Landscape ideas to improve front yard of split level home
5 years ago
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- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
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Landscaping for a split level home
Comments (2)I think landscaping a bilevel or splitlevel home is very difficult. There is a website called splitlevel.net that gives some very basic suggestions. Sorry I'm not computer literate enough to post the link. I have a bilevel and most of the advice for "regular" (that is one level) ranch homes seems to apply pretty well. The basic idea is to build out the front entrance a bit, using a courtyard or patio type of effect. Good luck. PS Lucky you living in Canton. This Steelers fan loved the Football Hall of Fame. My husband got to visit it again when he and the guys from work went to see Dan Marino go into Hall of Fame. One his friends is a big time Marino fan....See MoreSplit-Level Front Yard Suggestions
Comments (9)Thank you for the suggestion. Your picture shows flowers in the front yard as well as two shrubs and a pergola(?). The rest I'm not quite sure what I am seeing. The Pergola you show, however wouldn't work as our heads would smack right into it as we went up the stairs! Assuming it is against the house. I love the idea though. I also am concerned it might be too costly for us. I need to stick to inexpensive hardscape. Things like cinder block hidden by plants or pea gravel. Maybe some basic concrete work. I might be able to rope my uncle into helping with that. I have access to plants and I hope to have time to dig it all up over the next summer or two but I can't bust the concrete steps without hiring someone. I'm not very landscape-handy. I also like the tree in that picture. I guess I was concerned that the tree covers the front of my house a ton. It's blocking the view both from the house and of the house. It also STINKS! It's one of the worst smelling trees! That might be just myself and my partner though. I have never liked bradford pear trees. Perhaps I could leave it and consider working the landscape down around it as you have though. I attempted a drawing for myself. Anyone want to comment on this? I'll attempt another one with your idea in mind yin49 :)...See MoreIdeas for improving my bungalow's front/side yard? (pics!)
Comments (14)KarinL, you've given me tons to think about. Here are some thoughts in response to parts of it: Your questions about how I want to move through and be in the space are well taken. I'd add another consideration, though, which is how the house speaks to the street. I'd like it to say: "this bit is my yard, but please do come in! Because of the walk, the porch steps, and the deep front porch, the way in for visitors - and the way I'll walk in and where I'll put down groceries - are very well defined. Here are a couple of pics that show more of the front yard: Because of the way the holly tree (which I love) sits on the west side of the front yard, there's a real imbalance between very strong and rectilinear visuals on the west side and open and scraggly boundaries on the east, the more so with with fence coming down on the east side. I'm cool with the openness on the east and the more closed, divided feeling on the west, because I love my east-side neighbors and not so much the west-side one! That said, I do feel like there's a need for some visual interest and definition at the property line on the east side - something just a little sheltering to reach out from the side of the house towards the sidewalk and embrace visitors without overwhelming them. Which leads to your next point about... Planting along boundaries: The caveat against the beginner's mistake makes sense to me, because of course in interiors the comparable mistake is to line up everything absolutely straight against the walls. In this case, though, having lived in the house only a short time, I can clearly see the need for some definition along the property line but don't yet fully know how I'll want to move in the space. Since whatever goes along the side and back of the yard will be visible over whatever eventually goes in the middle, is there any harm in planting shrubs near the outside edges of the space and making decisions about the middle in a future season? On the hedgy stuff in front of the porch, I do have some useful info, and I think you're right that most of it has to go. There are several different things going on there. The low thing out in front that's trimmed like a hedge is a group of azaleas! Now, I like azaleas, but these flower in the worst possible shade of magenta for all the other color that's going on here. The largest thing is a red-tip photinia and most unfortunately it's falling victim to that leaf spot disease. Poking up between the azaleas and the photinia are a couple of very happy rhododendrons, which could stay and become part of a new grouping. I'd love to look out over something pretty when I sit on the front porch, but I don't need something that screens the porch as much as the current ailing photinia does....See MoreIdeas for improving my son's front yard?
Comments (23)Too bad that tree wasn't planted just a few feet over instead of directly in front of the main section of the house. Summer cooling should be a priority, but I think those who say keep the tree have never had a small yard and house where an out-of-scale tree dictates the entire landscape and doesn't allow any other plantings. My domineering tree is in the backyard and after 15 years, I took out all the lawn and made island beds and paths throughout. I'm steadily losing all my backyard sun and have had to move most of my blooming perennials to the front and replace with shade plants. The other problem is that that tree sucks every bit of water from my garden. I can never water enough in our dry summers. I don't know that I'd want a whole yard of just groundcover. Reminds me of when I lived in So. California and there was solid ivy or ice plant where you'd expect to see lawn. To me, that has a neglected, commercial-property appearance. But I love plants so I want an actual garden with a variety of plants. Can the honey locust be removed? That would give you sun in the front of the lawn and the grass should do better. The honey locust's roots are also in the lawn, so you've got two large trees competing for the water and nutrients with the lawn. And birches are thirsty trees....See MoreRelated Professionals
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