Help me landscape my front yard!

Hello there cute house! I think lavender and Rosemary require some upkeep. I would put globe boxwoods near the foundation extending from the sides of the porch all the way to the edge of the house and then mini boxwoods along the edges of the pathway on either side. That would require shearing one see year and that's it. Then I would use annuals in your window boxes

Maybe you could take a few pictures of where you want landscaping around your house and take them to a local landscaping company or garden center and maybe they could give you some free advice (especially if you buy the bushes/whatever there) or even a Home Depot or somewhere they sell shrubs. Even better if there is a University Extension, Horticulture teacher or Garden club in your area, they are a great resource too. Kinda depends on what sun/shade the area receives, and kind of soil.

I would advise removing the lilac bushes. Re-Shape the front to extend the garden. Plant from the back to the front.Using shrubs with all-season interest would be for your benefit to add curb appeal. You can do the plantings in stages.Once the inlaid plantings are selected you can add perennials and annuals based on your hardiness zone.

Michelle are you pruning your lilacs? Remember they set blooms in the fall for two years. If you are pruning you are cutting off the blooms. Try neglecting them for a while. They should be fine in a couple of years. Then fill in around them and out with mostly perennials with a few annuals in between for color. Plant choices will depend on your zone. A good garden center will help. If your budget is tight the garden center is great for tips then pick up plants at the end of the season for discounts at the big box stores.

If it were me, I'd get rid of the lilac bushes in the front. If you want to save them, try to transplant them elsewhere where they won't cover a window. Plant all dwarf shrubs. They still will grow but much more slowly. Can you trade plantings with a neighbor? That's what my neighbor & I do. It's perfect for getting perennial plants.

Michelle, you have selected two plants that are easy to grow and are low maintenance. Your home is charming. Check out Pinterest or Better Homes and Garden's websites for FREE Lavender Garden Plans. Line your walk with lavender, it's welcoming and repels 'skeeters. Rosemary is easy to grow and tend in pots or in the garden. You cut it as you need it, it's an easy plant to live with. Check your local garden extension service to see if it's a perennial or annual in your zone. Lilacs are best moved AWAY from the house. See if a neighbor would like them or move them to your back yard. Lilac roots can break foundations if planted too close to a home. Check out free Cottage Garden Plans on HGTV, DIY, and other websites. Your yard is the perfect spot for Knock-Out Roses (easy to grow), Lamb's Ears, Marigolds, Thyme and other flowering herbs. Working two jobs is tough so do a section of your yard at a time, barter with a friend to help you dig and plant. Post pictures of your work in progress.

Honey Babe I see such a Missed Opportunity in the Pole for the light down in front..get one of those cheapy raised beds they sale in the spring or make your own from a couple of 2x4's and some re-used fence boards..with the dog ears cut off,dump in 2 -4 cu yards of potting soil with some mulch and plant full of perrenials..simply cheap quick fix..move those poor little trees in front to the front portion of the side walk for a more sunny location no wonder they do Nada..and lastly hit ebay for cheap landscaping plants..for your area..or zone..plant a large tree to counter balance that cute little cottage you live in..a fast growing Cottonless Cottonwood..or a Pine..white pine..wish I could come by and lend you A hand and my personal expertise..I am making my desert Bloom..Love Landscaping try more Bulbs and Rhisomes for beginners thats easy peasy here are some of my own plants in a High Alkalai desert..old Ocean Floors can Bloom

Oh and Finally I would remove those steps to your door,paint the door a lively sea foam Blue..and Build a wooden deck as a new entryway..which does come in kits and family and friends always love parties..wine tasting etal for Helpers..not exactly free help but fun,heart connected Help Good Luck Precious Good LUCK

Hi,

Your little house could have tons of character. Landscaping all the way down each side of the sidewalk in my opinion would require too much time maintaining it.

Since the house has such a square shape visually, I would make circular beds extending a few ft from each corner of the house that gradually come back in to meet on each side of your walkway. (Sort of an S shape) This will soften the lines on your house and make it look wider.

