Need SO much help with a few of our beds (pic heavy)

lily225

A little background: We are currently living in our churches parsonage which is on church property. We moved here almost 2 years ago and are trying to "repair" the landscaping that has been let go for YEARS. This is what the front of the house looked like when we moved in.

 

As you can see, on the right side of the walkway, that whole plot of land was one big overgrown shrub bed. I hated it with a passion and we have since EMPTIED it all. This is what it looked like yesterday:

 

We planted grass seed where all the shrubs were after spending an insane amount of hours sifting all the pea gravel out of that bed with pasta colanders. We estimate around 100 hours of sifting between DH and I and even though you can't quite tell in this picture, there are still patches of rock in the new grass that came up during the winter. So we will hand pick that out and put more grass seed down as we go.

We are also planning on pulling out the shrubs to the left of the door this coming weekend. I have a lilac tree that I was planning on putting there as well as getting some knock out roses to add some color. This side of the house gets full sun for over half the day.

Anyway, I am looking for ideas for that flower bed in front of the porch. On the left is a dwarf burning bush that we planted last fall, on the right is a ??? that was in that bed previously, and then a couple other plants that I put in last fall but can't find the tags for right now. I want to fill it in a bit more and am looking for suggestions. We are in MI in zone 5b. I'm looking mostly for perrenials so we aren't putting money into it every year, and I love color as opposed to all evergreens. Here is a closer pic of that bed:

 

On the other side of the side walk is a square flower bed that was planted by a lady at church that seems quite attached and proud of her work, but honestly, there is not much about it that I like. I know there are 2 rose "bushes" in the middle (that doesn't seem right to me) that don't grow very well, she has some sage and thyme in there and the rest I forget.

I'm wondering if there's anything that I could transplant over to the porch bed to save some money in buying new stuff.

 

 

You can see clearly the one rose bush that I never cut back in the fall, the other one is behind it. That circular plate in the front is coverng up a bare patch in that section of ??? that is dying and that I will be pulling up this year. 

Here are some close ups of the stuff that I don't know what it is:

a)

 

 

b)

 

 

c)

 

 

d)

 in this last picture you can see those green and red flower looking things. They almost look like artichokes to me in person, the shape of them at least. What are those?? Do they "belong" to that plant they are nestled in??

I'm thinking of just slowly pulling this whole bed out through the summer and planting grass here as well. I just don't think it's a good spot for a bed and I hate the square shape of it as well as the rotting old railroad ties. We just have SO many beds on our property and it's hard to keep up with it as it is. This seems like a good one to go. ???

 

If you made it through this THANK YOU!!!  This is our first house/experience with landscaping and gardening so we are surely learning as we go and don't have very much knowledge with stuff. And tips or suggestions would be great!!! 

 

~NB~

A. Sedum

B. some bulb I don't know

C. Sedum with a Daffodil (I think)

D. Sedum with Sempervirens

I agree that the whole landscape is awful and needs a complete overhaul. I agree that you need fewer beds. I also agree that the exsiting beds are poorly placed and badly shaped.

However, I think you need to greatly expand the size of the beds to accomodate MORE trees and shrubs. There is too much grass NOW. The foundations shrubs aren't even IN a bed (they NEED to be).

There is so much work to do here. Step ONE is to decide where the lawn will be, how big it will be, and what shape. This comes FIRST, before you anything else. Then you go about creating a defining line around the lawn, to emphasize and enclose it. This is the exact opposite of what most people do- most people create planting beds, and everything outside the planting beds is lawn (by default). Don't do that! The lawn is what needs to be confined into a bed. Everything that falls outside of that area should be filled with trees, shrubs, and perennials; and annuals should be strategically placed throughout as focal points.

If you need help with design theory, hire a  CPLD.

 

HRP22

I agree with NB. 

I would look at some professional work around your neighborhood and see what you like.  Homeowners always go with the perfectly square/rectangled/circled beds.  They put down rock or stone to line it (which I see in your rectangled bed) always skimping on materials.  Which makes it look unprofessional.

I would start from scratch.  Maybe hire a landscape designer to design you a plan that you can do on your own throughout the spring. 

