First house - Need landscaping help for the front
I closed on my first house earlier this month and am tackling a bit of fixing it up - as evidenced by the metal frame I can't get off the house from the awning I removed. *eye roll*
Anyway, I got a little ahead of myself and bought two peony plants this week. I'm in Nashville, zone 7a. Front faces the north east, backyard gets sun, but there are some big trees in the very back that provide shade. To the left of the house is space next to the house in between the driveway and house. The previous owner planted azalea bushes and roses in the front - I'd like to change all of these out at some point. I'd love any and all suggestions for what to do in the front/where to put the peonies.
As an added bonus, any suggestions on what to do about the shutters - color to paint them or remove just them - would also be fantastic. I'm planning on repainting the trim color from the current yellowish to a white.
Comments (7)
PRORL Relocation LLC
5 years agoGood gravy about the metal frame, i call for a saws all and just buck it back to the wall if you cant get the bolts out. lol.
ponies need lots of sun, or they wont give you enough flowers to make it worth their while. So I'm not sure if they will work for you here. you probably get some morning sun in the front but im not sure.
Paint your front door black is no good for your cute house. As to the shutters I would just remove them.
Instead of white trim I might fancy a sage green or leave it as is once you remove the shutters white will be too plain IMO.
You really need a good landscape plan, ex: there is no path from the front door, and that will be a big factor into the garden design.
https://www.gardenia.net/plant-combinations/hardiness-zones/7
coreygood72
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Help Need Advice Ideas Landscape Front House
Comments (25)yes, it is heavier. This house is similar to the house the DH and I just sold. It had a raised concrete patio in front of the house. I didn't know how to landscape in front of that PIA :o) and I don't know how to landscape in front of this one either. I don't know how this owner feels about their patio, but I didn't want plants large enough that they would obscure the view. Also didn't want the predictable symmetry of two same-size pyramidal evergreens on each side of the house. As I said above, I'm no designer. I'm just playing around with pictures, trying to keep reality in mind. To be real honest, if it were me, I'd never plant the large shrub by the corner of the house, just because I'm onery and it's one of those things that "everybody" does, so I wouldn't! That, and we had to cut down two at our previous home 'cuz they had grown to well over 30 feet high. Needless to say that they dwarfed our little ranch/tract home, a house that already sat on a hill. It was atrocious. Anyhow, thanks for the notice re: balance or lack thereof. I'll leave that to the homeowner, but I would love a suggested solution to landscaping around those darned patios. I don't have one anymore, but I'd still like to know. Moon...See MoreImprove curb appeal: First home help; Front landscaping suggestions?
Comments (43)Flo, I like your sketch very much (although without knowing the basic sun/wind info I mentioned above, it may or may not be what she needs.) However, the suggestion of polished black Japanese river stones for a first time home owner in Oklahoma is probably not helpful.b You will drain her budget and she will find herself looking at dusty, not shiny, stones. If she likes your concept of creating a dry bed/ river effect (as I do), you or someone else might teach her how to do this with grasses native to her area. Ones that can be easily propagated by division, require no water or weeding, and will blow in her prairie breezes while attracting birds and wildlife. Can, I urge you to google images of landscapes by Oehme, Van Sweden. They are known for using sweeps of native plants, especially grasses. My suggestion to you is to play around with flexible hoses or ropes in dividing your wide open space to see what shapes please you. Then imagine the spaces filled with different color blocks of various heights. Which ones do you want moving, which ones static? Designing a three dimension landscape from scratch like yours can be overwhelming. Break it down into digestible parts. 1) Gather all information about your conditions. 2) Get out the hoses and ropes and draw on the ground like a canvas....See MoreHelp! need suggestions for Landscaping front of house.
Comments (2)Added photos that show the whole front of the house and yard would help. Stand 15 ‘ or 20’ from the front door and take one photo straight on and without moving to another spot take one or two slightly overlapping photos to the left and right so that we can see all the way from the left side of the property to the right, and up to the roof line of the house. Plantings need to be in context, so we need to see windows, doors, other plantings, etc. so it all works together and looks proportional to the building. For instance, are there trees shading this spot? Is it a one or two story house and how big is the roof overhang? What do the current shrubs look like? Since you aren’t in a desert area, an organic mulch such as shredded bark mulch or chopped leaves will work much better than stone for your mulch. Knowing the nearest big city will help as well so we can have an idea of soil pH. In my area, acid loving plants like Rhododendrons do well, but in areas with more neutral or alkaline soils, they aren’t happy....See MoreNew Home! Need help with front yard landscape!
Comments (8)I think sprucing up your lawn quality will go MILES. I also like the post showing a corner tree, and nice edging/mulch. You have good bones to work with, just needs more TLC....See MoreUser
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ocotillaks
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totoro z7b Md
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Yardvaark