skip to main content

Perennials Landscape Design Shrubs

Need shrub and tree ideas for front yard landscaping. Zone 6a

3 years ago

Hi Everyone. We recently pulled out all the overgrown trees and shrubs in front of the house and are looking to replace them. The landscaping was never extended when the extension to the right was added. Not sure if we should add now or do as a project later on. We are in NY and this area is full/partial sun. Was thinking of boxwoods, but not sure where to go from there. Definitely need deer resistant. Maybe some evergreens? Any help would be appreciated!!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

Embothrium
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Visit any independent plant outlets you have in what you consider to be your service area and see what they have. And also appeals to you. One on the island I live on now even has a specific table displaying pots of shrubs they are designating as deer resistant.

Regarding box be forewarned that a spoiling condition known as box blight is now present in North America. And first got going in this country over on the side where you are, so that by now there has been plenty of damage. With their being a quite small list of box varieties that are sufficiently resistant to be considered suitable for new plantings going forward (do a web search for something like "box blight resistance" to find related discussion).
0
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
big city location would help .. as z6 is about half the US and rather divergent ...

with that darn sidewalk.. [i hate buliders and architects for the lack of imagination in dealing with this] .... if you want any kind of shrubs or conifers.. or small trees... work out into the useless lawn ... with that couple feet of garden bed.. you really dont have space for anything but annuals and perennials inside the walkway .. unless you want to be out there shearing twice a year .. ergo.. you would have to kill me.. before i ever planted box in there ...

and if those two shrubs are still by the garage.. get rid of them also ... really.. one of them is square.. whats that all about .. lol ... and im thinking it might be an invasive burning bush ... but that is just a gut reaction... but i just had taco bell.. so take that for what its worth .. lol... maybe my gut is lying to me ...lol ..

also.. while its barren .... work that soil off the lattice under the deck ... avoid future problems ... either dirty plastic.. or rooting wood ...

and be honest.. is the lawn used for anything other than complaining someone has to mow the lawn every few days ... if not.. start with some nice trees out on the lawn ... make you landscape 3 dimensional.. instead of focusing on a few feet right on the foundation ... never forget..... foundation plants are to hide the foundation.. not to BE PLANTED on the foundation.. thats the root problem with your square shrub ... its a giant plant.. planted when it was a babe.. on the foundation. with no real idea of its future potential ... lets not do that again ...

and as part of the 5 year plan.. i would hide the foundation on the extreme right.. and no one wants to look at the basement walls ...

do you have two front doors .. reminds me of the old doctors houses in my rural town ... kinda cool ...

anyway.. plan and plant your backbones.. trees ... in teh proper planting season ... plan out future shrub locations not in the foundation ... and for this year.. just plant some pretty flowers in teh beds you now have...

and if it takes 3 to 5 years.. so be it ... it will be stunning ...

if you want the instant gratification.. as embo noted.. just go to big box.. and buy whatever strikes your fancy ... but search out future potential.. before you plant that babe which will end up a 10 foot problem ...

