Help with curb appeal/landscaping
Looking for recommendations to increase curb appeal in the front of our house. There is no “front door” rather a side door next to the detached garage (not visible in picture). This is the view from the road. If facing the house, the right side front yard is very shady and so far I’ve only had success with a holly , hosta and rhododendron there. Towards the middle and left side
there is more sunlight and therefore a hydrangea does well there. There is a mountain laurel that I am nursing back to health in between the two windows from the right.
Also looking to re-paint the house this summer so I welcome color suggestions.
Should we add shutters to the larger picture window? Window boxes with flowers?
We’re in Zone 5
thank you!
Comments (12)
kdelprato
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoRelated Discussions
Help with curb appeal landscaping?
Comments (7)My reply is only in regards for re-sell, not what I'd do if I was staying long-term. This is based on feedback I got when we were selling our former house. Did I read correctly that you're planning to sell? If so ... I learned fast that not everyone likes gardening/maintaining extensive beds full of flowering plants. I know, what?! LOL. But seriously, even us on this board can get overwhelmed, and it's our passion. Most of our "lookers" were intimidated and said so. The eventual buyer told me (we did FSBO) she loved our landscaping, and it's what sold them. Guess what? She ripped out almost everything, including perennials, cedar arbors, shrubs, stone paths, mature Crapes, low stone walls, decorative fencing, plus made the beds smaller, etc ... replaced with grass and put up a big privacy fence. Go figure. So--my advice is to not add more flowers, or anything that adds more upkeep, you have plenty of nice ones. I would instead add dwarf shrubs (yaupon, non-spreading nandina, fringe, pittosporum, salvia, as you said, ornamental grasses, just to name a few). Not in a row, but scattered around to fill in some spots. In the last picture, I'd get a small iron obelisk, which you could have a Mandevilla, etc, on. Even without a vine, it provides a bit of height and interest, without blocking views. Or, a birdbath, stepping stones going to a bench, a large decorative pot with/out something in it ... just something to break up the low expanse of the bed, and add decoration with very little upkeep. I know others here will have great ideas!...See MoreI need help with curb appeal!! Specifically landscaping
Comments (5)Cute house! Good choice to take down the overgrown evergreens. I agree with widening the walkway. Make the beds deeper so that they come out from the house as far as the bottom of the steps. Then move your plants outward so they aren't so tight against the building. Add a combination of evergreen and flowering plants so you have some color all season, but use a relatively small number of different types so that it doesn't look chaotic. At least some should be shrubs, and have an evergreen groundcover to fill in and tie the whole thing together. Choose plants with heights that will remain below the windows with little if any pruning, though one that's a bit taller would be fine on the far left if it won't crowd the driveway. And plant all shrubs far enough from the building so that plants won't touch the building, even when full size. Plant tags often give size at 5 years, so check a reliable source such as the MO Botanical Garden's Plant Finder to get the real story on size. Ideally there should be room for you to slide in behind the plants to paint, wash windows, and do other maintenance. Be sure to give the bed a crisp edge, whether a cut edge or a buried edging, and use shredded bark mulch to keep weeds down until the groundcover fills in. I don't mind the shutters or their color, though there are folks who will suggest removing them. Do what you find appealing with them. Prune back the shrub to the right so that it is above the window, not hanging in front of it....See MoreHelp Please! Curb Appeal and Landscape Ideas Needed
Comments (3)I knew they'd chime in...listen to them, they're golden!...See MoreHelp with Curb Appeal/Landscape Design
Comments (6)These pictures are acceptable, but since you have a large property and may take more photos later, one tip I'd offer is to move in closer with the camera when you're tying mainly to work on the foundation planting zone. Then, swing the camera wider in the pivoting process. Then the near things (walks & such) would show up better. (NOT asking for you to take these pics over!) Truly, you need a master plan that works out the function of the whole property, showing how walks & paving are connected to any building. I think it is essential that you change the orientation of the steps at the main entrance, and have them spill out in a forward configuration. The way they are presently aimed toward the side kills any possibility of having landscaping in front of the left portion of the house. And having landscaping there is going to go a long way toward making an inviting presentation that will get visitors to thinking that this is where we enter. The forward facing steps will help with this, too. Additionally, it would be helpful to place an expansive landing at the base of the steps, not only to have as a convenient pedestrian access space, but also to reinforce the idea that this is the main entrance, differentiating it from any lesser walk that would lead to other portions of the house. I would not make other walks any narrower than 4', though wider would be OK. Having a groundcover island at the larger tree that is near the center of the house complex, would appear to pinch the space around the walk. This is an automatic signal that the main entrance is not likely to lie beyond. The entrance you come to first after parking will be the obvious main entrance. A very easy task that requires next to no skill is removing lower limbs from large trees with a pole saw. The result will be an instantly cleaner, tidier appearance. The trees will seem more elegant and the ceiling they form, more cathedral-like....See More
PROYardvaark
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoI think your house color is fine and would not change it.
In terms of the plantings, you have too many one-of-a-kind things going on right now and not much seems to be coordinating with architectural features. I'd suggest fewer plant types and make sure that if a plant underscores a window, it is a size capable of doing, and is lined up with the window. (IMO, a dome shape is better than a box shape for shrubs.) The tree seems well placed. Remove its lower limbs as its growth goal is reached in order to prevent them from becoming part of the permanent canopy. My drawing is not about specific plants, but organization. You can find plants that grow where you are that are capable of fulfilling the various plant roles. I love nice, well tended window boxes, but for the most part, and the way they are constructed, and on account of the typical homeowner's lifestyle, they are impractical and end up not working out. Let the shrubs planted in the ground, themselves, serve the same function as window boxes ... especially if the shrubs bloom. It is a much easier solution to care for.
As mentioned, work on the grass, If the grass does not have a nice complexion, nothing around it, no matter how great, cannot look as good as it otherwise would.
kdelprato
4 years ago
PRODrawn by Nature Landscaping
4 years agokdelprato
4 years ago
Denita
4 years ago
PROkdelprato
4 years ago
Sigrid
4 years ago
Denita