Appreciate the opinion and advise, Viburnum. I go back and forth on the idea of painting a few of the panels blue. What I would really like to do is eventually replace those doors with some very cool stained wood doors that would compliment the house while blending in more than these white-painted doors.
My Intro
That certainly would work, too.
Maybe it's an "art wall" in the meantime...
Stained wood garage doors would be really nice. As they are in white, at least they "blend in" in the sense that everyone has them.
Oh, here's an interesting garage door paint job
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3045607/posts
Hehehe, you could hire a graffiti artist to have fun. Wonder what the neighbor would think then???!!!
Well geez.. Why don't we just make a party of it and everyone can just come over and practice painting on my garage doors. Hahaha. :)
Welcome CAM, Love your front yard and the potential you have there.A stone walled bed would look great. I wonder what your garage doors would look like if you just painted the bevel around the panels? It may just be enough to accent them.
Hmmm... yeah, painting the bevels might give those doors some pop without overwhelming the rest of the home.
And another vote for a stone retaining wall... that'll be a project I'll have done this fall, probably. I want a stack stones wall, natural stone, in a color that matches one of the brick colors in the house (there are about four shades of brown in those bricks).
Thanks for the input !
Lot of stone selection at Irwin Stone in Frederick. You should check it out when you get to the retaining wall project. Remind me to tell you my Irwin Stone stepping stone story when we are at the swap :-)
Thanks for the tip.... And looking forward to that story.
I have built a couple of small retaining walls myself but a stack stoned wall of this size and prominence in the landscaping, will have a pro install it. Have a few companies in mind I got off Angie's List. If anyone has personal experience with one they would recommend, and in the Frederick area, would appreciate it.
Kingdom Landscaping did our patios and also did the stacked stone retaining wall and backyard water feature at Martina's home across the street (put in by previous neighbor). You'd be welcome to come by and take a look. I was happy with their work, although like most contractors the guy wanted to do what he wanted to do, whether or not it was quite what I had in mind... and I had a detailed drawing I wanted him to work from.
Here's a photo from their website of one of their jobs, nice job of doing stacked stone on a slope.
photo from http://kingdomlandscaping.com/gallery/?album=10
Thanks, Critter.... I'll be sure to consider them when the time comes.
Yeah, I will pick a contractor I feel listens to me and understands my vision, more important to me than finding the lowest bidder.
I would ask Meadows Farms to send a landscaper out for a consultation. There's a Meadows Farms in Frederick.
Yeah, I shop there sometimes. They don't have a landscape designer on staff but I think they do hardscaping so they would be an option, yes. Thanks, Muddy. :)
I'm sure they would send someone out from another location. You can check out their hardscape handiwork when you come to my house; they did my patio, a path and stone steps.
Excellent... I'll take a good look on 5/9 ! Thanks again.
You're welcome!
I had the impression that the guy from Kingdom would have communicated better with me if I'd had a Y chromosome... or if his wife had been out at the job site. But they were solid -- quality work, showed up when they said, fairly priced (at least 10 years ago they were)
I was a partner in a landscaping business in Frederick County some years back. I know some local-to-you hardscape installers who do quality work. If interested, we can talk at the swap.
Thanks, green thumb... You probably have great info. Appreciate it!
Couple more pics. That 12-15 foot Juniper on the corner (that's the southwest corner) of the house is going to be removed. Then in the middle of the ensuing large open space, I plan to put in a Crape Myrtle - Natchez.
o yeah- you could have a lot more fun than what is there now.
Yeah, I have some huge beds on the east and south sides of the house that still have plenty of room for more shrubs and plants.
And the bed directly in front of the house has 6 knockout rose plants that haven't shown a sign of life yet this Spring. So I may have to redesign that bed although that wouldn't be a bad thing. :)
I'll swap you my 20' tall Crape Myrtle 'Natchez' for your 12-15' tall Juniper.
LOL I was just going to mention Muddy's recent comment to me that 'Natchez' was an especially fast-growing variety of crepe myrtle!
Ha, Muddy... That would be quite an undertaking!
As long as we're doing that. please move my Little Gem Magnolia; she's not so little anymore.
Are you going to rename her Big Jem Magnolia?
Lol, I just planted a Little Girl magnolia to provide a bit of afternoon shade on my patio. I really hope it doesn't become a Big Girl magnolia!
