Help save my front yard!

[bigelow965]

Just joined the board here and I'm hoping to get some good advice to make the front and sides of my house look really good. I've let it go for too long and even though it's a little late already this season to be planting bushes I want to go ahead and get it done this year once and for all. If I put it off another year who know how long it'll take. Here's some pictures of what's there now...

House faces ESE so I'm facing the sun when it comes up. Looking from the front the left side of the house gets sun a lot of the day, filtered until 2P but then full sun for the next 5 hours, then filtered the last 2. The front sees filtered sun until around 2P then it's in the house's shadow for the rest of the day. Right side where's there's just nothing except those really ugly windows that need covering gets practically no sun at all. I'd consider that side 100% shade all day. Central Kentucky Zone 6 so the summers here get up into the mid and sometimes upper nineties in July and August.

Don't know what to say other than that obviously I'm totally new to landscaping and could use some good advice on what I can put around my house that'll make it look good, if not great. Although I'm interested in suggestions for all 3 sides of the place, since the left side has a little something there already (and because I'm in a hurry) for now I'd like to concentrate on just getting something up front, and then on the right side after that. Keeping it simple in the front I'll be installing a new wood bordered raised bed, about 7 inchs on both sides of the front door. Our soil is hard packed and I think fairly nutrient deficient so a raised bed of nutrient rich soil is probably the best bet for establishing anything new out there. Not sure where to source the dirt though. Bags of miracle grow soil would be ideal if they weren't so expensive. I've got a trailer so hopefully that'll open my sources up to maybe some kind of wholesale landscape dealer. I've heard the old rule always plant bushes in odd numbers so I'm thinking about 3 bushes on each side of the front door. I was initially drawn to some of the box woods because they can do well in shady circumstances. But because they'll be shaded much of they day I'm sure that kind of thin leaved evergreen won't grow fast enough to fill the space any time soon. So I'm very open to suggestions as to what might go well and fill out fast in the front. Priorities are that it be green throughout the year, grow fast, and hopefully be as entertaining as possible, with color etc. And as for the right side I am entirely open to your suggestions as well.

Well now ok I've finally done something to get this thing going. I'm all ears.

 

[Chuck]

Just joined the board here and I'm hoping to get some good advice to make the front and sides of my house look really good. I've let it go for too long and even though it's a little late already this season to be planting bushes I want to go ahead and get it done this year once and for all. If I put it off another year who know how long it'll take. Here's some pictures of what's there now...

House faces ESE so I'm facing the sun when it comes up. Looking from the front the left side of the house gets sun a lot of the day, filtered until 2P but then full sun for the next 5 hours, then filtered the last 2. The front sees filtered sun until around 2P then it's in the house's shadow for the rest of the day. Right side where's there's just nothing except those really ugly windows that need covering gets practically no sun at all. I'd consider that side 100% shade all day. Central Kentucky Zone 6 so the summers here get up into the mid and sometimes upper nineties in July and August.

Don't know what to say other than that obviously I'm totally new to landscaping and could use some good advice on what I can put around my house that'll make it look good, if not great. Although I'm interested in suggestions for all 3 sides of the place, since the left side has a little something there already (and because I'm in a hurry) for now I'd like to concentrate on just getting something up front, and then on the right side after that. Keeping it simple in the front I'll be installing a new wood bordered raised bed, about 7 inchs on both sides of the front door. Our soil is hard packed and I think fairly nutrient deficient so a raised bed of nutrient rich soil is probably the best bet for establishing anything new out there. Not sure where to source the dirt though. Bags of miracle grow soil would be ideal if they weren't so expensive. I've got a trailer so hopefully that'll open my sources up to maybe some kind of wholesale landscape dealer. I've heard the old rule always plant bushes in odd numbers so I'm thinking about 3 bushes on each side of the front door. I was initially drawn to some of the box woods because they can do well in shady circumstances. But because they'll be shaded much of they day I'm sure that kind of thin leaved evergreen won't grow fast enough to fill the space any time soon. So I'm very open to suggestions as to what might go well and fill out fast in the front. Priorities are that it be green throughout the year, grow fast, and hopefully be as entertaining as possible, with color etc. And as for the right side I am entirely open to your suggestions as well.

Well now ok I've finally done something to get this thing going. I'm all ears.

Well, first of all anything that I say will be biased. I am an organic gardener and will have nothing to do with chemicals. Having said that lets look at what is going on (beautiful place btw) and how to fix it a little bit at a time. Looking at the entire project at once one will become daunted and never get it done. So lets start with the lawn. A lawnmower is the best weed control and weed preventer there is. What do I see about your lawn. I see a weak lawn, a lawn with very thin patchy grass, compacted soil and being taken over by things that are not lawn grass. How to fix it? Mow it as low as you can. Rent a lawn aeroater and aeroate it well. Next, spread between 1/4" to 1/2" of good compost over all of it. Next get a lawn fertilizer spreader and spread ORGANIC fertilizer over the compost at about twice the recomended rate listed on the bag. Then purchase a good hose end sprayer fill it with molasses and set it between 1 and 2 oz per gallon rate and soak the whole thing. That will fix the lawn and lawns require regular mowing. Mow it at a high level at first until the grass is reestablished. And start a compost pile somewhere in the back

 

[Bandit26]

Chuck has so good ideas for your lawn. I'm not a lawn person so I cant add much. I would start by touring your own neighborhood and see whats growing well, what you like the look of, what you dont like, etc. How much maintenance and pruning do you want to do? Dont forget to add some color to your landscape as well. A few flowers in your raised beds, or a few hanging baskets cant add alot of visual interest. I love the look of your house. One thing I would do if possible would be to repaint the front door and make it a focal point. Right now its blending in with the brick

 

[LindaKay]

I also think Chuck has given you some good advice. I get very frustrated and overwhelmed with these type of projects.

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum!

Something to bear in mind when looking at plants - full shade refers to an area that doesn't get much light at all, such as underneath a dense canopy. North facing areas, if they are not covered, are likely to be considered only partial/moderate shade.

Sounds like for most of the garden you will have to avoid plants that require full sun, but there are lots of options available to you. On that shady side, if you want a bit of colour and interest then how about Vinca Minor? It is a fast growing plant which provides great ground cover, and has really pretty blue flowers. You can get ones with variegated leaves so even when there are no flowers it still looks pretty.

Something else which might look nice is to create a flower bed around the base of each tree - it solves the problem of mowing up to the trunk, and you could have a gorgeous splash of colour.

Where is the raised bed going?

 

[PhyllisL]

Here's a photo around our front porch. We like the foliage. Perhaps that would work for you, too. Also, I've built a website collecting front yard landscaping ideas and info. Perhaps you could find some inspiration there: http://front-yard-landscaping-ideas-online.com

 

[ShanaLyn]

An idea for a cheap and simple way to easily upgrade flowers beds (once you get them going) is to buy some 1 by 4's and 1 by 2's and a quart of oil based polyurethane. Use the 1 by 2's for stakes and the 1 by 4's for your lengths. Make sure you poly all sides of every board. Once you get this border down it might be easier then to decide how you want to do your flower bed. Let me know if you have any other questions on how to do it!

 

[evelynmcgregor]

I can just picture how lovely your house would look in the spring with a mass of one color of azalea along the front of it. If you get the smaller variety, they will not get to tall and bushy. Maybe a border of some kind of low growing plant along in front of the azaleas. Good luck, and I see a lot of good ideas posted here.