Help me decide what to do with this flowerbed!
I need help deciding what would look good for my front yard. Currently we have a 2 tier flowerbed/retaining wall made of railway ties. The ties are rotting and ant infested, not to mention full of creosote, so I want them gone.
I'm not even sure if this is a true retaining wall or if I even need one. However I still want a flowerbed along the slope. I just don't know if I should keep the same layout, change it up a bit, or what product to use for the retaining walls if any. I don't know what would look good with my house and yard.
Some potential ideas I'm considering:
- replace the ties with some type of brick such as stackstone, roman stack, or rosetta (what type and colour of brick would go with my house??)
- replace them with concrete slabs that look like wood and colour is similar to trim on house (like these https://www.barkmanconcrete.com/products/hardscapes/walls/product/bridgewood-wall/)
- replace them with a natural stone stacked wall such as limestone (my concern with this is will the open crevices between stones become homes for ants?)
- with any of the above options would you keep the 2 tiers or just 1 wider tier?
- no brick/stone walls at all, just an open flowerbed on a slight slope (maybe with a low stone/brick border?)
- would you keep the front of the bed more or less straight? Or add some wavy curves to it?
Any idea or suggestions would be helpful.
Some details to note:
- we are on a acreage surrounded by bush, so weeds, ants and deer are always an issue
- I'm planning to keep the same types of perennial plants as in the photos, they have all been temporarily relocated to my vegetable garden and are waiting for their new home
- the current walls are 2 railway ties stacked for the top and middle levels, and 1 for the bottom which is more of a border
- for the front of the flowerbed, I would mostly like to see the plants, not so much a wall unless it is very low or as more of a border
- the red garage doors and siding on the house have since been changed to dark brown
Thanks in advance!
Comments (23)
Mrs. Beasley
last yearI’m no expert, but have lots of experience with garden beds and design. I don’t think your slope is so steep that you need a retaining wall. I’ve built them before with my husband. You could add more foundation plantings for structure that don’t flower, and intersperse with what you do have that flowers. I’d also add a small flowering tree to the left, something native. But idk where you are…..
Here are some pics of our slope in front of our cottage in the Midwest. The structural plants are the grasses, then the flowering plants pop at different times of the season. We get snow, so the grasses look great in winter with snow on them.
Check out books by Piet Oudolf for starters.
https://www.gardendesign.com/designers/piet-oudolf.html
Robyn M thanked Mrs. BeasleyRelated Discussions
Save the lectures and help me decide what to do. haha.
Comments (27)Where we used to live in Zone 7 wisteria was a beautiful monster, but it CAN be made to mind. One neighbor, who we always referred to as my Jewish grandmother, had it trained very well. It grew over her breezeway, and it did not dare to step out of line! Another neighbor on the other side had it in the middle of the yard as a sort of shrub. It did well, bloomed nicely, and behaved itself. However, when she subsequently sold the house, the new owner spent several years running it over with his riding lawnmower trying to get rid of it for reasons best known to himself. Rrrrrrrrrrrrm! Crash! Rrrrrrrrrmmmm! Fut fut fut choke sputter Rrrrrrrrrrrrrm! Needless to say, the wisteria won. All he did was tick it off. Eventually, they reached a sort of truce. It stayed where it was, and he did not scalp it anymore. My parents have wisteria in their zone 7 garden, but it has only crawled moderately up a support up from a pool of tendrils in the shrub-esque form, not attempted a coup of the house and surrounding environs. Now we're in Zone 5b, and it seems to be less of an issue since while some folks have it, you do not see near as much of it as in the south. Perhaps the winters keep it in better check?? All that to say, yes, I would move it. No, I would not freak. Maybe a nice sturdy pergola in the middle of the yard with the wisteria climbing over it, a hammock in its shade, and a cool drink on a small table beside your favorite book?...See MorePlease help me decide what to do with an odd bathroom!
Comments (2)It's hard to tell from the picture what exactly but the bathroom is like. What size is the space with the toilet & sink? If it's small, you could go with a pedestal. They also have some pretty smaller vanities at www.Bertch.com or www.Masterbath.com (Home Depot)Once you decide on vanity or pedestal(get suite so they match), you can decide on tile for the floor. Wainscoting looks great with wallpaper or paint above it with pictures on the wall.I find that picking subtle works best & putting color in the walls or towels,etc. That way I don't tire of it....See MoreHelp me decide what to do first!
Comments (9)Wow, what a list! First off, converting from carpet to hardwoods doesn't have to involve removing the baseboards. That's what the shoe molding is for. And yes the flooring stuff is all better done before move in.....as long as you are religious about covering the floors when any other construction is being done. We got lazy and it's only been six months, but looks like many years. Sigh. Luckily, paint scrapes off hardwood easily. We painted the kitchen after moving in, and that was hard, but doable. I felt I needed some time to finalize plans. As it was, I kept changing my mind about things and have a better kitchen now b/c I was living there. I'd also wait on the carpet. Once all your stuff is in, you might not notice it so much. IMO I would live in the house a while before doing anything with the pocket doors. You may get to love them. If your house is old, you need to let it speak to you a while before making big changes....See MoreHELP me decide what to do with window!!
Comments (6)I would tile the window area to the same height as the backsplash so that you have a continuous line of tile across the area. If you decide not to tile inside the window recess, however, you can end your tile at the outside corners with a bullnose tile....See More
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