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Landscape Design Porches & Decks Design Dilemma

Revitalize front of the home

last year

My house is perched on a hill, and currently has shrubs in the front, and then a short steep hill to the road; the walkway cuts to the side and goes to long driveway. im trying to think of good ideas and how to visualize possible ideas; ranging from a large, possibly wraparound porch ( or just a portico); maybe a more elegant stone staircase to the driveway; or possibly with a retaining wall a small roundabout driveway and flatten the top (but seems too steep and maybe not possible); im also open to ideas, just seems like a current waste of front yard with the steepness.

Featured Answer

decoenthusiaste

last year

Looks to be a classic style in a long-standing neighborhood of similar homes that are mostly being swallowed up by the overgrown and aging shrubbery. Now is the time to plan for an overhaul of the landscaping next spring. Not sure the house needs a makeover, just a refresh once the old landscaping is out of the way. I don't see a need to add to the house itself; just hire a professional landscape architect to design a fresh look. You'll set the tone for the entire area to redo their plantings and give the neighborhood a facelift. If any of the homes are likely to come on the market in the next few years, the new landscaping will serve them well in the real estate market.

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Comments (12)

RedRyder
last year
@decoenthusiaste hit the nail on the head. You need a professional landscaping plan. Interview a couple of them and see what ideas they provide. You have overgrown shrubs, untrimmed trees and a front lawn of ground cover. A redo, which make take a couple of seasons, will absolutely honor the beauty of your classic home.
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Aah, PEI - God's country. Hydrangea and lupine heaven :) As you are a novice gardener with budget concerns, I would suggest, as others have done, is to address the traffic flow problems first. You've already indicated that you are unhappy with the approach ie the driveway, and the confusion about the main entry door. My inclination would be to make the one acre property more manageable for you by "zoning" it. I would first enclose the home and the new gardens within a low white rail fence and mixed shrub border, in whatever perimeter wouldn't be overwhelming - maybe 1/3 of your land? That would leave the back for you to sow to meadow or wildflowers as you prefer later. The front third would be dedicated to vehicular needs and setting the stage. Your southern view of the wetlands across the way is probably quite beautiful. The driveway as it now lies in front, while practical for ease of access to the house and for snow removal, will likely detract from that somewhat. However, if you are not going to be adding a side garage in the future, you could just leave it where it is and improve the appearance. Think of a traditional Island approach. Fresh gravel isn't costly and is practical in your situation. Don't bother with edging in a snow-country setting. Run the drive from the roadway up to within 10 feet of the perimeter fence in a "T" shape - that way, you can create a defined turn-around area for vehicles or for extra parking. The facing fence, with an arboured opening or gate centered on your newly positioned front steps and door, can be softened with a small perennial bed in the front of it as well as behind. Line the driveway edges with spaced heritage-type trees on either side. Ash trees are fairly fast growing but also ask at the local nurseries for their recommendations. On the house, I too would reconfigure the steps to lead up to the actual front door. Periwinkle blue is a really nice colour choice, especially if you echoed it in a trim around the white windows and ultimately with your flower choices. I wouldn't get too hung up about the asymmetry of the house. The plantings will distract from that... and whatever other cosmetic changes you may ultimately make. Fruit trees and flowering vines would be appropriate and lovely somewhere in the fenced yard. And while your home would benefit from some foundation planting, just be careful not to concentrate everything in a claustrophobic huddle too close to the house. Plant out to the fence line, spill over it and frame the views as you look out from your windows.
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Help revitalize dying azaleas
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Comments (8)
Here is a suggestion, Zach. After you make sure that the bush has an adequate supply of acidic mulch -about 3-4" up to the drip line-, I suggest that you test the soil moisture daily using the finger method. For about two weeks, insert a finger to a depth of 4" daily and determine how the soil feels. If these are large bushes, test in four different places every time. If they are small bushes, test in only one place. The idea is to get a general idea how the area under the drip line is doing. When the soil feels almost dry or dry then water; otherwise, do nothing. Each time you water, make a note in a wall calendar. At the end of the two weeks, observe how often you watered (every 3/4/5/etc days) by looking in the calendar. Then set the sprinkler to water 1 gallon of water on the same frequency. When temperatures change 10 degrees or more and stay there, use the finger method again. You should notice that watering frequency increases as we get closer to the mid summer months and is reduced in the Fall. During winter, you can reduce watering further to once every two weeks on dry winters when the ground does not freeze. Apply 1.5 gallons of your soil happens to be sandy soil. While testing the soil for moisture, be aware that azaleas have very shallow root systems on the top 4-6" of the soil. They do not like the roots to be disturbed much so be careful when working to add mulch, clean debris, insert fingers and stuff like that. An adequate supply of mulch should help the shrubs quite a bit. It will reduce the frequency of your waterings. It will keep the soil evenly moist. It will protect the shrubs on windy and dry times. And it will provide food for the azaleas. Generally speaking, if your soil does not have any mineral defficienies (determined by a soil test), you could let the azaleas feed off the decomposing mulch; no fertilizer needed. Except for an application of sulphur this time of the year, that is what I do with my shrubs. Just make a habit to add more mulch in Spring and Fall when more is needed. Luis
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Thank you, jbug! My widest drawer is 36" and the pull is considered a 12" but it almost seems like 13" when measured. They are crazy expensive at that size but now it is one of those things that I am glad we splurged. My kids are the ones who unload the dishwasher and having the one pull saves the cabinet. Plus I like the sleek look of just having one.
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Comments (3)
In which part of the world are you located (country/nearest large city)? Landscaping the exterior would give you dimension to your home.
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littlebug Zone 5 Missouri
last year
Totally agree with Deco. This is a job for a pro.
apple_pie_order
last year
@decoenthusiaste is absolutely right.

