Gardening & Landscaping
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
(PIP Work now)HELP What to do with this yard?
Good morning!
I am in extreme need of assistance with the front of my house. I know these pics may be bad, but there are some better pics if you go to my blog by clicking here.
Sunday, hubby removed the bushes that were in front of your house, so now I would like to put plants (min flowers unless in a flower pot) that would look nice with my house. I do not have an eye for this...any suggestions????
Here is a pic of the house before the bushes were removed.
Re: (PIP Work now)HELP What to do with this yard?
I'll never understand why builders in the '70s thought Spanish mission arches belonged on houses not in FL, TX, CA. Le sigh.
The house really calls for hibiscus and palms, but that won't work at all for you. How do you feel about grasses? Do they do up there? What about an ornamental tree on the corner (redbud or similar) with grasses on the columns? Do heath and heather live up there? You could put them between the columns - year-round interest and no maintenance.
My Pinterest
The Googlesites Paint Bio
Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
The front of my house gets some sun light, but I don't think it gets a lot. I am not able to put a lot of work into the plants after I plant them , so it would need something low maintenance. I've already planted some hostas there.
I was thinking about putting a couple of red shrubs on the right of my front door, and a Japanese maple tree on the far left of the house. I have no idea what to put in replacement of the bush that was on the right of the house. I don't want anything that will get SUPER big and block my front door.
I looked up heath, and those look nice. Can I plant them in pots? I was thinking about getting the larger pots to put on the porch between the columns, but not sure what to put in them.
Whatever I plant...they MUST come back each year.
If you want perennials (plants that return year after year), you shouldn't plant them in pots. Most likely the roots would freeze and die over the winter, saving plants that are nearly impossible to kill (like chives or maybe mint).
Also, honestly? I'd remove the rocks you put in and lay down some nice mulch instead. You'll regret the rocks in the fall when the hostas die back and turn it into a giant mess.
IMO, Japanese Maples are overdone. I'm not a fan.
All plants require some maintenance. Even the most low maintenance bushes will require yearly pruning to keep their shape, for example.
What I'd do:
Expand the planting bed along the driveway and walkway to add some curvature (everything is very rectangular).
Plant a taller tree at the corner of the house. I think a medium-height tree would look somewhat awkward.
Plant a mix of flowering shrubs and perennials, low-growing evergreens (creeping juniper) and ornamental grasses. Search for Zone 5 plants that do well in your area. You could do trellises up the column with roses or another climbing plant to add some drama.
food blog | garden blog | curly dogs blog
Rock roses would fit the bill (unless your winters get below 15 degrees), they are low/no maintenance shrubs that get about 3 ft tall and have tons of tiny flowers early spring - late fall.
an unsolicited opinion: I think flower boxes below all the 2nd story windows would look fabulous!
Rock roses won't grow in her area.
I agree with curlydoglover. Use mulch instead of rocks. We made this mistake in one of our beds when we first bought the house and now I'm tearing it all back out! Most perennials need to be divided to stay healthy and maintain their size, especially those hostas you said you planted, which is very hard to do with rocks and fabric.
Dwarf conifers mixed with perennials and a tree on the right would be perfect for you. I'm redoing our part-shade front flower beds to create something similar. How many hours of sunlight do you estimate the area gets? Dwarf conifers are great because they only grow 1-4" a year, are very low maintanence, look good all year round, can grow in almost any soil type, and once established don't need a lot of additional watering. You'll just have to be careful to pick ones that will grow in part shade because the majority of conifers need full sun. Juniper for example needs a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight to do well. Visit a local garden center/nursery to see what's available in your area but here is a list I've come up with:
Also, red shrubs don't grow very well in shade. They need full sun to keep a true red color. Again it depends on how many hours of sunlight we're talking about. Dwarf Red Barberry is your best option but they aren't as vivid as they would be in sun. Otherwise there are a number of shrubs that turn red in the fall but are green in the spring and summer.
What about running some narrow trellises up those brick arch walls? You could do climbing hydrangea, clematis, wisteria, sweet peas, or passionflower, just to name a few. Vines are fun because they give some nice height/interest and the colors can be so beautiful. Plus, you could plant them in a pot and just run them up the walls.
Good luck, and it really looks great already based on your blog photos! Keep us updated!
Thanks for all the awesome ideas! As you can tell...I have NO idea what I'm doing here!
I have a feeling the other plants that I planted are not doing well due to the rocks I placed. I feel very overwhelmed when I think of this project!
So, what could I do with the rocks? What are rocks good for?
Maybe use the rocks to create a dry riverbed look