seeking shrub suggestions

2 years ago

Say that 3x fast! Here is a photo of my home. We are in plant zone 3-7. I’d love to do hydrangeas on either side of the door and some shrubs like boxwoods incorporated with some grass-like bushes as well. I also love the idea of a window box beneath the bay window. Like things symmetrical and uniform. What specifics would you all suggest?

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diggerdee zone 6 CT

2 years ago

I know you're probably excited and just want a list of gorgeous plants that will look fabulous lol, but I have to agree with the others- you have to, imo, think more long-term and take it a bit more slowly. I would definitely put any effort first into what you want to do with the entrance - new stairs, larger stairs, a "landing area" around the stairs, perhaps bringing out the roof over the steps, maybe even adding a porch, etc - and then definitely really think how you want the walkway from the door to the driveway. I agree wider is better, and I personally would go with something slightly curved, not straight. You could then have a lovely garden in the area in front of the right side of the house, between the walk, the house and the driveway.

As someone who bought a house with a straight walkway to the drive, and who has wished for 25 years I could afford to change it, and who has dreamed for 25 years about the garden I COULD BE having, I can't stress the importance of, imo, doing the hardscaping first - and carefully thinking it out. Maybe I'm projecting my wants onto your blank slate, lol, but I do think since you have that wonderful blank slate to work with, that is how you should proceed.

To the left of the door (looking at it from the street), just be sure to make your beds deep enough - I would say at least 8 feet. It looks like you have the space for that. And you mention "hiding the well" - is your well really in that spot? And you don't need to keep that little structure if you don't like it, right? So if you don't want it remove it. A well cap is much easier to "hide" than a little well house thing.

My daughter just bought a new house and is insisting on hydrangeas in the front! I keep telling her in winter (here in CT, similar to Boston) that she will have bare sticks. But, like a good mom, lol, I helped her plant them and am prepared to help her move them in a year or two, haha! For your house, I can see one, maybe two hydrangeas, away from the door, especially if you make that big garden area to the right after you put in your big curved walkway lol. But near the door as a focal point, I think you will come to rethink hydrangeas.

Once you think about and plan what you want this to look like in general, then you can go to town on buying plants. There really are some great plants, and imo, a mix looks better than just one kind of plant, and a staggered, layered planting looks better than a row. And you can still have that staggered, layered look and be symmetrical, if that's what you prefer. There are hollies, pieris, rhodies, yews, junipers, firs, etc., just to name the evergreen ones. You might want to add a small, perhaps flowering tree, to the mix.

As Ken says, now is a good time to start looking for sales if you really want to buy. IMO, though, if it were me, I'd wait till I had a plan, and at the very least, I'd buy on sale now but overwinter in the pots in my garage or shed or similar space, and plant in spring when I had a better idea of where things were going.

Good luck and please keep us posted! I think I can speak for a lot of folks here when I tell you how exciting it is to see someone planning a new garden, especially with such a blank slate to work with. We get to live vicariously through you and see it come to life!

Dee

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Comments (11)

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
2 years ago
Not sure what plant zone 3-7 is. What is the nearest big city?

tj
Abigail Gray
Original Author
2 years ago
Boston
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
start by digging and creating a 6 to 8 foot bed ... and then plant whatever your little heart desires at least 4 feet out from the house.. and then mulch it properly.. do not use landscape fabric ...

if there is a tiny bare space between the lawn and the house.. it is not big enough for much of anything beyond petunias ...

do shop clearance sales this fall .. because i am sure nothing will be cheaper next spring ...

you can move anything in spring if you dont like where it ends up ... this fall ...

choosing plants without a proper place to put them.. is putting the horse before the cart ...

my point. a bit clearer... is make a plan for the future.. and if you can plant some stuff this fall ... plant it according to the plan .. you can dig a hole to plant a shrub.. and then come back next spring.. and build out the bed around it .. if that is any clearer ...

let call it phase one.. of a 5 year plan... depending on budget and allotment of time needed to accomplish the ultimate plan .. but do have a plan ...

you should also plan the walkway from the front door to the driveway ... and dont plan it 2 feet from the foundation.. and then spend the rest of your life complaining that the space is not big enough to plant anything ... make the walkway out further.. for future garden use.. again.. due to budget.. i would plan it out.. even if i might not have the moolah to do the walkway for 3 to 5 years ... moolah is a very technical gardening term only the 'ins' know.. lol ... its a secret ...

and dont plant trees anywhere near the power lines .. if that need be said ...

and finally.. thats a lot of grass.. think about a tree or two halfway to the street ... that is waht is really going to make the future statement ....