Remember to look keep in mind the full growth ht on plants and dont get anything that will out grow its area. I would use a low growing flowering shrubs (Encore Azaleas) or evergreen as your foundation planting (max ht should be right below your windows) and a smaller growing plant such as Hostas, daylillies and colorful perennials in front. I would not plant too many deciduous plants as you want some year round interest. In the center of the circled beds ( on corner) you could use a specimen on each side. Small growing tree, topiary or tree form Hydrangea etc. You will want to plant in combinations of 3,5 etc. expect your specimen plants. I hope this is helpful.

Please share your photos when finished. Landscaping is the finishing touch on curb appeal. Cant wait to see it.

Thanks,

Tanya

Hello everyone, thank you:) for all the feedback, great ideas! first I located a local nursery that offers landscaping ideas/help for free I just need to bring pictures. As for the steps, they are concrete what can I say. The steps are in great shape and I just spend a huge amount of money on a back deck, had a roof leak Oct. 8 caused kitchen and bathroom damage. All the renovations have recently been done. Had new windows installed as well. I got a new bathroom and kitchen ceiling and floors from the insurance company. I am tapped out of money for replacing any major stuff at this point. I am going to wash the aluminum siding this weekend. Raking up the leaves as well. I do have knock out roses on each side of the house. I love the house and looking for a cottage garden there is lots of potential, ha at one time I entertain the idea of getting rid of the front yard and turning into a wildflower/cottage garden. Again, love all the ideas and will post this spring once I have updated the outside. Oh, the door was newly painted and it is a new door as well. The flower boxes are a nuisance for me , I am short don't have a ladder to reach so I haul out a chair. The boxes were never properly built thinking of getting rid of them. Again, thank you Hometalkers!!!!!!!

Well, you have a cottage style house, so first things first. For cottage style one uses shrubs with small leaves, or bushes. To get the landscaped look you want choose plants with the same leave type. If you live in Vancouver then you need to check with your local nursery as to which plants do the best in your area in winter. I would stick to evergreen types. Look for two nice flowering standards and plant one in a nice pot either side of the door. That way you can put decent soil in and fertilize easier with an all round liquid plant food. Then, if it gets cold you can move the plants near a window indoors, or to a more sheltered spot. Your house is calling out for a more formal look, so you can then plant a variegated evergreen low growing hardy hedging plant under the windows on either side, probably need about 5. Then a narrow bed alongside the path leading to the door, you can plant summer flowering annuals. If you make, or buy a composting bin then the leaves that are littering your lawn can make homemade mulch.

Well first of all, I would not throw away the lilacs. They are too close to the house, so if you take the one from the left of the steps and move it to the right side so they are framing the window, but have someone help you dig them up and pull them away from the house. They like to "breathe" They will be happy. I also like your idea of the cottage garden-choose all perennial plants, different heights and colors and textures. Make it wherever you want. They grow and bloom at different times in the season, and most of them like to be mowed down in late fall and that's it. I was a perennial merchandiser for a local nursery and it was so fun showing people colors that they wouldn't have thought would go together. And plan for the whole year! Less grass, more bloom...and throw in your herbs too!

I want to see this in the spring!

Oh yeah, as far as the walkway, when you feel like it I think a good idea would be to cut out the grass on either side and lay down some inexpensive patio pavers to widen it and make it an even width with your steps (several colors to choose from). And you're right, nix the flower box.

Hey, if you want the lilacs don't give up on them. Like some one said they can b moved. I had some and moved them. One branch got broken and rooted itself and bore flowers. They are very hardy. Need full sun and good air circulation.

For zero maintenance, I love your hosta and day lilly/bulb idea. I had that on the north side of my one home and never had to do anything but look at them. But why not take this picture to your local nursery (as you will end up buying from them anyway) and tell them you are 'garden sleepy' and ask for their suggestions.

All I know is hostas for sure need shade. There may be some new varieties that can withstand more sun. If your flower beds are on the south side of your house or get a lot of sun, I would not go with hostas. But I am not a landscaper so I would check first. Professionals are the best to get advice from. Wish you all the best. (I need help too, lol).

The window boxes are a yearly plant and depend on your interest in color. The lilac do serve to keep strange looking stair walkers from window looking. More beautiful plants or tomatoes and clematis would love those areas. Are those ferns? I can hardly wait to see your new look paint a pattern on the step riser.

