ago
nickbholmes88Original Author