ken

ps: is the well hidden by the wooden well thingee?? ... if so.. you might want to design something around that to make it less just sticking out there ... if you get my drift ...
Abigail Gray
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks for all the info Ken!! We are now considering doing a walkway from the driveway to front and hiding the well in some landscaping along the sides. There is a very full line of trees at the roads edge giving very nice privacy to the house, just to the left of the point of view of the picture - cannot see it from the road unless you’re at the driveway opening (where I’m standing taking the pic)
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
2 years ago
I don't know that I'd choose hydrangeas for the front of my home, especially not the #1 focal point of the front door. They look great while they are blooming but the other eleven months of the year they are just shrubs, and during winters they are bald shrubs. For the front of the house I want things that stay green and visually appealing all year.

In my own front of home area I used a lot of conifers and broadleaved evergreens, then a few carefully placed perennials for seasonal interest.

Around the very important front door zone I use large pots that I set various plants in while they are blooming and gorgeous. I have several I rotate through- they are planted in nursery pots that I just switch out as needed to keep something nice happening around my entry. When the blooms fade I set that pot out in my landscape somewhere and replace it with something that is blooming. I rotate through pots of annuals (petunias, sunpatiens, etc.), fall mums, and in winters it's an arrangement of dried things and small conifers.

Just some ideas for you.
kl23
2 years ago
You have a wonderful blank slate here and so much room for improvement that I anticipate you could really have fun and be well-rewarded for the right decisions. But I am concerned you are thinking of bad investments that may limit your impact long term.

First plan the seriously needed hardscaping. That front door desperately needs whatever you can afford. If you can't afford anything, imagine what you would do there if you could afford it, and don't plant shrubs where you would have to destroy them if you or the next owner ever could afford what is needed. If you are thinking about what to do with that long narrow walk from the driveway to the front door, imagine having it be a covered walk by extending the roof over it someday. A wide walk is so much better than a narrow one and can double as patio space.

Second, cearbhaill is right that you need to think about winter. Evergreens are best as the backbone of any planting that experiences winters. Your grey house will really be a stunning backdrop for any green or blue evergreen, but I'd avoid yellow tinted evergreens.

If you are thinking you just want a nice place to plant hydrangeas because you love them or have sentimental attachments to them, they might be nice at the foundation to the left of your house, far away from the entrance. The old cultivar Snowball made a good foundation planting for many Midwestern homes. Another option if you like old-fashioned flowering deciduous shrubs is bridalwreath. It also has been used for foundations away from entrances. In winter it makes a dense thickets birds love. It has great foliage in spring, summer, and fall. It is so dense it can be used in open spaces, as a specimen or planted in a triangle.

Anyway, think about how you will use the whole space. Think long-term. Enjoy your beautiful blank slate.
Abigail Gray
Original Author
2 years ago
Wow!! Thank you all for the wonderful information. I’m so glad I posted because it sounds like I was about to make some major mistakes… step one must be addressing the hardscaping. I think we need to do a walkway and am now warming to the idea of a garden between the house and the walk way. I can’t believe I almost placed hydrangeas on either side of my door. Yikes, how sad I would have been for those 11 other months! Time to do some more research. I have reached out to several companies for quotes on landscaping and hardscaping so let’s cross our fingers we can get the hardscaping done before the fall sales go away. Thank you again everyone and I will keep you posted!
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
2 years ago
There is a well-respected, fantastic, inspiring landscape designer out of the ”ridiculous mansions” areas around Detroit name Deb Silver. She uses MANY hydrangeas, but when they are near an entrance she seems to place them behind boxwoods or something like that to disguise their winter appearance. If you like hydrangeas, go to her blog and look for posts like This one for hydrangea inspiration. Just remember she’s working on a grand scale, homes with zillions of square footage and LOTS of yard space. You’d need to imagine that on a smaller scale! Nonetheless, she’s inspired me regarding hydrangeas!
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
2 years ago
ANY time I see design photos of grand expanses of hydrangeas I think they should be required to post a photo of the non-bloom months right next to it, lol.
kl23
2 years ago
Abigail, be careful of plans made by garden centers. They tend to use every plant they can't get rid of, and the result is cluttered. As you live in your home pay attention to the views from your windows through the year. Try to use natives as much as reasonable. Plan to use the outdoor spaces, not just decorate them. I'm glad to hear you want to start with hard-scaping. Plan for those outdoor spaces like rooms in a home and the walkways between them. Plan for reduced maintenance. Put trees in large beds with shrubs and perennials rather than alone in a lawn where maintenance will be more difficult.

seeking shrub suggestions

diggerdee zone 6 CT

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tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱

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