mtrezza @ underedenx..I did replant some of the hostas & planted new / different plants but when the AFTER picture was taken the plants were newly planted & not very big
sallymmarshall I like that you opened it up, but I'd like to see some height there. Maybe a couple of bright pots with hibiscus, one in the inner corner. And I'd go a muted red maybe on the door. Just me- I love color- especially red.
Donata S. Griffith The left flower bed i would concrete. Like with an aggragate. I would put a chippendale bench against
that side of house. I would put a collum to the left of the one built into the house. I think that would frame your front door. I would paint your front door also. I would get rid of storm door. I dont know where you live you may really need it. You could paint your door a black green. I would also paint bench same color. I would plant a ground cover in the flower bed to right. You could get some really big pillows for your chairs on porch. Thats what I would do. Good luck!!!
mtrezza @ Donata S. Griffith...Funny you said that about the collum, I was going to put one up last year, but went back & forth about a railing so we never did it. (What do you think about a railing & collum??) I NEED to storm door we have a dog . I did plant ground cover & other plants/flowers they were newly planted when I took the picture, hopefully they come back this year. I don't think I would plant a tree near the house, the bushes that were there ( I removed) had big roots that were growing under the concrete. Maybe a tree in a big pot ????
@ Keitha-There were shutters, took then down, bought new ones (3 colors) held them & nobody liked them, looked better without, so I returned them & bought more plants :-)
mtrezza @ Donata S. Griffith-Sorry forgot to reply ..I have a little bistro table & chairs on the left by the windows. which I do like instead of the bench
inkwitch Definitely a colored front door, but red is so frequently done. Everybody has a red door. And it's hard to match brick and not get too dark. THe garage siding limits what color you can paint the front door - Forest green? (not too dark) Black is formal, but it might work. Houzz has lots of door photos. Go thru those.
Love the landscaping. Resist shoving things into corners. COnsider painting the chairs/table a bright color (turquoise? yellow? lime?) to contrast/match the front door color (unless you choose black!). .
mtrezza Last year I posted Before & After pictures of the front of my house ..well, this year I won a contest on Facebook that Mayne Inc. had and here is what it looks like now (the flowers are fresh, so once they fill out I'm sure it will look a little different)
Sweet Caroline Garden Design Sorry to burst your bubble, y'all but mtrezza your landscape , while an improvement over the overgrown evergreens, is lacking scale and background. Imagine what your landscape will look like when it dies back in the Fall/Winter. Without "bones" there is no design. Widen your flower bed on the right., plant a small ornamental tree and a mix of low growing broadleaf evergreen shrubs ( rhododendron, azalea, etc. ) with deciduous ones for interest. Transplant all your current perennials and annuals in front of these . Always group plants in numbers of 3, 5 or 7 for effect. Some small ornamental grasses such as blue fescue would look good in front of the border. Move the white container next to the entrance and balance your window box with one of the same for the left side. Here's a sketch of what I'm talking about. Oh and P.S. I'd like to shoot the person that created red mulch.
Ginkgo Leaf Studio I second that about red mulch, it really detracts from the plants! I also agree with Caroline that some woody deciduous shrubs and/or evergreens would help scale the landscape to your cute house and give the landscape some structure. Layer the perennials and annuals in front of the shrubs.
Kevin Patrick O'Brien Architect, Inc. Great job! Congrats on your before and after, thanks for sharing. I agree with new front door or a color accent. Looks like you have a storm door on the outside? That can be a problem! In my opinion, No shutters on the right side window, they would be too big in size and would cover that way cool brick! Enjoy your "new and improved" home!
mtrezza Thank you for all of your comment & input....I really like Sweet Caroline Ideas, unfortunately what Sheila Rowan said, I have to disagree, it WOULD be expensive to do, FOR ME anyway...I can't afford a lot , (single mom 2 jobs) most of the plants seen here in the picture were given to me by friends thinning out their gardens, I try to buy 2 perennials a year & annuals for my pots. Also, my neighbor planted a tree (see attached photo) right on both of our property lines & the damn tree hangs over onto my side (pain in the A#@! when I cut the grass. So unless I win the lotto or someone would like to donate money & labor to update what I have done, it will have to stay that way until next year or long....I do want to paint the door, but I can't decide if I want red or black?? For now I am happier with the way it looks now instead of how it did look..I did it myself & Proud ....P.S. Want to see the weed garden ...mess ...I will welcome any ideas for that mess :-) Thanks
lynin The storm door can also be painted, therefore making it look quite seamless. I agree red is a bit overdone; black doors can seem like a big black hole. What about apple green or bright yellow - I don't know if that would work with the brick.