ken
0
Related Discussions
Tree(s) needed around 15' height, full sun, zone 6a (PICS)
Q
Comments (5)
wow.. where is this.. it flashed me back to visiting busia in detroit in the 60's ... its a war zone now... i dont know why i ever went back to look ... anyway.. apparently i digress ... no tree really magically stops growing at some preferred height. .. its all about how long to get there.. and how far past ... i would not put a tree next to the garage.. there just isnt space for anything greater than 6 feet ... with a foot to spare on each side .... i would go with a tree dead center in the bigger plot ... and some shrubs down by the garage .... there is a variegated norway maple ... that has remained rather small for me .... but it might not let you garden under it in 20 years .... i know others have many good suggestions.. i just wanted to chime in an thank you for the memory flash ... to simpler times.. take care ken Here is a link that might be useful: link
...See More
Advice Needed - Ornamental Tree for Front Yard (zone 5)
Q
Comments (12)
I made a really stupid mistake, and I'm very embarrassed to have to post my experience but could use some advice (so please excuse my poor decision). I found a handyman that offered to move the red maple tree in the front yard to the back for the bargain price of $75. The only thing is that the tree had a monsterous root system, and he had to move it with his truck and a rope around the trunk. The bark scratched, which I didn't think was a big deal...and he said he thought it would be ok...until I researched on gardenweb after he left. The tree is very scratched, circling 75-80% of the tree's circumference, so it may take years, but the tree won't make it. I called him back to tell him that the tree would eventually die/break and he felt bad and offered to plant another tree for me. Last week, after my initial posting and reading the feedback, I ended up purchasing an autumn gold ginko (it's not planted yet and is actually still at the nursery). I had every intention of getting a kousa, but I'm just not seeing any that look good in the nurseries (and I've been all over in two counties). Plus I'm finding most are no-name varieties. Plus the branching structure starts out low -- just 14" from the base, so while it's a tree, it's a low branching tree (and I guess I'd prefer a higher branching tree in the front yard). I'd like to try a kousa if I can find the right spot, just not the front yard. Sorry, I'm being particular, but I'm trying to make the right decision that dh will be happy with as well. I realize that the ginko will get 40', but it's such a beautiful tree, so I figured that perhaps I would put that in the front. In lieu of what happened, and as much as I love the ginko, I'm thinking that I should plant the ginko in the back yard where the red maple (the only tree in the backyard) had been planted. I'd also like to get a Blackgum to put in the back yard (maybe next year, or this year if I can find them on sale). One of the local nurseries has a serviceberry tree that is $259 -- a nice tree, but out of the range of what I wanted to spend (I'd love to wait for them to go on sale, but I'm not sure when that will be and if they will still be around). THIS YEAR: I really need to have a tree in the front yard (part of the agreement I made with dh when I told him I was moving the front tree). Should I plant the ginko in the front yard or will I regret it when it gets too large? OR Should I plant the ginko in the back yard and get a smaller tree for the front (as per my original plan, but I just haven't found the right tree for the front in my price range). On a good note, my dh did not say "I told you so" or anything to that effect, but I do feel like I'm in an "I Love Lucy" episode at this point.
...See More
Need ideas for flowers/landscaping for my tiny zone 5 front yard
Q
Comments (8)
Based on your last picture, I would begin removing lower branches from the tree in an attempt to regain a view of the house and so that lawn can be maintained easily below the tree. To not remove lower limbs encourages the upright oriented limbs to become future trunks and compete with the main trunk. Not that that is bad in and of itself, if that's what one wants. But it often results in a trunk formation that is less attractive when trunks branch below the canopy. (Unless it's a multi-trunk tree and then it looks best if it "branches" at the ground.) It's already happened and when allowed to go too far, is too difficult to correct without maiming the tree's appearance. Also, the one low branch on what looks to be a weeping cherry at left corner of house seems odd and out of place. I would get rid of the white gravel mulch and replace it with wood-based mulch. Plan so that plants eventually cover everything and there is no longer need for mulch. In my drawing I'm showing an idea for creating a landing off of the stoop. It's not a finished plan, but you could create a workable plan that improves the approach to the entrance. I'm surmising that the slab continues behind the hedge, in which case, I'd get rid of the hedge and all plants in front of it and bring only grass to slab ... the purpose being to make a welcoming entrance instead of a secret, purposeless hideaway. It is not necessarily the case that ADDING plants is the key to improving your property. The large shrub left of walk seems too close to the walk. If you can't relocate it to in-line with the window (about 4' from the wall,) I'd scrap it and get another shrub for that location. I'm showing only groundcover around the weeping cherry. It looks a bit junky to have those other plants coming up under it.
...See More
Landscape advice needed for driveway/front of house 6a/b
Q
Comments (4)
Hi Jason. Whatever gets talked about or recommended via a picture still needs to be worked out in plan view. So you'll either need to draw a plan or maybe you already have a plot plan of the yard that you can use in order to create a "to scale" drawing (map) of your walk and drive. It's the only way that you'll know that everything fits properly and it'll serve as the instructions when the time comes to build. Depending on where you live and what is required by your applicable building department, it may be useful for permitting. You'll need to check with them. It looks like your drive will be straightforward and without any unusual quirks. You'd want to add a backup turnaround space at the left side since you'll always be turning around and never backing down to the street. Because the grade falls off there, you'll need to bring it up for the turnaround space, accounting for drainage so that you don't end up blocking any route of escaping water. You'd want to make the space large enough to get in and out of the car and also blend the flanking space into the grade fairly gently. You don't want a sudden drop-off at the edge of the turnaround space. You may want to make it large enough for two cars if it must also do duty as a parking space while simultaneously being used as a turnaround. A chronic, ongoing problem created by builders is in making the walkway to the front entrance too narrow. If too narrow it cheapens the look of the whole house and feels unpleasant to use, especially if there is more than one person approaching the door at a time. I would call 4' the absolute minimum in all cases. 5' or 6' may be fine. Once one arrives at the front door/porch vicinity the walk should expand into a landing that fits the set-up of the porch and the steps. Steps also need to be fairly wide. How wide depends on porch. Another chronic, ongoing problem with the walk created by builders is placing it too close to the house, consequently killing the possibilities for nice landscape plantings and pinching what plants can exist so they look like they are desperately and distortedly trying to escape. For the health of the plants and the house, plants should not be jammed onto the foundation wall. Shrub centers should be set at least 30" away. Larger shrubs or small tree forms would be set even farther away. In my world a bed should be minimum 6' depth from front to back. If push comes to shove, I would concede to 5' but not like it as much. 6' of bed plus 4' of walk is 10' away from the house as a minimum. It looks like you could do that without running into trouble with the hill. In the real world there are constraints that sometimes force one into making concessions so we do them when we have to and avoid them when we can. Fortunately, the porch projects outward from the house (since the front door is hidden from the drive) helping to make the destination obvious to a guest. You'll want the entrance to the walk to be obvious as well. The house looks a little exposed. A couple of small or medium trees at the right side would help it look integrated into the surroundings. The hill looks like a b to mow. I'd consider converting it at some point to some type of farm friendly, rough and tumble groundcover. Some flowering or fall color trees on the hill (not blocking the view of house from below) could be a great seasonal thrill show.
...See More
Related Professionals
Holly Springs Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Kearny Landscape Contractors · Madera Landscape Contractors · Painesville Landscape Contractors · Westwood Landscape Contractors · Eagle Landscape Contractors · Peachtree City Landscape Contractors · 07920 Landscape Contractors · Athens Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures · Arlington Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Baltimore Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Fort Hunt Landscape Contractors · Chicago Driveway Installation & Maintenance · Del Aire Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures · Fort Myers Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures
l pinkmountain
3 years ago
I wouldn't plant things up against the house. You don't have much room and your foundation is attractive as is your house. I'd plant an island around a decorative tree to give myself something to look at off the porch, and also compliment my house. And call it a day if you have deer. You'll have to spray things constantly with deer repellent anyway. Around me, deer eat every single evergreen, even ones they're not supposed to like . . . spruces for example . . .

