SFGate

Sweet Caroline Garden Design Can you get a longer view of the house in the center so that the property boundaries can be seen on each side. How big is your yard from the entrance to the curb/street ?

Leo Before you pick plants get a soil test at your local extension agent. It will tell u if u have acidic or alkaline conditions. In Virginia takes 2 weeks and $10 from lab at Virginia Tech. That will tell u what kind of plants are likely to thrive.

kitasei Do the windows each have a pair of shutters or just one? If just one, maybe better not to have any, and instead paint the window trim a defining contrast to the brick. I propose replacing lawn with a LOW evergreen groundcover that will thrive in your area. The house is low so don't overwhelm it with shrubbery that block the windows. Consider vines to cover the pillars, taking care not to let them grow into the eaves of your roof. Without a broader view of the property, it's impossible to suggest where larger elements like trees or shrubs might go. Anything casual belongs in your backyard - the casual patio chairs, wheelbarrow, etc. Unless it's Fourth of July, that goes for the flag too.

svdiva Gee, I didn't know displaying the American Flag was considered a casual look.

cypress Better notify the White House, the flag belongs in the backyard.

svdiva Look around the different neighborhoods in your area to see what you like. If you think you will spend time on the front porch I suggest plants that don't attract bees. Keep the flag.

tjarreau Here is a wider picture. The house is about 200 feet from the street. There are 3 large live oaks in the very front of the property near the street. The house is about 60 ft wide. Thanks for any suggestions. Oh and wheel barrel is in the front yard because I had just cleaned out the beds.

Bargain Backer You should stop by our store and take a look at garden supplies and equipment. We have just about anything you need and the best prices around.

http://www.bargainbacker.com/Garden_c_7.html

Sweet Caroline Garden Design To bring curb appeal to your home I would begin by enhancing the existing columns with wood/brick , remove shutters and enhance windows with trim, if roof needs replacing in the future, add deep brown architectural shingles. For a DIY landscaping project, remove all sod, bring in a load of good garden mix soil ( a foot deep ) , plant drought-tolerant ornamental grasses, perennials and annuals . An above ground watering system such as Mr. Landscaper is completely doable. When everything is planted, apply thick layer of mulch ( shredded dark brown pine bark ) to retain moisture and keep down weeds. Once established the landscape is low-maintenance. Watering is the most important thing you can do for the first year as it needs one inch of water/rain a week. Watering deeply and not frequently is key. Place a tuna can so that it can catch water to determine how much is being applied. Break up watering to 2 x a week - beginning and the end .

rinqreation Get a low hedge in front of the porch, maybe lavender or rosemary, a japanese flowering quince. And some annuals and bulbs for color. I'd keep the lawn. An appletree, pear, walnut or magnolia in it would be great.

Sweet Caroline Garden Design A lawn is high maintenance in terms of water and chemical needs. A more environmentally friendly landscape is one that saves this precious commodity. In addition, a lawn-less garden looks good year 'round without all the work of mowing, applying chemicals, etc.

rinqreation True. But a lawn doesn't need to be an ordinary grass one. If my lawn needed more than just mowing, watering and an annual treatment of chalk and manure, I'd put similar but other plants in there, better suited for the climate I'm in.

Sweet Caroline Garden Design I don't know what area of the country tjarreau is in but the trend sweeping America, and a good one, I might add, is to get rid of the American obsession with the traditional labor, chemical intensive grass lawn. Water is also a precious commodity , especially in drought-stricken areas of the South and Southwest which is another good reason .. I see you are in the Netherlands. What is the "chalk " treatment you speak of ? Is that what we refer to here as lime ?

rinqreation Yes, I think so. Jargon can be tough. Especially on websites such as this.
Taking care of my lawn is something intuitive to me I guess, I can mostly tell what it needs by it's shade of green. My home was built on sandy soil, so I need to water it, but in the heat of summer I water it max. twice a week for less than half an our, mostly with water from the rainbutt. If it dies when it receives less, it's not meant to be in my garden.

tjarreau Thanks for the comments. I am in South Louisiana. There is about 1 acre of st Augustine grass in the front yard and about 2 more in the back. So I am stuck with lawn. I am just looking for something to spruce up the existing flower beds

Sweet Caroline Garden Design You don't have to be stuck with so much lawn, tjarreau. Planting productive trees such as fruit and nut will cut down on some turf and carving out beds near the house will also help. You can grow some very exotic and tropical plants that would look great in groups. Get a book on xeriscaping and see the many ways you can transform your space into a low-maintenance, low -water landscape.

Sweet Caroline Garden Design So true about the difference in English, ringreation. I learned another new word -"rainbutt. " Is this a rain barrel ? Just guessing :-) You may be interested in the famous gravel garden in Essex, England of Beth Chatto. She has not watered it artificially since it was planted in 1991. She's also written several books about it.

EasyTurf EasyTurf is great alternative, especially with pool-side applications. Presently FieldTurf leads the artificial grass industry in manufacturing excellence and product innovation. EasyTurf, the landscape arm of FieldTurf, supplies turf to commercial and residential clients throughout North America.

The main differentiation in EasyTurf products is the MaxxFlow backing, a proprietary 100% permeable backing that drains faster and cleaner than any other turf backing, standing toe to toe with the best permeable paver technology. (video here www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPiptLLbaqs)

Other artificial grass brands either have holes punched into the back for drainage or have to come to complete saturation before draining, absorbing bacteria, allergens, urine and other materials before draining.

Feel free to check out the differences for yourself at EasyTurf.com and FieldTurf.com - as a point of reference FieldTurf leads the modern day sports field industry. 21 of 32 NFL teams play or practice on FieldTurf products.

It's an environmentally friendly alternative! Here's photo from a recent install.

Brown Bros. Masonry Perhaps raised planter boxes in front of columns, or installation of a flagstone pathway with room for shrubbery alongside it or even raised planter boxes along side walkway.