bluenan Sorry, but there are too many lawn tchotchkes. Your hostas and other plantings will give you a nice green contrast against the brick, the rest of the little things just look random and busy.
Sheila Rowan I think you could still do Sweet Caroline's design on a slim budget: yellow cannas for the tall yellow plants on the right (buy bulbs, not plants, and wait until they have gone down to 1/2 price at the big box stores); red geraniums for the medium height red flowers (you can buy just one and then root lots of cuttings on your windowsill); blue and white alyssum for front of the border, grown from seed ($1 a pack); you can then replace with more permanent plants as your budget allows (yellow blooming shrubs for the cannas, red roses for the geraniums, etc.) For your "weed garden" try tall hollyhocks (again grown from $1 seed).
inkwitch The idea of your garden areas is great, but your balance is too "measured." Assymetrical has more interest. Spreading rocks around makes them look like fake rocks. Pile them all together. Try different locations within the bed. teh back corner, by the steps, etc. Remove the cutesy decorating items. You're not 60 yet, and that's who mostly uses such stuff. Avoid frogs, gnomes (yeck), etc. Gazing ball is neat. The urn will look better on the porch at the point where you step up or at the far back corner of the bed. (I like that location for the rocks more.)
I like the assymetrical look of the right-hand bed. It has an appealing flow. Pansies work well through winter but won't survive heat. Ivy trailing over the edge of the planter will work. It needs to be trimmed regularly to keep from overtaking the area.
If you pop in at Wal-Mart and HD (whatever local stores carry plants), they have "clearance" plants which are the ones which have passed the best of their flowering stage. With some tender care, they'll flourish. Think long-term. Replace the red mulch with natural colored as budget allows. Red is too cutesy.
Front door: gray. A rich charcoal. Black really isn't appropriate for this house, and red is overdone. Paint the storm door the same color.
bluenan No need to insult those of us at the 60 mark, I was the first to mention the yard tchotckes, and my age, experience and observation has only helped to shape and refine my sense of aesthetics. Aficionados of yard clutter can be of any age...and the gazing ball has to go as well.
inkwitch No insult intended. It's a challenge to keep friends from giving me stuff that they think is so cute! I have to admit a liking for gazing balls -- they fall into the same category as pink plastic flamingos!
@ cypress ..what do you mean?? I never posted them can you send me the link??
that side of house. I would put a collum to the left of the one built into the house. I think that would frame your front door. I would paint your front door also. I would get rid of storm door. I dont know where you live you may really need it. You could paint your door a black green. I would also paint bench same color. I would plant a ground cover in the flower bed to right. You could get some really big pillows for your chairs on porch. Thats what I would do. Good luck!!!
@ Keitha-There were shutters, took then down, bought new ones (3 colors) held them & nobody liked them, looked better without, so I returned them & bought more plants :-)
Love the landscaping. Resist shoving things into corners. COnsider painting the chairs/table a bright color (turquoise? yellow? lime?) to contrast/match the front door color (unless you choose black!). .
I like the assymetrical look of the right-hand bed. It has an appealing flow. Pansies work well through winter but won't survive heat. Ivy trailing over the edge of the planter will work. It needs to be trimmed regularly to keep from overtaking the area.
If you pop in at Wal-Mart and HD (whatever local stores carry plants), they have "clearance" plants which are the ones which have passed the best of their flowering stage. With some tender care, they'll flourish. Think long-term. Replace the red mulch with natural colored as budget allows. Red is too cutesy.
Front door: gray. A rich charcoal. Black really isn't appropriate for this house, and red is overdone. Paint the storm door the same color.