Help landscape my daughter's new home
cindy2459
4 years ago
My daughter recently purchased a new home and wants me to come down in a couple of weeks to help with landscaping the front yard. We live in Nebraska in zone 5. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you so much in advance!
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cindy2459
4 years agoRelated Discussions
New house, new at landscaping, need help
Comments (5)Congratulations on the new house, ontheairship. I know nothing about gardening in your climate, so I won't try to suggest plants. However, since it will help other members to know your hardiness zone (there are five in Florida), please tell us (generally) where you live, or look up your zone here: http://www.garden.org/zipzone/index.php It will also help to know which direction the house faces, how much sun the beds get (on both sides of the front yard), and whether the lawn includes any of the invasive types of grass like Bermuda. The palm is directly in front of your front door. You want people to be able to see your front door (which is already difficult, because it's set at the corner of the house, and in a narrow recess to boot), so remove the palm. Remove it now, because it will only get larger. [The shrub closest to the front door is also trying to hide the door.] Most on this forum dislike that type of edger and consider them out-of-date. The white color makes them stand out from the landscaping, but the narrow white lines aren't to scale with your house. They don't lend themselves to curves, so you're either stuck with right angles (not necessarily a bad thing, but limiting) or awkward shapes (like the attempt to "curve" the front bed). Consider also the two beds in the foreground of the final photo: a rectangle and a tiny circle, just inches apart. If it weren't for those edgers, the beds could be combined. Obviously you already own the current edgers, and replacing them with another type of edger will involve an expense. Along the front walk, the edgers seem too close and too busy. For that and other reasons, I would eliminate the narrow bed alongside the garage. The front walk is already narrow, so replace the bed with cement (of course, the older and newer cement likely won't match). If you can afford it, replace the entire walkway: widen it to at least the outer edge of the doorway recess; round the outer corner where the walkway turns around the corner of the garage. The white rock collects weeds and doesn't stay white. Decide how you feel about that. Consider asking the Florida Gardening forum whether a clean rock bed is possible, and if so, the best way to go about it. If you decide to get rid of the edgers and rock, Craigslist is a possibility....See MorePlease help my daughter/SIL with house facade...quickly!
Comments (23)I do like yellow houses, but think it makes this one looks insubstantial. I think also that the brick tones should play some role in determining the color of the house. A true taupe, with no pink undertones, would be nice for this house. In fact, I really like the darker color for the siding. Painting a house a dark color can make it look smaller. That problem can be mitigated by painting all the trim pieces a lighter color----- not white or cream, but a much, much lighter shade of the color of the siding itself. As for the foundation, I think they have done the color scheme backwards.....you don't want three great dark holes. I would paint the arches themselves (stucco or drywall or whatever it is) the same color as the house. I would add trim pieces to the outline of the arches, molding that isn't a super fancy profile, but substantial, and paint the molding the trim color they use up top (the lighter taupe). The lattice I would leave in place and paint a lighter color still....not white, but the lightest taupe compared with the siding (darkest color on the house) and trim (much lighter taupe than siding). The shutters would be the same lightest hue as the lattice. That would unify the very disparate elements and colors going on. If they replace the railing--- and I would--- I'd use simple square railings the trim color (not the lightest, but the middle color in this palette). The door would be something entirely different--- perhaps a green or even a light coral. It's a pretty house with lots of curb appeal!...See MoreNew Home - Blank Canvas - Help Me Landscape My Front Yard PLEASE!
Comments (10)I'll try to play catch up. (Have been travelling for a little more than a month in the past 40 days. Much of that was without Internet so more absent than I thought might happen.) The drawing is pretty basic but hopefully it will convey some ideas. First, I would get rid of the odd angles on the beds. They would look much better to tie in to walks at 90* angles instead of weird wedge shapes. In the lower, right corner I'm illustrating two ways you could make a circular bed around the lamp post. (The lamp post is a primary purpose of the bed so the bed ought to use the post, at least roughly, as the radius point. And a generally circular shape would make more sense than a sprawling asymmetrical wedge shape.) Also, I would re-shape the large front bed. It should swell out to accommodate the tree you intend to plant but does not need to extend outward, around the walk in a grabbing fashion. To explain the planting in the illustration, it is a shrub below each window of the garage, and a small hedge below the pair of windows (right half). None of those should get taller than bottom of the window. There is seasonal color flanking the entrance to the porch and at the left of the porch. A perennial mass wraps the garage corners and right house corner. A low groundcover, solid, links the other plantings together. Can't tell how your existing tree would possibly conflict with the proposed tree. (The third picture you posted was taken from a different position so the existing tree location shown could be seriously misleading.) You might want to consider moving the proposed tree farther back in the scene rather than placing it at a pure diagonal to the house corner. (I wouldn't know because we don't have the information.) A large shade tree is probably not in order. A flowering tree (such as redbud) might be a better size to use so close to the house. As far as what plants to use, gauge the heights and research what plants grow locally that could perform well....See MoreLandscape and Sidewalk design help for new house!
Comments (19)I don't think you are looking at the big picture. Many or most things in landscaping are some sort of balancing act, weighing trade-offs ... benefits in one place vs. benefits in another. Having a tree outside a window, several feet away, does not mean blocking a view. It means seeing a tree trunk. While I drew a multi-trunk tree in the other picture, it would not preclude you from specifying a single-trunk tree, once you weigh all the factors. If you choose no tree, I think you will help ensure that the barren, industrial look prevails, instead of things looking a little homier, with a sense of shelter and protection that a tree canopy affords. A tree helps a home look nestled in instead of being cold, hard and just stuck on top of the ground. From the complete left to complete right of the house face, it's a long way to go unbroken by any foliage. I dare say there are quite a few forum participants who would want the view of your house nearly obliterated by many trees with low hanging foliage! I am not one of them and strive to avoid covering or obstructing architectural features. But to leave the upper portion of the architecture entirely naked seems a move in the opposite extreme, as though one's criteria were of that of a shut-in who never saw the outside, and thought it to be unimportant. It's better to strive for balance....See More
PROYardvaark
4 years agoThis scheme is a basic approach to arranging plants for landscaping.
It looks like the shrub that is growing below the banks of windows is suited for the purpose. You could it reconfigure and add more. Other things you would get new. The drawing is not a recommendation of what plants to use. You can explore those that grow in your area for suitability. It's a recommendation of general sizes, shapes and where to put them.
The tree needs limbing up.
It would help the house immensely to create a larger stoop and a wider walk to serve as a landing for it. The walk should be pulled farther away from the house in order to allow adequate space for planting.
cindy2459 thanked Yardvaarkcindy2459
4 years ago
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