Designing front yard sitting area in small yard
nancyfan9
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
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callirhoe123
2 years agonancyfan9
2 years agoRelated Discussions
Design ideas for small front yard
Comments (0)Help! I give up. Pictures posted are of my fairly new house. So far, had it painted, waiting for the new shutters and had the old box hedges and climbing something or other ripped out. I am significantly design challenged but after having 2 landscape designers not follow thru decided it was time to do this myself. However, I am just stuck. I do know that the bed in front of the house needs to be deeper and not "straight" so will be taking care of that and will be removing all grass in front of the porch to expand that as well. So, thought I would turn to you guys for help. Details - house is in WI in zone 5 and faces east. Also, a few things I should confess to... I hate any type of evergreen bush (yes I know...that amuses most people). I also desperately want something "different" than the typical hostas, day lillies, and spirea. Seems like every house in this area has either the original hedges that came with the houses 40 years ago or some variation of the aforementioned plants. Also, need something very low maintenance.. Should I put a tree in front of the porch or on opposite side (have heard both) or.... So...any ideas? Image link:...See MoreNeed help with design front yard walk area
Comments (1)sorry I forgot the photos... Here is a link that might be useful: front walkway...See Moreis front yard too small even for small trees?
Comments (31)What I have learned about planting a tree: There is ALWAYS a reason not to plant a tree. Most of them are poor ones. Most of them come from people with an agenda. Yet by all means, never trust anyone from a nursery. They are money grubbing ignorami who are never hired for actually knowing anything. Yet there is only one reason to plant a tree that means anything: Do you want to? For any reason? (fall color, flowers, screening, wind, shade, innate beauty, etc.). Walk down practically any street in practically any city in practically any country, and I'll place odds you can find something wrong with just about every tree you see. Just peruse the explanations cited above: It's planted too close, utility lines of one kind or another, too large, wrong kind of tree for whatever reason, most of them personal and highly subjective. Yet lost in all the clutter are some of the best reasons, and they are reasons to plant a tree. A sociologist at the U of Illinois has conducted some research that says a view of a tree, even a pitiful tree, leads one to a happier outlook on life and a greater likelihood of civility to neighbors. So, to draw the insane conclusions that people seems to love, plant a tree, save a life. Surely that's not too high to save a life? Also, it's estimated that a healthy urban forest can reduce the temperatures of cities by up to 20 degrees. Given the number of headlines regarding global warming (including how elk contribute to it), that would darn near be enough to scare me into planting far more trees than needed. OK, enough of the hyperbole. There is one practical rule to follow when planting near a house: Don't plant a tree that will grow taller than the eave under the eave. Everything else can be influenced...or pruned....See MoreHelp design SMALL in-city front yard
Comments (10)Do you want a more formal look your currently shaped shrubs seem to suggest that. I'm not much for formal so keep that in mind for my suggestions. I think I would remove the shrubs by the windows. I would plant maybe some flowering shrubs such as little john bottle brush under the windows and then something else on each side of them that flowers. It looks like a very narrow bed. Maybe keep the cypress in the middle since it is narrow and provides some height there Instead of the juniper I would have a grouping of some diffe rnt flowering plants of various heights and textures. I'd try to have most be evergreen and various blooming seasons to overlap. I tend to go for low water use plants and also deer resistant plants so my choices are probably more limited than you'd have. Not sure how much space you have though to actually plant something in front of the wall though. Suggestions for flowering and texture plants Society garlic Little john bottle brush Trailing rosemary - looks great over a wall Artemisia Lambs Ear (does great for texture in zone 8b for me) Jerusalem sage - short blooming, but nice texture for leaves Pink skullcap (can be a bit cold tender) Bicolor iris - will fill in space and gets to a decent height Mexican bush sage - not ever green, but love it. Need to cut back if cold weather Trailing Lantana - nice over a wall or as ground cover. Deciduous though...See Morenancyfan9
2 years agocecily 7A
2 years agonancyfan9
2 years ago
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