landscape creatives: clean slate ideas
30 years ago we moved into this old house (NJ) with a postage-stamp size, fenced-in back yard. Back then we were much younger and, I guess, more creative - since it wasn't long before we had a gorgeous back yard that many people would just stop and stare at as they walked by. But included in those landscaping ideas was a sun-burst locust tree. I thought it was going to a 'lightly shade' tree but is soon took over the entire back yard - including at least 20 feet over our two story colonial and half way across the street. Literally, there was no sun - ever - in my back yard, even though it is the south side of the property. Consequently, nothing ever grew and all our plantings just died - as well the grass. I tried every trick in the book for years, but nothing but hostas ever took hold. My backyard became a barren wasteland - except for the locust tree (which was quite stunning, actually - but very messy in spring with tons of catkins dropping for weeks - that I had to literally shovel off the sidewalk!).
Then last year the tree had gotten so big it literally split in half. I had to take it down and now the back yard bakes in the summer sun. The few shade loving plants that were trying their best to survive in the dense shade were gone in a short time as was the lawn that was barely alive to begin with.
But with the bad, comes the good. My barren wasteland is now a clean slate with plenty of opportunities for those sun loving, flowering plants that I so wished I could have grown over the years. I have not started designing just yet -- so I thought I'd show you all what I have so maybe some creatives can come up with some ideas to spring board me into spring. I would love to attract butterflies and other pollinators -- and I would like it to be a 3 season yard (when some end their season, new plants are emerging).
The only caveat that may pose as a problem is that I have never had luck with buying young/bareroot plants online. I've tried for years and even though what comes in the mail look extremely healthy, they never make it out of the chute - even though they were shade loving. Perhaps the squirrels eat them - I'm not sure. So I am going to try to have, at least most of the varieties, the kind that are common enough to find in 6" pots at a garden center.
Photo 1 shows one of two raised beds - which I will be keeping since the soil is ideal for growing, while the yard is hard clay (even though I have been adding nutrients for years - it's still hard clay). Photo 3 shows a lot of trash (sorry) - which, of course, will be removed. It also shows a mis-matched fence section. The fence is a custom made fence and we had to work around an old tree, which I had removed when the locust was taken out. I do not plan to fix the fence - but instead will want to cover it was something tall or bushy. The plant to the left is a blue-berry bush and will be remaining. I started planting ivy for a ground cover a few years ago - it is taking over and I am ok to keep some of it for now - at least until the other plantings that I add mature. Photo 4 is the detail of another planting area. It contains a small pond that once was a home for creatures (frogs, etc), but now is overgrown with pond lilies. They produce pretty purple flowers and no longer require any maintenance, so the lilies/pond will remain. This area does get shade until mid afternoon because of the garage.
Comments (8)
dvd94
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Clean Slate! Where to Begin...The Entry
Comments (4)Seeing the "before" picture has me agreeing with you that most plants needed to go. The walk and driveway being confined with plants does not seem inviting or attractive to me. I agree with you on enhancing the architectural features and the main thing is don't cover up what you want to display. I think the Skyrocket Junipers would work against you in the long run. Of the original plants, the only plant form I liked is the dome-shaped one at the right corner of the house. I'd consider recreating a matching set of dome-shaped plants placed like that near the right and left corners. Another matching pair of lower, mounded plants could flank the entrance structure (with balanced positioning.) Seasonal color at each side of the steps would cheer things up. The small window looks to have an angled wall portion below it which shouldn't be covered. I'd consider placing a window-box type container with trailing flowers that appear to be spilling out of it and onto the plantings below. The container should be set low enough so that the window surrounding portions show completely. Below the main ground floor windows, annual or perennial color planted in the ground would appear window-box-like and continue a lively, cheerful look. A tree set to the right front of the house (not too close) could help knit it to the larger landscape. Something with reddish foliage--like a Jap. Maple-- could be a nice contrast to the surrounding plantings and coordinate well with the stone facade. I think the yard could accept another tree if it were closer to the street and the drive and was well limbed up so as not to obstruct, but "frame" the view of the house....See MoreYour input on my new clean slate...zero landscaping here!
Comments (15)my first house.. was next to a funeral home ... a brilliant neighbor ... only one time.. in all the years... was a police funeral ... crikey.. 7am.. and a guy tuning a bagpipe ... i thought someone was skinning a live cat .. lol ... but his playing was incredible ... a very somber event .. if you have never seen one.. EVERY station in the state.. sends a car ... every intersection is blocked ... the road shut down .... nothing like a couple hundred police cars on parade ... one inch supply line can get you around the house.. just lay it on the foundation.. and eventually bury in mulch ..... i dont know if you answered the well question.. with my sand.. i have a $15 filter on the spigot ... but i never clean the filter ... and that was requisite due to the drip tape i used.. rather than the hose itself ... and a backflow preventer ... the bladder tank was adjusted.. so that when teh water is run outside.. enough is drained from the tank.. that the well pump goes on.. and stays on ... so that you have active water in the house.. well the water is running outdoors ... from the spigot... i put a spigot about 4 feet away on a fence post.. and another around back ... the house spigot is NOT treated water ... straight from mother earth .... you do not want to be paying for conditioned water outside ... jim wilkins.. has to actually treat his well water... else rust will turn his garden into copper pennies ... thru dripping something into the line ... this should probably be in its own properly titled post ... ken...See MoreBacksplash bump-out / Custom Hood / Clean Slate
Comments (8)Wow! Thanks live_wire_oak -- really appreciate the feedback and ideas. My concern with the stainless (around the cooktop and in the hood) is centered around getting pieces made which are the right size. I'm not sure how to go about finding a local company who can come do the templating. Or, can I simply measure precisely and order online (both ways, after checking references of course)? Other than the effort involved in tracking down someone who can do this correctly (and the wait time for the pieces to be made), I'm fine with the idea of SS around the cooktop (sides, bumpout) and the interior of the hood. Would I just use grout for the 'seams' between the cooktop and the SS and the quartz countertops? (Cooktop will be flush with countertop, not sitting on it). I really like the first tile you show -- if you could possibly provide tile name, that would be great....See MoreTotally clean slate - I need landscape help for our new build!
Comments (10)"We've had a few landscape designers come out to give us ideas, but most of them want to over-plant and turn the place into a forest." There is pressure in the industry to go in this direction and it comes from everywhere: the client, the boss, the contractors. Everybody wants to squeeze more plants in if they can. Part of this is impatience. Everyone wants quick or instant results. Part of it comes from the urge to sell product. And part of it comes from peer pressure; a designer may not feel like they're "doing enough" professionally if they aren't providing the fullest look. I felt this in my early days of work and it took a long time to resist. It's a nice looking, good sized house, but the walk to the front porch is seriously undersized relative to everything else. Unfortunately, it cheapens the look of everything else. The walk and the step should be the width (or nearly) of the opening between the porch posts. Due to the grade, it would probably require installing a small retaining wall. (There really ought to be a retaining wall there now. I can picture maintenance difficulty and erosion problems on the way.) If you ever decide to fix it, I would explore the idea of eliminating one step, by tilting the walk slightly upward as it approaches the porch. (The picture doesn't indicate if this is feasible.) IMO, there is not enough shown in the pictures to give much feedback on planting. From the overall front, it looks like you could use some large trees off the corner of the house, but neither of these areas can be seen well. Nor can the complete foundation planting area be seen. (We only see the central part from a hard angle.) My picture is not a comprehensive look, but is only addressing the walk issue....See More
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