 

TarHeels&Rebels

You can call around to local nurseries to see if they'll do up a garden plan for you.  Some places will do them for $75 or $100.  Be sure to tell them you want to do the work yourself.

Some thoughts as they come to me.

1) Curb appeal.  I know this isn't your home, but maybe the church would let yall make some improvements. 

a) Split levels offer tons of space, but no one's ever said they were beauties.  Painting split levels all one color, like this and below, is the single greatest thing you can do for them. 

b) It looks like you just painted the shutters, but they really need to be a dark color with that siding.  White shutters always look dirty and wimpy on light backgrounds; they really need to be on a dark body to look best.  A gray body with your blue door and the same blue for the shutters would be pretty.

c) Beefing up the columns would do a lot and isn't a hard project.  See the difference here?  The problem is scale - you have a big house with wimpy little columns.

d) If the roof ends its lifespan during your tenure, choose a gray color.

 

 

2) Get rid of that bed in the middle of the lawn.  Just till/dig it up and put down grass.

3) Pull your beds out A LOT.  On a house your size, they should be much deeper.  The beds on my small townhouse are a minimum of 3ft deep and a max of 7ft deep.  Our last house was 3 stories, 3100 sq ft and the beds were 15ft deep in some places.  I'm not quoting those as rules, just saying trying to give you an idea of how small yours are. //  I can't quite tell the measurements, but it's possible you should pull your left side bed all the way out to incorporate that tree.  Yep, that's a lot of mulch.

4) Mulch!  It makes SUCH a difference in curb appeal.  Please, I beg you, use a natural one, not anything dyed or rubber.  Both of the latter leach chemicals.  Ditch the stones and dig yourself a little baby trench around your bed to mark the edge instead.

5) Updating the porch railings would add a ton too.

Here are some pretty pics of foundation plantings.

What works here: vertical elements on the corners, varied shrub heights, varied shrub colors and textures, curved not straight beds.  Psst - look at the porch columns - in scale with the size of the house.  Mulch.

 

Here's a two-story with good beds: See how deep they are?  Also notice the vertical elements and layers so everything's not short and squat. Mulch. Curved beds.

 

See even on this little house how deep the beds are?  See how the plants are layered again? Notice that the beds are curved and mulched.

 

I really think you need to call around and find a local pro.  The beds need so much work, I don't know that you can dig up all the knowledge you'll need from library books, etc, to transform those beds this year.  Calling a pro will actually help you spend your money wisely by selecting the right plants the first time.  Feel free to post more/specific questions

lily225

WOW!! Thank you SO much for all the wonderful tips and suggestions so far!! Most of that stuff I never knew to do!   Like I said, this is our first house with a yard so we are learning!!

A couple things first with the house. We did repaint the shutters last summer. There are a few houses in our area of similar color with white shutters and I thought it looked great. I will say though that ours didn't turn out as crisp as i thought they would. But at this point, we just don't want to invest more money into them. It's a bummer but the truth.

I also have thought about how wimpy the posts are. I haven't discussed it with DH, but I think this is another thing that will be at the bottom of the list due to money. Also, I have begged for a railing and DH just does not see the "need" for one. I feel it looks so naked and unfinished. My parents added one on to their house and the difference was night and day. Again, it probably just comes down to money for us (we don't get money from our church to cover this stuff and since we don't own the home we have to stop at a certain point since we will see no return on any work we do.)

But I never knew/realized that our beds needed to come out further. I guess I was so turned off of bigger beds because the one that was originally there was just massive. But I can totally see how what I made is too narrow. Also, the rocks we brought in from another bed in the back (that is also another disaster) because it was either that or that black plastic edging. I guess I don't understand the trench idea??  Is that something we can do and have it look nice while we are still trying to get our grass to grow??

Because we can not invest in a railing right now, what would you suggest for the height of the future plants to be that will sit right in front of the porch?? 

Is it better (looks wise) to have plants be symmetrical and in a pattern? Or to have different things throughout? 

I guess the main issue right now is money. We haven't come up with a set budget yet, but I'm thinking we won't have more than a couple hundred to put into it this summer. Any suggestions plant wise for what we should do first? Is there anyway to get around mulch?? It depresses me to think of shelling out so much money every single year on that.

