I don’t think country cottage will work with the mish mash of Texas Tudor ranch house you have. Do you have any plans to do cosmetic changes to the house itself to align it more to your specific taste? It’s a super house, it just doesn’t even have a whisper of country cottage right now. Do you have any inspiration pictures?

Some ideas for cottage garden colorful palette

shadywillow- not trying to change the house at all. This was a landscaping question.

Celery- Thank you! This is just the type of inspiration I was looking for...

and

No, I don’t think water troughs are the way to go. You already have too many ” container” types in your yard & the water troughs will only clutter it up more. i would do a proper planter spanning the width circled & deep enough for plants suitable for your climate.

Here are two examples of gardens that span the front of the house. I like the simplicity and restraint in color choices.

Cute house. I would create curved beds and interesting bed on right side. Redistribute your walkway lights to invite into yard more. I will try a little mock up for you. Bbl

This is more “concept” for ideas than specifics. But I would take more of an English Cottage look for your home’s front landscaping. I would rethink bed for your great hostas. Build a more curved shape and create interest by grouping similar colors in a group of 3 and then next group variegated etc. Further in front develop little seating area with a bird bath and a couple chairs then a large curved bed with a signature tree on far right corner to balance big tree on other side. Add large bed around big tree and mix sone boulders with semi shade plants for color. Easy care items depending on your zone. Then move your solar (?) lights around to highlight areas in the garden. English gardens are more organic and fun and suit your home. Still kind of in your desire for “country cottage”. Not real formal or sculpted.

An important quality is to vary heights of landscaping too. This creates interest and would blend nicely with your Tudor-like front facade.

Here are some suggestions:

I agree IMO your home could benefit from large serpentine beds of shrubs and perennials in an English Garden style.

I would not do the water trough's next to the house. Do plantings in the ground at the foundation and use troughs later for perennials and summer blooming plants. Not sure if you know you don't need real troughs. Something like this is better. Trough would have no drainage.

No troughs please. Not at all cohesive with style of your house. You gotta dance with the one that brung ya! Lol

The wall to the right offers trellis space to be a backdrop.

More

Would suggest hiring a landscape architect to create a cohevise design for you.

I would start with some taller plantings in front of the big spans of brick siding…more sculptural and airier species like miniature Japanese maples…on the long span to the right also a few arched trellises to soften up the look of the brick with evergreen vines to have easy maintenance and year round greenery…

Depending on what the walkway is made of I think it would be much more charming to break it up into smaller pieces and do a more meandering walkway like the one Beverly shows in her last picture….adding little clumps of flowers in the curves of the walkway…

As for the big expanses or brick wall..some arches in a white lattice material to match the trim would be great for growing flowering vines or placing a sculptural tree in front and centered on each trellis

there is/are one or two texas hosta peeps in the hosta forum ...

imo.. what dictates what can be grown.. ALL DEPENDS on the ID'd the MONSTER tree .. and then determining whether is will play nice with whatever you attempt to do under it ... if its a maple.. im sure the house peeps will have a word or two about how its near impossible to garden under them...

also.. that huge a tree that close to my house.. would probably make me lose sleep ... especially if you are in any storm area....

ken

Ken , thank you, It is an Oak tree and the backyard has another one just as tall.

Its kind of normal in this neighborhood. Almost all the houses have them. With this Texas heat, the shade they provide is a blessing!

I have taken the hostas out of the pots and built a raised bed under the living room window where I relocated them. They should do fine with the shade.

I think you need a backbone of evergreen and flowering shrubs. Then layer the perennials in front of them in the curved bed layouts. Some of the designs would require a ton of maintenance, so be real if you’re up for that(in addition to caring for your backyard). I’m kind of frugal but still hired a landscaper by the hour to come out, walk me thru and give me advice. I gave him a scale drawing and he sent back a quick sketch layout.

You love hostas, so why not make a nice little curved planting area on the right from the sidewalk to the corner of your house and plant with hostas. To the right of the window, where you have that lovely brick wall--you have a blank canvas waiting to be "painted on" with some fabulous, colorful plantings. Perhaps a nice flowering tree that is a "dwarf"... something that won't grow 50 ft. tall and 50 ft. wide...lol. A flowering dogwood would fit nicely in front of the solid brick front wall. While they can grow 25' x 25' it will take quite a while to reach maturity. You can always do some selected pruning in the summer if you think it is getting too big. Dogwoods grow best in zones 5-7, but since it is the north side of the house and you have ample shade from surrounding trees, it should be fine. In the winter, you still have color as the leaves turn red and they produce red berries that birds love. Then you can plant lower growing bushes, maybe leave some open spots to set containers of your favorite flowers when in season. Dogwoods come in pink, red and white blooms, so consider that when you want to put baskets of your favorite flowers in the beds. Azaleas are also a good option there, but you only get color for a couple months. Then plant your hostas in the very front, with some flowering ground cover interspersed between each clump of hostas.

Go Native! Ornamental non-native plants create an environmental desert. There are plants native to North Texas that can grow under the oak trees and in drier conditions. Skip the lawn and use sedge. https://native-gardeners.com/blogs/news/the-ten-best-lawn-replacements-for-shade-in-north-texas

Go Native! There are plenty of shade loving native perennials. Forget the lawn and plant sedge. Ornamental non-native plants simply create an environmental desert. https://native-gardeners.com/blogs/news/the-ten-best-lawn-replacements-for-shade-in-north-texas

Thank you so much for your well explained ideas. We are currently setting a plan into motion!!