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Landscape Design

Looking for advice on front yard landscaping

3 years ago

We moved into the house last year and the previous owners had overgrown shrubs and rose bushes that were out of control. We just had them removed so any advice on what to plant in the garden beds.

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Comments (11)

Edward Patri
Original Author
3 years ago
These are the after pictures.
littlebug zone 5 Missouri
3 years ago
First of all, we need an idea of where in the world you live. London? Australia? Utah? Mississippi?

Do you want flowering plants? Low care? How big is the yard in the front of the house? What do you intend to do with that space? Do you need trees?
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Comments (6)
Thanks, all. I agree that the curves are a bit odd at places - I get the feeling the previous owners created the beds AFTER the bushes had grown considerably, as the shape of the beds mirrors the shape of the bushes almost exactly. The island actually looks considerably nicer than the photo reflects - I just took a bad picture at a bad angle. It breaks up the monotony of the front yard and the two trees provide some much-appreciated shade. That said, they both have grown quite a bit and are starting to actually block the view of the front of the house -- that's why I don't have a better photo of the entire front of the house. As for killing plants, I think my biggest problem is, to your point, knowing how much water is the right amount. We have very clay-y soil here (with topsoil and mulch in top) and I'm never sure if the roots are drowning or still dry when I water. I think I make the same mistake with my potted plants. My husband still jokes about the time I tried to grow a tomato plant at an old apartment of ours, and I gave it food and (what I though was the right amount of) water, I made sure it got lots of sun, I spoke to it and told it what a good little tomato plant it was... and it died. Or so we thought. We threw the lifeless remnants out in the dumpster and what did we find a week later? New growth, green stems, and little tomatoes forming! The garbage bin had a greener thumb than I did. My biggest concern with the house right now is the bed in front of the house, along the front face. How do I lay out the plants in a way that occupies the full space, provides some layering, and doesn't block the window? It there a layout that works well? Thanks for all your help so far!
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I should have mentioned, in order to avoid distortion, post the pictures individually instead of making them into computer generated panoramas. Much of the front of the house cannot be ameliorated by plantings, since more than 50% of it is covered by paving. White may not be the best color for the garage door. Maybe it should be different than trim or body color. Seems like the left side could use a tree in an island bed and the tree @ right could use a bed. Some groundcover, perennials and annuals could screen the foundation. There could be a spreading shrub off the corner of the front porch. I don't think that retaining walls and terraces are necessary or that they would resolve perceived shortcomings of the overall scene. Part of the solution will come when the existing young trees grow to larger size.
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Comments (33)
I grew up in a somewhat rural/somewhat suburban town in SE Michigan, with a lake down the street (and 7 others just in my town) and woods behind the house. I was a sort of mermaid-wood nymph. It was awesome. We are very urban now, just 1 mile from the border of Chicago, with an expressway and an elevated train half a block away. The kids do their best with our yards, treating 4 front yards as one long playing strip (we are all friends in those 4 houses) and going a few blocks to the school if they need a field. It works well enough. So yeah, we do have to be mindful of that when planting. The house I grew up in had several trees in the front yard, but the yard was so big it didn't matter. Our current house had bushes along *both* property lines when we moved in, but we removed the ones separating our yard from the other yard with kids (the opposite house, that is in danger of being eaten by its tree, has no kids). kitasei: when you say "yours may be an Olmsted," do you mean the sapling? I would be very impressed if anyone could identify that tiny tree at this point. I have no idea what it is. When they took out our ash, we put ourselves on the "new tree list" and 6 months later came home to a sapling. I think they are being careful about what they plant now, having found out in hindsight that planting a row of just one kind of tree is a very bad decision. I still miss the tree canopy. It was beautiful. I also had another look at the parkway and don't think there is enough space for an additional tree, because of the placement of our neighbor's tree (you can't see the tree in the pic but you can see the shadow) and the tiny sidewalk to the street. I will make do. At least the sapling is kind of in front of our house. Down the block, where 2 neighbors' mature but dying trees were taken down, the parkway sapling got planted in front of the 2 houses' side yards. Those 2 houses are essentially sharing a tree, which won't provide much shade for either house as it grows. That's unfortunate, but it was the only place on the parkway they could plant a new tree because of where the other 2 had been.
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Lord knows I love Hicks yew, but it grows 3-4 ft. spread and 8-12 feet high. I would not put one of those next to my house. You can prune them into a hedge, but pruning is not everyone's forte. Looks like Novice has some kind of yews already up against the house. That's why it is very difficult to advise someone on plant choices, because everyone is different in terms of taste, desire to do maintenance, family, pets, time, etc. Your landscaping really isn't that bad. It just needs to be maintained and pruned for the most part. I'd focus on the area around the front steps, and just edit the edge islands, there seems to be weedy plants in those areas and the mature trees and shrubs could be pruned a bit to make them look more aesthetic.
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Edward Patri
Original Author
3 years ago

Hi Littlebug,

I am located in Old bridge, NJ USA. Sorry I didn't realize it doesn't show the location.

We are open to either flowering plants or new shrubs for the planting beds. The one on the left is 12 foot by 5 foot and the one on the right is 16 foot by 5 foot. In regards to the size of my front yard it is roughly 40 feet wide and 20 feet deep from the sidewalk to my walkway, it is all covered with grass currently but my wife was thinking about adding a small tree there but we have not decided on which type of tree.

Attached is an older google earth image of my front yard for a better idea.
PRO
Yardvaark
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Edward Patri
Original Author
3 years ago
Hi Yardvaark,

Thank you for the suggestion.
laceyvail 6A, WV
3 years ago
On the left, bring out the bed and plant a small tree just to the left of the house and slightly in front of it.
Anna (6B/7A in MD)
3 years ago
I would lean towards colorful perennials and annuals in the right bed. Expand the left one and you can add a couple dwarf shrubs, repeat the perennials and annuals. Ensure nothing covers the windows.

You may not have noticed it but in the rendition above, the shutters were removed on the bay. I’d remove the others as well, they don’t work for the house.

I know you didn’t ask (houzz is great for unsolicited advice), I would try to make the trim more cohesive. The grey around the bay, is that painted or integral to the window? If painted, pick a color and make all the trim that color. Right now, the grey is quite dominant.
User
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I would use boxwoods or something evergreen to hide the foundation. You can always tuck annuals in front for some color. Maybe some Calibrachoa would look nice trailing over your little wall.
Edward Patri
Original Author
3 years ago
Hi All,

Thank you for the feedback.

Next year we are planning on planting a Japanese Maple tree on the left hand side in front of non bay windows. But in the meanwhile I spoke with the better half and we have narrowed down to the following plants any suggestions on which to use or not use along with placement would be greatly appreciated.

Boxwood shrubs
Hosta
gold dust aucuba
Blue star petunias
Dark star coleus
Volcano coleus
Gomer waterer rhododendron

I would like to get these planted this weekend as the house currently looks naked without any plants out front.

In regards to the shutters we are going to keep them as we like the look. As for the trim on the bay that is the frame itself I may try and paint it later in the summer when I have more time to make it more uniformed with the rest of the window casings.
PRO
Yardvaark
3 years ago
Placing a tree in front of windows, as opposed to, diagonally off the corner of the house, is not a good solution. You should reconsider this idea.

Aucuba and Hosta need shade.
emmarene9
3 years ago
How much shade do you have? The Rhoddy and the Acuba like shade. The rest sound fine.

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