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Landscape Design

Need ideas for front / side yard

6 years ago

Hello,
Building a new house in NJ with Southwest exposure. Will have sprinkler system - looking for ideas on what to put in front and side of house. Here were some thoughts, but would love to hear your ideas as to what would look best.
Plan has plantings adjacent to house and in front of paver walk, but I am not sure I want plantings in front of walk. Would prefer not to have anything with prickers. Thanks in advance.

Featured Answer

l pinkmountain

6 years ago

From what I can make out, it seems you are doing what is commonly called "overplanting" meaning putting too many plants in too small of a space. When you are starting out fresh this seems like a good idea because the new plants are small and the area looks good, not sparse. But the small plants quickly outgrow the space and then you have problems--it looks messy, you have to constantly prune, you can't get around the plants to maintain them, weeds hide underneath and around them, and they hold moisture against the house which can cause wear and tear. It is very important that you read and follow the plant labels and space your plants allowing for the mature size of the plants. If the label doesn't tell you the species of plant and mature size, don't buy it, find a more reputable nursery to buy from.

As for barberry, I don't much care for it even discounting the invasive part. I spend a great deal of time pulling it out of the native woodlands adjacent to my planted spaces, so I really think it is a mistake. Good alternatives are dwarf fothergilla, Pieris japonica if you have deer problems in your zone, (is that what "Japanese Dorothy" is?). Lowbush blueberries, winterberry holly, magic carpet spirea, dwarf weigela, dwarf sweetshrub, dwarf clethra, golden globe arborvitae, shrubby cinquefoil . . . all good alternatives to barberry.

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Comments (7)

Grubble
Original Author
6 years ago
Should have mentioned - the house is a traditional colonial with a bay window on the side.
l pinkmountain
6 years ago
Could you type your plant selections? Kinda hard to read on the monitor.
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Grubble
Original Author
6 years ago
clockwise from top left: window well, a/c units, 1 arborvite (must hide a/c units from street). Flanking porch: Dragonlady Holly. Either side front of house: 4 boxwoods with 4 barberrys. In front of walk: 8 barberry or lily turfs for flowers. Left side of house: 6 Japanese Dorothy's.

Thanks so much for any help!
emmarene9
6 years ago
I googled Japanese Dorothy and I still don't know what it is. I would not place a large plant on either side of the entrance as you are planning to do.

It is not possible to say if all the shrubs you want can fit in your space because your plan is not to scale. How deep and long are the beds to each side of the door? Where are windows located and how low do they get?
kitasei
6 years ago
You don't want prickers so knock out the barberries. They are also invasive in our midatlantic region. Even the reds and yellows are responsible for dispersing berries that revert to green throughout our natural areas.
PRO
Yardvaark
6 years ago
What stage of building is the house in? If any exists, you need to show pictures (that show a wide swath of scenery via slightly overlapping pictures, taken from not too far away from the front door, in line with it. Hopefully, the front walk does not yet exist so you can get some suggestions on how to improve it. ... The driveway, too, now that I look again.

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