Some day lilies up against the house if you don't mind the look of the foliage. Once a year midsummer very pretty flower show and done.
0
Embothrium
3 years ago
Repeat blooming daylilies are on the market. 'Stella de Oro' for instance has been prevalent at outlets in the past.
0

Related Stories

LANDSCAPE DESIGN 6 Front Yards That Balance Privacy With Curb Appeal

By Lauren Dunec Hoang

Selective screens, layered plantings and low walls boost privacy but still keep yards welcoming to neighbors

MOST POPULAR Creative Ideas for Small Front Yards

By Laura Gaskill

A little imagination goes a long way in a petite landscape

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Front-Yard Makeover Ideas With Mojo

By Joanna Tovia

Make a statement in your front landscape with one of these standout styles

FRONT YARD IDEAS 10 Ideas for a Front-Yard Edible Garden Your Neighbors Will Love

By Laura Gaskill

Choosing attractive, well-mannered plants and sharing the bounty will go a long way toward keeping the peace

LANDSCAPE DESIGN 7 Stylish Front Yard Ideas for Homes on Busy Streets

By Lauren Dunec Hoang

Create privacy and cut down on traffic noise while maintaining curb appeal

LANDSCAPE DESIGN 10 Friendly Front-Yard Seating Ideas

By Lauren Dunec Hoang

These gathering spots bring the party to the front of the house. Chat with neighbors and watch the world go by

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Take Back Your Front Yard: 8 Ways to Make It Social

By J. Peterson Garden Design

If only trees and squirrels gather in your front yard, you're missing out on valuable socializing space. Here's how to remedy that

FRONT YARD IDEAS Meet a Front Yard Designed for Gathering

By Bonnie Monte

Hanging out with neighbors comes naturally in front of a Southern California home, thanks to comfortable zones and beautiful plantings

CURB APPEAL 7 Finishing Touches for a Thoughtful Front Yard

By J. Peterson Garden Design

Make a great first impression with artful house numbers, water features, garden art and more

BEFORE AND AFTERS Makeovers Create More Usable Living Space in 7 Front Yards

By Annie Thornton

Designers transform underused yards and entries into stylish, functional and inviting outdoor spaces

Sponsored

More Discussions

Fence line SC tropical plants privacy

10

Typical apt patio

14

HELP….front door ideas NEEDED

2

Can Bamboo chips be tilled into my soil?

3

Curb Appeal Ideas Needed for Our New Home!

4