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garden Design Dilemma Landscape Design

Fall landscape. Front of rancher!

2 years ago

We live in PA. This is the photo was in the listing. (There are shutters on other window- this house is so awkward lol) We’ve been here for 2 yrs. I don’t have pics of the front now.

All we changed was taking all the plants out, planted mums and a couple other greens, placing black mulch down. There’s a rock in front where stump is.

The mums we got (not bloomed), we planted too late last year and they were too big. So. We are clearing out the whole garden. We want to plant for fall. We are thinking already bloomed mums maybe white and orange? (just for the season) and maybe something else? I do like greens. Like a clean look? Idk.

What do you guys think would look good? Any ideas helpful!! I don’t know anything. It’s about 8ft left patch and 13ft long right patch. They’re about 2-3 ft deep. You get the idea!

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Comments (5)

Kristin
Original Author
2 years ago
Also where we have the Boulder (in place of stump) should we put anything around that?
JoJo (Nevada 9A)
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I think your house is cute and in great shape. Whatever you plant, make sure the plants are on the short side, so you don't box it in. We still should be able to see most of the brick portion of the walls.

The most important question now: which way is the front of the house facing?

If it's facing east, south or west, you could go with perennial plants (like short "carpet" roses that will bloom their heads off) or do an annual display alternating between tulips/daffodils in spring, colorful annuals in summer, and mums/ ornamental cabbage in fall/winter.

If it's facing north, you could plant a mix of evergreen ferns and brunnera, with dwarf astilbes and toad lilies in the second row.

Resist the temptation to plant shrubs, even though they may look attractive when small. The beds are just not deep enough for that. Smaller shrubby plants that get cut down annually (like dwarf roses) are fine.
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Deci, you sure didn't get much response to your post on the LD forum. That's unusual; I think what happened is that (a) you provided a LOT of information, and (b) you answered your own post right away so it dropped down the list pretty quickly. If the pace of your posting is any indication you've probably done a lot more by now and maybe solved all your problems, but here are a couple of thoughts for what it's worth: If you want height in the landscaping without blocking the windows, put the tall things away from the house. Don't think of landscaping as only being the foundation planting. A bit of stuff at the front of the property can add a lot. Don't expect too much of yourself all at once. If you're novices, then take it one step at a time or you'll end up overwhelmed with watering and weeding with too many newly planted beds. Novices rarely get all the way to Wow in one season unless they hire it - in fact, no one does. Your neighbour's fence does not look that bad to me and if you cut all that brushy stuff back you may get some nice growth on it in spring/summer. This looks like something you should leave until you have your front border done. If you want stuff to look good all year 'round - and that's a tall order! - then you will need to stick mostly to evergreens. But that can be boring. You can regard the evergreens as bones and intersperse them with deciduous or perennial or even annual colour. Good luck! KarinL
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Thank you all... Melissa, the orange is Livin' easy, and mandarin sunblaze in the front Kate, yes the hedge is knockout I have posted these pics multiple times but I am just amazed that they look so good this time of the year and just wanted to share the pics. I thought the late frost this spring would do everything in and everything looked withered and DEAD, most of them including living easy and carefree wonder died down to the mulch line. It's amazing how quickly the came back up. All the shrub roses made it. I lost my hybrid teas, except ofcourse Love and Peace which is a hardy beast lurking under the HT tag. I am a little dissapointed with the climbers, Rosarium utersen, Eden, Viking rose, no rebloom so far. Ramblin red always has a spray or one..Now all the roses have established themselves, I have stopped being a perfectionist needing spotless leaves and gardening seems easy again!
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It looks like you'll be ending the right edge of the lawn at an island-like natural area. The line doesn't need to be perfectly straight, but it should be relatively smooth and fluid from front to back. It should not appear to be wavy or wiggly, though it can have a projecting portion if it makes sense to have it. It would make sense if a tree is close to the "island" ... then it should be incorporated into it instead of being just off its edge. Trees alone in the lawn are fine, but where and island is placed at the base of the tree, it should be more or less circular and large enough to be proportionate with the tree. It would likely be in the 6' or 8' diameter range. Then plant that island solid, not as a ring or bare. The island at the mailbox should be generally circular, too ... but 1/4 circle, given that it is sandwiched between a walk and a curb. It should be planted solid, too. The outside window sets are far enough away to warrant their own shrubs. I'd consolidate the center two sets in order to avoid having too many separate shrubs. Fill in with perennials, annuals near the door and some groundcover. Proper shaping of shrubs is going to make a big difference in the overall appearance over the long haul so someone should learn what are acceptable shapes (the bottom will always be wider than the top.)
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grapefruit1_ar
2 years ago
As was mentioned, you have a very nice house that is well cared for! If this was my house I would not spend much money on seasonal plantings for now. I would get a few pots of colorful mums, a pretty fall wreath for the door, etc.

Beautiful landscaping can totally transform your home. I would go to a nursery and get a professional landscape/ hardscape plan. It could then be implemented as the budget allows. Removing the current sidewalk and replacing it with a curved one will allow for better foundation plantings. It should not cost much to have the stump ground out. Then you could possibly get a nice speciman tree out front.

Here are pics of basic, better, and more lavish plantings. Take a drive around and see what others have done. I bet the the most beautiful homes stand out because of their landscaping.
grapefruit1_ar
2 years ago
grapefruit1_ar
2 years ago

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