If you want to do something small immediately, trim the ground cover back by a foot on either side of each path. You can also trim the shrubs away from the porch at the front door to give guests some elbow room and a feeling of spacious welcome.

A few dozen daffodil bulbs or tulip bulbs along the path would add some color in the spring while you are making plans for more permanent landscaping changes.
PRO
Dig Doug's Designs
last year
Here are a few suggestions:
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
last modified: last year
I would start by widening that set of steps to the front door and adding a railing.
violetsnapdragon
last year
I think it's lovely. I also think it's lovely that it's groundcover and not a lawn to mow on that steep hill. I think the setting on the hill gives the house a grand look.
pricklypearcactus
last year
last modified: last year
I just wanted to say that your stairs are so lovely! The stone work is really pretty. I'd trim back the ground cover. Personally I wouldn't want to rip out such lovely stairs unless necessary. Only you will know if they function well for you.

Doing some terracing or having a retaining wall like Doug's design shows would allow you to have more flexibility for planting. Perhaps adding a walkway directly from the street to the front door would be nice like Doug's rendering.
Akhilesh Joshi
last year
Here are some suggestions (they don't take into account the road/drive-way) but hopefully it gives you nice visualizations of possible designs)
PRO
Big Rock Landscaping
last year
Tackling this project in phases is probably your best bet until you can meet with a landscape pro to help you come up with a permanent plan. Phase one is (like others have said) is to trim back the existing overgrowth. That will give you a better idea of scale and help the space feel more intentional without tons of effort or money. Sloped yards can present tricky design problems, and we’ve seen our fair share in Utah. Here are some examples of sloped yards from our projects:

While these images may not match your landscape’s design aesthetic, the basic concepts of adding retaining walls, trees, stairs and pathways might be helpful starting points for future plans with a landscape company.
PRO
Dhi4u
last year
Probably the first thought that comes to the mind looking at the pictures is professional landscaping help. Maybe that’s what decoenthusiaste mentioned and others appraised. Getting things planned with a professional would help you get wonderful results.
Sigrid
last year
It looks to me like you have a relatively flat area in front of your house. If you don't want to build retaining walls, moving some of the shrubbery to the slopes and leaving the flat area open for what you want in your front lawn might be possible.

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