Need Advice - Landscape Design - Front of House
I just bought the house I rented for 10 years and can finally do something about the landscaping. I'm the middle of 3 townhouses. On either side of the front door is about 16 feet wide and 9 feet deep.
The HOA landscaper gave me a free rendering, but I'm concerned about his choice of Cherry Laurel and even the Blue Spruce (even though I know it’s a slow grower). I don't want to end up with huge "ball" looking shrubs again. I love to garden, but I don't want things that are too much to keep up with.
The area gets afternoon sun, and I live in Zone 7.
Pictures of my current landscaping and proposed rendering are attached.
I can't wait to feel proud of my landscaping. Can anyone offer suggestions?
Thank you :-)
Comments (18)
decoenthusiaste
5 years agoWell, the hedges do need to come out, but I wouldn't replace with soldierly rows of stuff as the render shows. You already have curvy beds and walk, so think more curves with the plantings. When will you need to re-paint the house? In preparation for that day, get the HOA's list of approved colors, upload your pix into some of the major paint company websites, and try to make some choices and design your beds accordingly, unless painting is 10 years away or so.
If you like the more rigid colonial look for the beds, this is a favorite on Houzz.
White Colonial House · More InfoAnna Massi thanked decoenthusiasteAnna Massi
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Need advice on Landscaping in front of the house
Comments (5)The general rule will be that the evergreens (conifers) will not grow back from bare wood, while the deciduous ones probably will. So will any broadleaf evergreens. The other way of categorizing them is (a) which ones you like and which you don't, or (b) which are good in the place they are and which are not. You might not need to know what they are to answer those questions. A plant you hate that's in your way = get rid of it. That may encompass, as Ink suggests, pretty much all of it. There is both a pro and a con to keeping such big shrubs. Yes, they may not need to be watered, but that is because they have large root systems that are able to suck all the available water from their surroundings, handicapping the growth of anything new you might plant. Also, those large root systems are capable of pushing out a lot of new growth every season, which = lots of pruning. And again Ink is right: you need to know how to prune to do that with good results. I'm for yanking them - whatever they are, they are not treasures, and the landscaping has basically reached the end of its planned lifespan. The trees in back, however, are doing a pretty good job of screening for you, and may do for some time yet. KarinL...See MoreLandscape Design- Front of House/ New House
Comments (12)My suggestions are to mainly to simplify and embolden... Remove the low-starting, wide spreading limbs off of the two front trees. Create a bed of single variety plants below those trees. Increase the bed size at the left corner of the house and move the small tree in it farther away from the house. Increase the foundation bed front-to-back depth where possible (to the 6' range or greater.) Paint the lower portion of the power pole in some interesting scheme. Add an island with small tree in front of the breezeway area. Remove the pyramidal shaped plants flanking front door and replace with beds of annual color. Underscore the left set of windows with the existing shrubs, but don't let them extend beyond the end of house. Underscore the bay window with a single planting that will not obscure the window lower portions. Widen the front walk. Does not need to be exact same material. Anything compatible will do. Same material could form cheekwall at single step. Or get rid of that single step. It does not look needed. (Can't tell if existing bricks are laid OK, but the weeds growing in them should be sprayed out for an improved appearance. A canopy or awning of some type above the stoop would make the house face much more interesting. PS: Thanks for putting on decent pictures ... one of the extremely few times I have not wished for better!...See MoreNeed help with landscaping design for the front of my house.
Comments (1)I like blues with brick. I would also paint your garage doors so they don’t stand out so much. And a big house like that needs deeper flower beds. And a big tree!...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 MoreAnna Massi
5 years agoAnna Massi
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PRODig Doug's Designs
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoA different idea using Sinica Boxwood, Rose of Sharon, Robin Holly, Candytuft & Little Lamb Hydrangea:
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Dig Doug's Designs
5 years agoIdea using Robin Holly, Softtouch Holly, Variegated Boxwood, Firehouse Nandina & Iberis sempervirens:
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5 years ago
PROYardvaark
5 years agoTo each his own but it seems less appealing to me to create a planting scene out of so many individual pieces. I favor fewer, thinking that in the end, it is visually stronger, bolder, easier to "read" and a whole lot easier to maintain. Since we can't see any of the flanking space, I'm ignoring it for now.
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Dig Doug's Designs