Any good sites/blogs where I can see pictures for inspiration??

This was a huge help but at the same time now I feel more overwhelmed. I do know we have one local nursery in town (besides the big box lowes and home depot) so maybe I will talk to DH about getting them to draw up a plan for us. 

Thank you so much for your help ladies!!! I'm lurking on here constantly lately trying to learn as much as I can!! I should hit up my library.... 

~NB~

I can't help but agree with TarHeels (on so many things). I didn't mention it, but as soon as I saw the "after" picture, I wished you had left the shutters dark. The windows looked so much bigger before.

Standard windows are 4' above ground, which is why most designs use 4' tall evergreens (azaleas, hollies, Otto Luyken laurels, etc.) as foundation shrubs. Plant them about 2.5' out from the foundation, then plant a lower growing (18"-24") shrub or perennial about 2.5' in front of the first row. A shrub that grows 4' wide needs that much space, 2' on each side of the stem.

And honestly, TarHeels gave you the MOST cost effective tips possible. Paint, mulch, and some lumber is MUCH cheaper than the shrubs will be. If you money is a consideration for you, stop ripping things out. They might be ugly but at least they prevent erosion.

Good luck.

TarHeels&Rebels

I thought money might be tight, but I didn't want to presume.

Trenching

Trenching's just a way to keep the edge of the bed clean looking.  It'll keep the mulch in and the grass out.  It serves the same purpose as the black edging or the stones, but doesn't cost anything.

 

 

Plant Height

For height, what NB just said is good advice.  4ft max height shrubs, then 2ft perennials, then annuals for color if you need it.  Just imagine yourself needing three layers: large, medium and optional small.  I can't "feel" the space of your porch through pics, so go stand out there with a tape measure and measure how high 4ft will feel to someone on the porch.

These beds are fab and they're not hard.  There's an evergreen in the back, colored annuals in the front, and a little liriope mixed in for texture.

 

 

Are you at home?  Could you run outside and take a pic of the house looking the other direction, away from the driveway?  Looking at the big tree and basement window area.  I'd like to offer some suggestions, but I need to see that basement window area better.  You could take a couple more pics of the whole yard while you're at it.

Garden Books

I have never found great advice online.  Head to your local library and look at the garden books.  Grab an armful of books - some are too advanced, some are too construction-y, some are too...you get my drift.  See if you can find these titles there. 

BHG Home Landscaping

New Complete Home Landscaping

I have this for my state and it's invaluable.  I turn to it again and again. 

Plants

One free idea: there are many varieties of plants that are "pass-alongs."  Once you figure out what you need, I'd put an announcement in the church bulletin and ask if any parishioners have any they could share.  I'd ask for specific plants so that I didn't get a bunch of undesirables (lots of pass-alongs are weedy or invasive), but there's no reason to ever pay money for English ivy, hostas or liriope. "Mrs. Smith is working on the beds at the parsonage and would greatly appreciate any hosta or liriope divisions you have to share."  People with established gardens often have no more room for plants once they need to be divided and gladly give them away (myself included!).

another KT

B looks like a funky tulip variety.

nitaw

another KT:

B looks like a funky tulip variety.

B is a Tulip variety. Greigii variety.  I have planted them before in my own garden.

pdxmouse

Mulch doesn't have to be expensive. Some tree-trimming companies will dump a load at your house for free when they're in the area. You might need to compost it if you're putting it close to new or tender plants (it will bind up the nitrogen for a few months), but that might help with weeds.

You can buy mulch directly from a compost yard. If you have access to a truck and an afternoon, u-haul is the most economical. I want to say we got it for $17/cubic yard (a cubic yard is big, really big). If we wanted it delivered it would have been another $50. Much, much less than my friend who was quoted $500 to have it blown in around her yard.

Other than looking attractive, mulch will keep weeds from germinating (well, as much), trap moisture so you don't need to water as often, and gradually improve soil quality if you tend towards clay. It's good stuff. And unlike rock, it breaks down if you decide you want to plant something else there in the future.