Need Help for my Unusually Downsloped Front Yard-slopes into house
Laura L
7 years ago
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Anne Fisch
7 years agoRelated Discussions
New Home - Blank Canvas - Help Me Landscape My Front Yard PLEASE!
Comments (10)I'll try to play catch up. (Have been travelling for a little more than a month in the past 40 days. Much of that was without Internet so more absent than I thought might happen.) The drawing is pretty basic but hopefully it will convey some ideas. First, I would get rid of the odd angles on the beds. They would look much better to tie in to walks at 90* angles instead of weird wedge shapes. In the lower, right corner I'm illustrating two ways you could make a circular bed around the lamp post. (The lamp post is a primary purpose of the bed so the bed ought to use the post, at least roughly, as the radius point. And a generally circular shape would make more sense than a sprawling asymmetrical wedge shape.) Also, I would re-shape the large front bed. It should swell out to accommodate the tree you intend to plant but does not need to extend outward, around the walk in a grabbing fashion. To explain the planting in the illustration, it is a shrub below each window of the garage, and a small hedge below the pair of windows (right half). None of those should get taller than bottom of the window. There is seasonal color flanking the entrance to the porch and at the left of the porch. A perennial mass wraps the garage corners and right house corner. A low groundcover, solid, links the other plantings together. Can't tell how your existing tree would possibly conflict with the proposed tree. (The third picture you posted was taken from a different position so the existing tree location shown could be seriously misleading.) You might want to consider moving the proposed tree farther back in the scene rather than placing it at a pure diagonal to the house corner. (I wouldn't know because we don't have the information.) A large shade tree is probably not in order. A flowering tree (such as redbud) might be a better size to use so close to the house. As far as what plants to use, gauge the heights and research what plants grow locally that could perform well....See MoreNeed front yard help for Victorian-style house (zone 8b)
Comments (13)Thanks all - these responses are so helpful! I love the idea of referencing older houses. I’ve driven around the historic homes in my neighborhood here, and it’s true that there aren’t many foundation plants besides the occasional boxwood - likely put in more recently than 1907! The pecans are actually part of an orchard. I always thought it was odd that we had these 2 perfectly placed pecans, similar to how builders put in a starter tree on either side of the sidewalks in new tract homes! Turns out that the trees were here well before the house! I suspect they were planted in the mid-1800s. Good info about the bulbs under pecans. I though about agapanthus as well, but I think that would require a lot of digging and....ugh! Clay soil and rocks are breaking my back! Love the 2 renderings! I wish I could bump my tree out farther to the right, but the electric lines run right over that corner, plus that’s our drainage area for the backyard. Eventually we may do a dry creek situation over there. Not authentic to the house, but sometimes preventing standing water wins out. ;)...See MoreI need landscaping solutions for my narrow, slightly sloped side yard!
Comments (10)I definitely do not want to mess with the grading at all. Not my plan. However, I have such a tiny yard that I’d rather this not look like a complete eye sore. I do use the gate often because the water spigot is on the other side of the gate. That’s why I would like a little path instead of some sorts. Grass clearly is not an option, and I have always envisioned rock, mulch, ground covering with some ferns and hostas....See MoreHydrangea and Rose Slope Front Yard Landscaping Help
Comments (11)Inspired by @kitasei2 's comment, maybe I'll plant something short and purple in color in front of the stone foundation. I'm also thinking extending the flowerbed south of the sidewalk. That will give me another 16-18 feet and should be able to put in three or four more Bobos. In the next picture, I put down the white hose to line out the idea and added a few images. Behind the bobos, I'm thinking of putting a few earth angels or two earth angels and one or two Olivia Austin. It still seems to need a punctuation somewhere. Maybe a Tiffany blue tall planter by the corner of front porch and front steps. The all-wood siding panel and railing seems a little dark and need to brighten up somehow. Any suggestions? This is the view when we walk up to the front door. As you can see, we are in a woodland setting and there is lots of green in the summer but not much color. In the far background, I plan to plant a row of blue Endless summer by an old lilac bush. We rebuilt a water feature and I've got ideas about the plants I want for a Japanese-inspired water feature garden there. It's the front yard that I'm stressing out a little. I can't decide whether I should move the bottom two Bobos closer to the path or just plant something there (iris, or lilic tree, or snapdragon). Can't decide what to do with the slope on the right either... I'm still trying to figure out my garden style and the landscaping that fits the house architecture. It is helpful just to allow me to think aloud with you guys here. Any ideas about general landscaping or plant choices are welcome! Sorry these two pictures seem to be small still. But when we put the mouse cursor on the image, there's a plus sign and hit that would enlarge the image. Sorry for my technical clumsiness. If you can't see these two images, please simply look at the three large ones in the original post and share what you'd do! Thanks!...See MoreLaura L
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7 years agoDig Doug's Designs
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