How can I make this look decent?

Question

This is the view of the side of our house from the driveway next door. We recently had some one cut down a bunch of small trees and vines. It was so bad you could not see out the windows on that end of the house. There are some river rock and old timbers laying around so someone had it under control but it was out of control by the time we bought the house. We spend most of our time in the back yard and I am looking for something that doesn't scare the neighbors or become to big of a project for us to handle.

Patricia W · Answer

First I would ask if the vines are totally removed, are there still roots or remnants of the small trees under the soil. These can come back and destroy whatever you plan on planting. You may have to spray a weed killer and wait to plant. Then I would ask what type of sun you have there, full, part or shade. Then clean the area of weeds, make sure the soil is good enough to plant, if not, amend the soil accordingly. You wont want to block the heat pump, in case it needs repaired at some point. You could lay down some landscape fabric and add small shrubs and bark, you could use the area for a few raised garden beds, plant food, or you could clean it up and seed it for a lawn strip with low growing shrubs like dwarf boxwoods and perennials, or xeriascape it for low water and low maintenance needs. A rose garden. So many things you could do, it just depends on your taste.

Lori J · Answer

Exposure also is part of the picture here. Something lush, lovely and low maintenance like ferns or hostas?

Stephanie Wilson · Answer

I had a house similar to this for years and on that bare side I planted elephant ears, canna lilies, mixed hybrid lilies and hostas. It took awhile for them to multiply and fill in but all of that multiplies and it will look great!

DeMarie I · Answer

I agree with Patricia W that you need to get the roots out so the stuff you don't want won't grow back. I would keep it simple and easy to maintain. Not sure of your exposure, so you'd have to find some vegetation that tolerates either sun or shade depending on your exposure. Perhaps just a few low growing bushes and mulch all around that so all you have to do is trim them up once in a while. If you want a little color, you could plant a few perennials in front of the bushes. I wouldn't put anything too close to the driveway edge. It looks like the ground is sloping away from the house, so you might want to dig down a little at the edge of the driveway (or border it with landscape timbers or some kind of edging so you don't have your mulch running off the hill and onto the drive. Good luck.

Jeanette S · Answer

The first thing to do is clean all the debris of the plants removed out of the area and tidy up the entire area. Then get the right kind of paint for painting a foundation and match it to your brick. That white has to go. Gardenia are beautiful shrubs, stay green in winter, thrive with little attention and are easy to control with just annual pruning! They also get large enough to screen that HVAC unit.

Michele Eures · Answer

Once you've cleaned it all up like others have said, I would keep it simple with small shrubs, grasses, and maybe do some annuals there. And you need to keep the air conditioning unit accessible, so I would leave an area of grass. I would also add a trellis or lattice along your fence there that would screen your back yard. You could plant a pretty climbing plant like morning glory or clematis.

Michelle W · Answer

Thanks everyone! I agree my first task is getting it cleared of anything that will grow back. It was a jungle. I also love the idea of mostly grass with a small area of easily maintained plants. I also like the suggestion of something for privacy like a trellis with vines since a full privacy fence is not in the budget. Thanks again!

The Garden Frog with C Renee · Answer

As everyone suggested clearing everything out. however, you need to first know which side the panel comes off on the HVAC unit so the repairman can get access! I had a neighbor who cemented in a picket fence and then had to rip out par of it because the guy couldn't access the unit. My unit is surrounded on 2 sides by a picket fence (the 4' tall with the pickets spread out to let air in. I bought and cut in 2 - 4' sections and sunk posts in the ground and left one side open. You do not want the unit blocked because the unit has to breathe. This is very important.

On each side of the window (and even something tall on the corner of the house) I would think about something tall and green (Emerald Green Arborvitae or similar) and then fill in the area with evergreen shrubs that will not get over 5' tall and make sure to plant away from the house so they do not grow into the house. along the drive I would line it with Liriope because it is green all year and if someone runs over it the stuff just comes back up. I would fill in with perennials such as daylily, Black eyed Susans, Coneflowers, Coreopsis, Salvia, Iris, Daisies, etc that will bloom for you with little care. Now for bushes if this is full sun I would think about low maintenance bushes such Carissa Holly or other hollies and alternate for interest with viburnum, or even Knock Out roses. 
If you know someone with a good truck, I would pull that stump out. I used my truck to pull out many a stumps and bushes. Next you need to extend that drain pipe another couple feet and make sure the dirt always slopes away from the house. 
I hope this helps. Good luck
and Happy Gardening

Douglas Hunt · Answer

What exposure does that get and what zone are you in?

Michelle W · Answer

That side of the house faces south and I am in zone 6B.

Douglas Hunt · Answer

Between the heat reflected from the wall of your house and the asphalt of the driveway, you have what is often referred to as an 'inferno strip' or 'hell strip.' It's a great place for plants like salvias, dianthus, nepeta and Russian sage. High Country Gardens, a mail-order nursery in New Mexico, actually sells a pre-planned inferno strip garden. You might need to change out some of the plants for your area, but take a look at theirs for inspiration: http://www.highcountrygardens.com/pre-planned-gardens/soft-colors-ii-inferno-strip-pre-planned-garden

Margie*Lee · Answer

We have a similar space as yours and we planted 2 butterfly bushes with some shrub roses in between. The butterfly bushes will get really tall but they can be trimmed down in the fall. They will come back in the spring. The flowers are beautiful and they DO attract butterflies.

Southern Home Improvement, LLC · Answer

A lattice screen similar to tis one hides the AC unit and doesn't cost much, then large flowering plants break up the wall line while adding beauty and color requiring little maintenance.

DeeDee · Answer

Look here: http://www.hometalk.com/diy/repair/air-conditioning/fence-picket-a-c-unit-cover-1452431 for how we made our a/c unit more attractive. The cost to build it was almost nothing! Also, I like what the others are saying about low maintenance shrubs and plants from above. Good Luck!!

Rosemary N · Answer

I'd clean it up well, paint the foundation to match the brick, and plant hydrangeas or some other large shrub along the foundation. Bark mulch under the plants, and bingo!

Theresa Hughes · Answer

I agree with all the others first get it all cleaned up then i agree with southern home improvements and get the lattice screen to cover the ac unit then i would plant a garden and put a nice pond in

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How can I make this look decent?

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