Consider painting the shutters the same color as your new door. It will liven up the house. The lilacs might do better at the corners of the house standing away from the house enough that you won't need to trim them. They would get more sun and light that way. Yellow and lavender are complimentary colors and really pop when next to each other. Do compost those leaves; they will make rich soil for your garden beds at no cost.

You mentioned rosemary for your planters but then said you wanted low maintenance. If the rosemary is content where it's planted it can get enormous if you don't keep it pruned. Voice of experience here. My two small plants are now over 4 feet tall and very lanky. Planning to pull them out next spring/summer.

If you save and move the lilacs do this: Each spring and fall, cut off the little shoots coming up from the ground. Also ask your nursery man about a soil additive. I live in southern Ohio and I sprinkle a little lime around the base each fall. I don't even work it in, rain takes care of getting it to the roots. I have lots of lovely blooms and very nice green shrubs with very minimal effort. Good luck.

Call your local Cooperative Extension office and ask about low maintenance native plants. They should have a host of ideas of things that will be easy to care for and that will not be invasive. They might even have resources for lower cost suppliers.

First you have to determine what type of light you receive in the front. Is it full sun, partial sun, shade. That will be the deciding factor with what type of plants will work. Once you know that, then go to a local nursery to ask their opinion of low/no maintenance plants for the front of your house and about any landscape mix to add before planting. The nursery can be very helpful. You can buy your supplies there or anywhere. Plants that are native to your region will do the best. Anything exotic or plants from another climate probably won't do well. With a little digging you'll dress up your property in no time! Good luck!!

Hi, I love your cute little house, the blue and white are super cheery looking.

We have both lavender and rosemary and love how easy they are to care for. The type of lavender we have grows into a nice full bush, and requires little to know care through most of the year. I trim them once or twice a year and water them only when it's very dry in the summer. Lemon grass is another plant we have that is easy to care for. It looks like a fern and only requires one really good dead heading a year. It's pretty ugly in the winter though. I love it though because since we got it we have started making lemon grass tea (both hot and cold tea) and it taste like the lemon head candies I loved as a kid.

We have hostas across the front of our house. The house faces NE. They are easy to maintain. They get bigger each year. Every so often we have to cut them back. They need plenty of room. I put a brick frame to line the flower bed. I had to move it out twice to make more room due to the hostas growing over the bricks. Now I just take a shovel and cut the hosta in half in the spring before the leave sprouts get very big. The part I cut off can be given to someone else to plant or you can plant it somewhere else. The plants do very well. We have some variegated and some solid green hostas. Good luck!

Concrete little maintenance if you like painting paint one or pot plants.

If you can, try to watch HGTV investors are always "flipping" houses and usually

have to do landscaping. My dad bought red geraniums one spring and sat them in

white flower boxes attached to his red brick house. From the house the flowers

looked like they were planted in the box. I don;t know if he saved the potted plants at the end of the season or not. But HGTV shows before and after and the

yards are beautiful. We have a flower bed about 35 ft. long on the north side of

the house, and purchased Hydrangas 2 years ago. They have to be planted with

space to spread, but are easy to work with, and survive the Oklahoma weather

fantastically. Most plant farms are glad to help and give advice. Good Luck.

I live in SC and have crepe myrtles in beds in front of the windows. You can trim to shade and/or cover your windows. So you can see out but it's harder to see into your house. I have short nandinas for the borders. I learned that weeds don't like thyme or succulents which are so very in right now and become terrific mulch. . Lilacs love sun and would be pretty as corner anchors. If you like roses "knockouts" are a great choice. If it's shady hydrangeas come in lots of colors and sizes. I just retired and worked so many hours I too had to pay someone else. It's expensive and they don't always do what you want. Check with a couple of local nurseries and your agricultural university to find plants that like where you live. Make sure the variety you buy is the correct one too. I have a friend who grew up in Maine. She hates our indigenous plants and works her butt off trying to grow plants that like Siberia like weather. Not my idea of fun. Lots of great ideas. Look forward to seeing what you decide. Happy gardening.

if you are trimming your lilacs at the wrong time you will never get flowers...the flower on last yrs new shoots.

