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Landscape Design

Curb Appeal & Flower Bed

15 days ago

Hello,

I’m looking to create some type of flower bed to go around my house. I have a very never terrain, with a gully at the rear of my house and a drainage stream on the left. The front elevation is much higher than the rear. It makes it impossible to mow. Additionally, because the roof has an overhand, the soil closet to the house is dry and will not allow grass to grow. I’m a bit OCD, so I’m tempted to just add in some landscape lumber and follow the angles of the home, but I’m not sure if it’ll look right. I want to eventually mulch in the steep banks so that I don’t have to worry about the grass.

Does anyone have any suggestions on anything that they would do on the exterior. The home is rough, it’s 24 sided, with each side being about 8ft. I’m not rich by any means, so it would need to be something that I could do myself and will not cost a fortune.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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Comments (14)

Gina Gilgo
15 days ago
We have a similar home (22 sides). I’d suggest a combination shrub and flower bed around the house. Probably not exactly mimicking the roof line and extended a few feet beyond the drip line. We had a local garden shop owner give us recommendations.
Steven Wright
Original Author
15 days ago
Do you have any photos?
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Being that I am from Ohio, and not California some or all of what I have to say may sound odd, or might not work at all. First thing to do is remove the dying trees, and any that are too close to the house. Remove all of the shrubs in the front areas of the house. I am a proponent of basic (not overdone) lighting. Consider can lights in the soffit, and some waist tall pillars with lights that match those on the house for some pooling path and driveway lighting. You can do a quick internet search for walkway pillars / columns. Do a quick sketch of the house and property layout with some simple dimensions (you can even post that here for some submissions, or take it to a local garden center for design help.) Having a long term plan will help you stay focused, and keep cohesion to the elements. Before you build a walkway, make sure it is needed for functionality. Look into overlays for your current sidewalk (if you do not want a new one altogether) that can be matched on the additional walk to the street, and make sure to plan the new walk so it flows into the existing without looking like an afterthought. Keep in mind that a path without borders looks cleaner as it cuts through the lawn, and will not divide / land lock areas of your lawn when mowing. We have to mow our lawns here in Ohio weekly to bi-weekly, maybe that is not a concern for you. When landscaping (unless you are an active gardener) give your plants lots of space, and keep the variety low. I am used to using some foundation shrubs with a few specimen conifers, japanese maples for interest, and 1,000-2,000 lb 4-6' long landscape rocks / boulders. Less is more to me when it comes to plants. The overflowing cottage look appears cluttered and messy, but that is just my opinion. Look for pictures of japanese gardens, and see what your northern neighbors do in oregon with interesting specimens over masses of shrubbery and perennials.
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It would definitely be trouble to have two groundcovers (they usually spread sideways ... ivy does for sure) abutting one another in the same bed. How would you keep them apart? (That looks like English ivy in the picture. Algerian ivy is similar, but is a more robust, more drought resistant plant as I understand it. @longbranchstitch ... " I’m curious about the ivy comment. We live in the PNW where we battle ivy all the time ... I personally would never set out to plant it." You can't identify any use that it would serve ... covering and smoothing over rough ground? ... erosion control? ...growing where no other plants will? ....low cost per square foot of cover? ...evergreen for all-season use? Those are some of the reasons a person might want it. If none of those reasons work for you, why don't you get a serious program going that includes IVY KILLER, and get rid of it? If it's somewhat useful and you don't want to get rid of it all, why don't you consider learning to manage it? For example you complain that it grows up trees. It takes literally one minute per year to severe all the ivy growing up a single tree trunk. If you have 180 trees, that's three hours per year to solve that problem! How much time would it take to mow a lawn on which 180 trees would fit? ... maybe 50 times that amount of time and it would require an expensive machine! So the trade-off for ivy seems possibly favorable on that count. Anyway, you can evaluate whether it could be useful to you, or not, and then either get rid of it or get it under control.
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We removed all the camellias under the Japanese maples ==>> wouldnt know a camelia if it bit me in the foot.. lol .... well.. with leaves.. you are already pretty well hidden .... changes the whole scope of the project ... if you have flowering shrubs.. when do they bloom.. and find some that bloom in other seasons.. if you can .... in my world.. warped as it is.. cabin means relaxing.. not high maintenance.. so i would make sure any new plants.. dont need much of anything ... like constant watering.. etc.. nor paths that need raking.. etc ... go walk in the woods behind your houses [???] ... and try to emulate a natural setting.. but with some well chosen out of the ordinary plants ... or go full on native.. and just harvest a bunch of natives from back in your forest ... and replant what bulldozer man destroyed ... do you really want a high maintenance girlfriend out the front door [or gigolo.. if you are of that persuasion] .... lol mock orange is a later bloomer ... is philedelphus possible in GA??? ... however you spell it.. lol ... if interested.. there are sublime ones.. and carp one.. and some can get huge.. chose wisely ... well that was a ramble of epic proportions.. time to sign off ... ken
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Gina Gilgo
15 days ago
Until today, I’d only taken pictures of the yard with high water from hurricanes. We landscaped about 6 years ago and are still discovering what can live in our environment.
Gina Gilgo
15 days ago
Still need to add color with annuals.
callirhoe123
15 days ago
With the roof overhang, a flower bed around the house will be in the driest soil you have. You'd be watering constantly.
Monique
15 days ago
Curb appeal starts with getting rid of the witch hat look. Black was the worst possible choice for a paint color. The creamy yellow was a lot friendlier and more appealing.
Steven Wright
Original Author
15 days ago
Monique, I appreciate your honesty but, it looks better now then what it did. I am thinking of replacing all of the trim pieces on each corner and around the windows with natural wood to create a pop of color which I think will tie the roof in better. It’s my first home, we’re learning as we go!
Steven Wright
Original Author
15 days ago
Callirhoe, I definitely agree, especially in the front, I could run a drip hose before I lay the much to help with the watering though. Do you have any suggestions?
Sigrid
13 days ago
I'd put a ground cover on the slope. You could probably do foam flower. You'd have to smother the grass and get a lot of plugs next year. Or creeping juniper, which spreads pretty quickly.

There are a lot of natives that like gullies. I'd invest in some of those.
callirhoe123
13 days ago
Can you post a picture that shows the front door? Can't see where it is.
Steven Wright
Original Author
13 days ago
I can take more photos later, but the door is right behind the steps. Also, I’m thinking of just mulching the entire left side and back up until the ditches and filling it in with mulch. It’ll look weird at first, but hopefully after some plants are in, it won’t look as bad.
PRO
lisedv
12 days ago
Cute interesting house! Here are a few ideas. For the wild garden, here's a link for info...

https://www.totallandscapecare.com/business/article/15040494/how-to-create-a-wild-naturalistic-style-garden
PRO
Dig Doug's Designs
12 days ago
I am not sure were you live, but Ilex x Maryland Spreader could be a good choice & you will not need a retaining wall.
Steven Wright
Original Author
11 days ago
I think I’m going to mulch to the edge of the stream bed and then plant throughout, turning the lower part into some type of rain garden.

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