Need help with small front yard.
Gert H
12 days ago
I am having to cut down on landscape maintenance. I dont have the time or physical ability to keep up with it or afford to pay someone else to do it. We recently removed overgrown items from front and side of house. We also had to cut down a blue atlas cedar that was supposed to be a dwarf. But wasnt. I recycled some things-holly & 2 cottoneaster, that werent that bad. The coral bells can stay , they do need to be moved forward a bit if they do, or they can be re used elsewhere. I wouldnt mind a tall very thin tree near outer corner of porch, either in front but off to the left, on an angle or put on the side of the porch/house. I want perenials & evergreens. I dont want to expand the landscape, just work with what the 12 x 5 foot area that is there.
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littlebug Zone 5 Missouri
12 days agolast modified: 12 days agoGert H thanked littlebug Zone 5 MissouriRelated Discussions
Need Help with Small Front Yard- Old Brick House-Pics
Comments (8)I love old Victorian homes. I would suggest that you widen the front walkway to equal the width of the steps, then put (by the street side) a low fence on either side of the walkway to visually link the boxwoods(?) and plant flowers on both sides of the fence. I know that doesn't answer your question. As for your foundation plantings, I love those purple flowers, and think they just need some bigger evergreens in back - are the plants back there now going to get bigger and fill in? If so, just give them time, if not, I would replace them with something a bit larger....See MoreNeed Suggestions for a Small Front Yard Flower Garden
Comments (35)First let me say I love your house. My dream is to someday own a little bungalow!! I almost bought one once but it needed more work that I was willing to do at the time. I know I am late to the party, and I am no landscape expert, but I'm going to chime in my .02 anyway. One of the biggest problems I think you have, in more ways than one, are those huge everygreen shrubs against the foundation. They will dwarf anything else you are doing and it will all look kind of washed out. It seems to me your vision is for a wonderful little perrenial flower garden in front of your house, and in the meantime you have behemouth shrubs to deal with. I would seriously consider taking them out and plant something more open, airy and smaller. There are excellent selections of small, open evergreens at high quality nurseries now days, many of them bred to grow small because your situation is pretty typical of what modern home owners are looking for. At the very least, I would take out the big shrub next to the steps. I had a similar shrub next to the porch stairs in a house I lived in once, and it was a major pain to maintain. An evergreen such as that will trap moisture (especially melting snow) up by the house and the railing and the stairs, all contributing to their faster decline--rust, corrosion and weathering of concrete. There is nothing ugly about your foundation that you need to particularly hide. Rip out that big shrub, and put in something light and airy and flowery. Or at the very least, extend the smaller shrub border all the way to the steps. But honestly, I'd bite the bullet and tear it all out, then you will have a clean slate to design YOUR garden the way YOU want it, not have to work around those ponderous shrubs that someone long gone planted because they just filled a spot. They have overgrown their welcome, IMHO....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 MoreNeed help with small front yard design
Comments (2)It's hard to keep lavender and rosemary from becoming woody. I've planted and then had to remove several of those plants. I would consider using succulents instead. They are fairly low water, easy to maintain, and come in beautiful colors. Start with a taller flax plant, and then add other textures and colors....See More
Gert H
12 days agoGert H
12 days agolaceyvail 6A, WV
11 days agolittlebug Zone 5 Missouri
11 days ago
ShadyWillowFarm
11 days ago
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
10 days agolittlebug Zone 5 Missouri
10 days agoShadyWillowFarm
10 days agoGert H
10 days ago
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