Looks like the lilacs are too close to the house. Concrete can leach chemicals into the soil which is not beneficial to plants. They would look better on the corners of the house and it would make the house appear larger. Put plants that don't grow as tall in front. I like your house.

i would get rid ofeverything rake well pull up roots..(water to dampen ground if too hard...you lay the black plastic paper down...you buy rubber mulch..it last.. do color dark so if paper shows a bit no biggie...slice into plastic...plant knock out rose bushes ..ornamental grasses...or dwarf bushes... this is work...but onlt once...make sure opening big enough to receive water for foliage

Your house reminds me of the first house I bought, and I too was one person with two jobs. I loved my little house and will always miss it. Do your yard slowly so you make great decisions and don't plant too close together so everything ends up crowded...saves $ too. Don't plant too close to your house. Buy as many perennials as you can, and as many that have some show year round. Make the beds large (less mowing) and be sure to keep mulch down. Start the bed area this spring by covering the area with black plastic that is fastened down, letting the summer heat kill the grass. For your house I'd make wide beds on both sides of your sidewalk and flare them out to include the sides of the house. Also determine what style you want this to be...English cottage would be so nice with your house. If this takes a few years, that's ok.

I love lilacs. Find out your soil ph...they like acid. If they are too close to the foundation they are getting lime leaching from it..also, they need a certain number of cold hours to do well and you are in SC...Make sure that they get enough sun and as another posted...if you have trimmed...you may have removed the next years bloom. I have several...one that has gotten far larger than we ever thought it would. It gets full afternoon sun but is shielded from bitter winds in. Winter. My lilacs took 4 years after planting to bloom and that's not unusual. They are located close t the windows so fragrance will flow in ☺️ to keep them small, trim them within 2 weeks of flowering because the next years bloom sets shortly thereafter.

Hostas are a great low upkeep plant. A ground cover like creeping Jenny requires little watering after established. INVEST IN GOOD MULCH that enriches your soil...not plastic or rubber types. You can put down corrugated cardboard with mulch on top to keep the area weed free. And it will break down over years, enriching soil, keeping soil moist and plants happy. You can contact your state extension dept for ideas of plantings that do well where you live. Sometimes they have early spring sales of plants starting in feb...so ck it out.

What direction is the house facing....I can give you all kind of ideas...just need to know if it is full sun...semi or shade.

I have rubber mulch in one of my beds. Do NOT use unless you plan to never plant another thing it. Maybe after you have everything planted. Plus it gets hot in the sun.

With full sun you have a vast selection....do you have a favorite colour?

Early people suggested hostas...they love the shade or semi shade. On the south side you have a selection of the most beautiful flowers...bright and cheery...

I am not sure is you like the lilacs...me I love lilacs but not to close to the house. If the roots are not too large you can move them..(in early spring or late sept....plenty of water and mulch)..they love the sun too. but will do well in the east or west.

I would not go too high with your plants....it is a cute little house but you do not want anything over powering. Some people like to say with the same colours or various shades of them....or you might like all different colours. I would go with perennials with a few annuals to give a splash of colour all season long.

If you mix perennials...I would draw out a plan on paper....you can have fun with it...tall ones at the back...working toward front with smaller ones.

When I start a new garden I lay my garden hose out in the area I want to dig up my new garden....sloping it in a neat design....I would take the garden around the side a bit just so it is not a straight line out from the side of the house. Pick some neat flower to match at the corners. I love purple cornflowers....the would make a neat choice for that point.

Make sure you dig up old sod and get rid of it...you can mix in bagged manure into the soil to break it up. Design your garden so that there is a mix of early flowering to late flowering plants side by side so that you have a mix of flowering plants all summer long. I always mix in some annual flowers....especially in the front...to maintain colour. Don't forget to plant bulbs in the fall for early blooms next year...easy to plant and the are easy to take care of. Use mulch to ensure less work weeding.

I have one garden that is all shades of purple(blue) and I put splashed of pinks and raspberry colour flowers in....it looks awesome. Do not put ornamental grasses in a formal flower garden...they are quite invasive and a lot of work.

It is fun drawing your garden on paper in the cold winter months...you can do a little internet hoping....to select what you like.....read up on how high they will get and and when they will bloom...and just blend them together.

My Mom had a little house later in life and she planted a rose garden out front....it too was south....it gets expensive buying roses....but one or two might not break the bank....I have a lovely yellow climbing rose....my favourite.

Need any tips...I am in and out of this site usually everyday.

Happy gardening.