Years ago, I got 7 bare root 'Miss Kim' lilacs to plant as a border along the walkway to the side door that we use as the primary entry to the house. The description said dwarf, so without actually doing any research, I assumed that meant 3 - 4 feet. Well those bare roots, grew... and Grew... and GREW. They were at least 8 feet tall, and overhung the walkway to the point where we couldn't use it anymore. Mike dug them up with a back hoe and moved them further out so that the walkway was useable again. However, I forgot to mention that those lilacs were one of the worst offenders/triggers for his allergies. I guess I was not very sympathetic when I convinced him to move them back, and tit for tat, I had to listen to his complaints when they were in bloom. So when an ice storm broke most of the branches on all but the one closest to the house, we finally relocated them, again using a back hoe, to the easement and far away from the house. They've been at the easement location since fall 2011. They are finally recovered from the ice storm branch damage and should bloom pretty well this year. Should I mention to him to keep his truck windows closed when he goes by them in a few weeks LOL???
Area about 1000 sq ft to the left of my driveway is a great place for an ornamental tree. But I love lilacs.... Wrestling with the idea of making a lilac the center of attention in that area instead of a tree. Ohhhh man, is there a better scent in the world? But then again, use such a great spot for a shrub that only blooms for a few weeks??
Thinking out loud. Ignore me or offer opinions. Either is equally acceptable. ;)
I love lilacs, so I endorse that idea LOL. But then again, I love so many of the ornamental trees that I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite. One on the top of my "want list" right now is an 'Okame' cherry tree. Much more upright in form and a little bit pinker bloom than the 'Yoshino'. There are also some cool yellow flowering magnolias that I've started seeing in the local nurseries - 'Butterflies', 'Elizabeth'.
Trying to find another spot in the yard for a lilac. Needs full sun. May be able to work that out. And those are some good choices of ornamental trees. :)
CAM, I was kidding about the Crape Myrtle, of course.
My 2 cents' worth: Hold off on buying any large shrubs or trees until you determine how much sun each area gets during the growing season. You'll have to wait until all trees are fully leafed out before you can really determine the hours of direct sun hitting each area.
I bought a sun gauge; I think it's pretty accurate.
Lilacs do not require true full sun. Ours bloom even though they get no more than 3-4 hours of direct sun once the trees begin to leaf out.
Ha, Muddy... I knew you were kidding. :)
And yes, I'm getting a good feel for the amount of sunlight my house gets. Of course, I only buy a home that faces west for two reasons: I'm a car guy and washing cars in the morning is one of my things. Can't do that if the sun is hitting your driveway in the morning. And if you want to plant a variety of blooming plants and shrubs in your front yard, west side is the best side.
greenthumb.. while I know that's true because my parents have a lilac that only gets about 4 hours of sun per day, like most flowering plants, I'm thinking it will bloom more profusely in direct sun.
$100 estimate to remove that huge Juniper bush on the SW corner of the house.... And grind out the stump. Awesome!
Good to know about that other cherry, Terri! I put a weeping cherry in a great spot in the back garden, but it did not think the spot was so great and promptly gave up the ghost. Trying again with an Okame cherry there sounds good to me!
CAM, check out Japanese Snowbell. I put a little one in front last year to replace an ailing ornamental pear that came with the house... the arborist I was working with really loves the J. Snowbells for general form and toughness as well as for their lovely blooms. It'll take a while for my little one to grow into its spot -- but it made it through the winter and is leafing out!
ed. to add link: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c153
This message was edited May 1, 2015 12:21 PM
Jill, my first exposure to an Okame cherry was on one of our very first trips to the Philly Flower Show. I'm sure you probably took pictures of it since I couldn't stop oohing and aahing over it LOL. It has been on my want list ever since, but the few times that I've seen them at local nurseries they have been mature (i.e. very pricey) sizes. Although... I think I spotted one at HD one time, but stupid me passed on picking it up and then when I went back it was gone.
CAM, I totally endorse Jill's suggestion of a Japanese Snowbell - I have a pink one and I love it. This is the second season for it and it is doing nicely - slow grower I think. Do you get the idea that I will endorse any and all suggestions? I am a plantaholic and I'm not ashamed to admit it LOL.
Japanese Snowbell is a pretty ornamental tree but I have two concerns about it. Tell me if I'm wrong, please.
First, there isn't much interested from this tree in autumn, it doesn't turn any interesting color before it drops it's leaves.
Second, the blooms develop under the leaves. Where I'm placing this tree is a low area in my yard and I think the beauty of the blooms would not be easily seen from any angle around it. It seems the tree would be more beautiful to the eye planted at least on a level spot, if not on a higher one.
Speaking of Japanese and, earlier, of lilacs... how about a Japanese Lilac Tree ?
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/68326/
Hmmmmm.....
The Prairifire Flowering Crabapple tree is a disease resistant tree which is a delight in summer with its bright red flowers, while in the summer it has red-maroon young leaves maturing to dark green. Its red-brown bark contrasts attractively with the spring and red-orange fall foliage, while its decorative red-purple fruit is an attractive feature. The glory of this tree makes it a showy landscape choice!