As I mentioned last week, my brother bought a house last year, and is now fully immersed in DIY gardening and landscaping. He is building raised beds in the backyard to grow his forty-million-seedlings, but also wants to add some landscaping to the back of the house, and update the landscaping in the front yard.
Click here for a large photo of the Side if the driveway near the gas station
His is the first house on the block with a gas station on the corner. If you knew my brother, you’d know that this was more of a perk than a detriment to him. The gas station certainly isn’t going to complain about all his cars and driveway car repairs (heck one of his garagesS has an i-beam and a hoist for lifting out car engines!!).
However, his SO isn’t quite as thrilled to be next door to a gas station, and would like something more along the fence separating the properties. I suggested lilac bushes, but he said it is heavily rooted there, and only 3 feet wide and he is unsure if they would take.
He keeps mentioning roses over and over. Not sure why, I do know he has a lot of experience tending roses, so maybe due to familiarity?
So background: as you can see the front of the house has some landscaping. He’s not adverse to pulling anything out. He’s also not adverse to chopping down the trees. We are in US hardiness zone 6.
I labeled each picture for ease of use. Believe me, he’s open to any and all suggestions! We’d truly love your input on what you would do with this house. The driveway is the south side, the sun rises in the backyard, and sets in the front yard. The front is mainly shady.
Click here for a large photo of the Front of the house, street view
Click here for a large photo of the Front of the house, right corner
Click here for a large photo of the Front of the house, corner
Click here for a large photo of the Front yard island
Click here for a large photo of the Front of the house, corner and island
Click here for a large photo of the Back of the house
Click here for a large photo of the Backyard
Thank you for any and all input on landscape and hardscape to make this front and backyard look better!
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Jennifer says
What direction does the front of the house face? It is hard to tell because there is no sun in the pics, but it is rare that the sun makes an appearance here lately :-p
I fail miserably at decorative gardening, but my thought for curb appeal based on the front street view photo is that the smaller pine tree should go. It seems random there and blocks the street view of half the house and garden beds. If chopping down that tree gives the front bed additional sun exposure little pockets of annuals in between the shrubs would add color.
But that is just my opinion, my husband says if it were up to me all the trees would be chopped down in my yard. We have 35 trees makes growing anything that needs sun impossible, mowing is like an obstacle course and spring limb and twig pick-up is a pain, so I might be a little biased 😉
Ann says
LOL Jennifer. We took down seven full grown trees in our yard the first year we were here. We don’t have acreage, it is a normal suburban lot (I think 1/3 or 1/2 an acre). We still have four trees, three of which are HUGE!
As far as my brother’s place goes: The driveway is the south side, the sun rises in the backyard, and sets in the front yard. The front is mainly shady.
Ann
Stephanie K. says
I would love to help him out, but all I ever manage to do is find the fault. I can tell you what looks bad, but I stink at coming up with something better. For my house, we ripped most of the trees and shrubs out, then wrote a blank check to my parents and begged them to take care of it as a 10 year anniversary present to us. We came back from a trip and it was all done. 🙂 My mom has great taste and my dad has a strong back, LOL.
Ann says
Stephanie hearing what looks bad is beneficial too. I’d love your input (and can I steal your parents?)
Ann
KimH says
To start with… I’d get rid of that tree on the right hand in the front yard.. the other one too.. I’d probably plant a smaller prettier tree on the left hand side… a flowering something like a tulip tree or something similar.. how about dogwood or redbud..
The house & plants are way way way to angular.. its needs a LOT of softening up… I’d love to have the house myself.. but every one of those plants Im seeing would go.
He could add texture and color with multilayer plantings of flowering perennials that dont require much upkeep.
Also, the back yard screams for a really great large patio.. perfect for entertaining and relaxing… I can see it so clearly, its amazing. I’d plant super easy to grow perennials around the borders of the lot and bits of color here & there… Course, I love a good food garden so I’d be working that in the back too. Its really a great lot…
Oh.. and that gas station… I’d pull up whatever those shrubs are.. and plant some very large shrubs like Bottlebrush Buckeye, Spirea, or Rhododendron… Something that totally makes a wall of plants so that I never see that gas station unless Im driving past it.