Front entryway and landscaping HELP!
My son has just bought his first home, and is wanting to add some curb appeal to the front. It faces west, so the large tree in the front needs to stay, as it provides a ton of shade in the Texas summers. Does he start with tearing out all the landscaping, or maybe do something with the walkway? Should he paint his front door? He would love some ideas! Thank you!
Comments (6)
PROBeverlyFLADeziner
6 years agoI'm not familiar with what grows in Texas, but can you place colorful impatiens uner the tree in the shade? But the shrubs in front of the window to the height of the window sill.
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Landscaping shady 2' square area at front entry
Comments (12)One of two more issues come to mind with this location is the fact that it is north facing and you're in zone 9. That means whatever goes here will have to contend with those north winds without even getting the benefit of the wall soaking up heat from the sun. Crotons would give you a splash of color and you could trim them to keep them tight while letting them get tall. But they will probably die to the ground every winter if not die off completely in this location. The other issue is that while this area might not get natural rainfall and you plan to water yourself, the north side tends to hold moisture longer since it doesn't have the sun to dry it up. Even sandy soil like mine tends to become damp after a while, especially in the cool winter months. An idea I had was to find a cypress log, probably from a shop that sells such things, lean it into the corner and attach terracotta pots to it with wire. If you use the nesting technique, you can 'nest' the pots of a flowering plants into the mounted ones and enjoy the color. As the flowers fade or finish up, you move these plants to the back yard to a semi-shade location where they can get a bit of sun to induce more flowering. You would have a second or even a third set of pots already waiting to be moved into the mounted pots. This way you can cycle the pots from back to front and front to back and constantly change what colors you have and where they are. Beware though, if you move plants from this shady location and put them in a spot with too much sun, you can burn them pretty badly. You might even put in a few permanent pots of ferns or some other green-shade loving foliage. Coleus would be good foliage plants for juggling, though they are annual and will need to be replaced each year. They need a little sun to induce the best colors, but tolerate shade very well. You could do this with bromeliads as well and just move them to a protected spot on the south side for the winter months. Orchids and begonias might be options too. But if this is the front of the house, you might be inviting a theft or two as some people unfortunately have sticky fingers when it comes to orchids. It's not as permanent as a shrub or tree, but it allows for greater color that you will be hard pressed to find for this location and you won't have to constantly prune them to keep them from interfering with the door....See MoreHelp ranch no front entry landscaping suggestions please
Comments (2)If you expect that what you plant in the window boxes to actually grow, you're allowing no room for it without covering the window. The boxes should be lowered about 6" to 8". Don't know what the existing shrubs are but they are much too close to the building wall. They should be about where the edging is located or on the other side of it (about 3 1/2') especially because of overhang and window boxes. Looks like maybe you have what can become a small tree off of the corner of house. I'd pull that out farther and reconfigure edging around it and to be farther from house elsewhere....See MoreNew farmhouse landscape- front entry
Comments (3)Vstavay- thanks for this! I really like the evergreens, repetition and making that bed in front of the house much larger. I hadn't considered that. I'm not sure if we can put a tree on the left due to the cistern proximity, but we really could use one. Thanks again!...See Morelandscape ideas for front entry
Comments (2)Maybe Double Knockout roses. I've seen those used for massed color in Orlando area anyway. And the clipping of the two "topiaries" is like what is seen in formal rose gardens, that have large blocks of one kind of rose....See More
User
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoI would take out everything in front of the window (especially the two anchor shrubs that are too big and don’t look healthy) and do a sweeping, curved bed from the corner of the sidewalk to the corner of the house. I’d do a mixture of shrubs, perennials, grasses, and/or annuals ... with a bench, birdbath, our native Tx stones, or something else decorative for interest. There are lots of plants that would love the dappled Texas shade. Local nurseries (not big box stores) should be good resources to get advice and ideas for his exact area.
I’d get rid of the low palm, it needs more sun and looks like it got winter damaged. Maybe move it?
The front door looks nice, I wouldn’t paint it.
For the front door area, he could do plants for color, or grasses if he likes a more monochromatic look. Extend the plantings around to the garage. I really like the atrium-look plants there give.
Impatiens, Caladiums, Liriope:
Mexican Feather Grass:
This is a lame mock-up, not the surface, color, or design I’d use, but wanted to show an idea if he widened the walkway. My app choices are limited. :) Only my opinion, but I like keeping beds there better, to soften up and add interest to all the hard surfaces. Usually I’m all for widening walks, but in this case, I think it’s too much hardscaping for this particular area. He might prefer it to beds, though.
michelehaugland thanked UserUser
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
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