Help with front yard landscaping

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pammee62 Charleston, WV Jun 26, 2007

We've just purchased a new home, and there is an area in front of the living room windows that I'd like to remove, and start from scratch. I'd like plants or flowers there that don't need a lot of attention.
The house and the yard wasn't taken care of by the previous owners, and we haven't even moved in yet, but that is one of the first things I'd like to work on, while it's summer. As you can see in the picture, they've built kind of a little raise area there, I'd like to get rid of that, and have it more level to the rest of the yard.

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jun 26, 2007

I might think about keeping the raised area--first of all it makes sure that water's not going to puddle up near your foundation which is always a good thing to avoid, and secondly a raised bed is likely to have a little bit better soil than the ground underneath, that's one of the reasons why people build them is if they have bad soil underneath they can fill up the raised bed with topsoil. Obviously if you hate the look of it then get rid of it, just be really careful about the grading and be prepared to bring in soil amendments to work into the soil underneath in case it's poor quality.

As far as plants--it looks like a fairly shady area because of the house and the big tree? You might consider hydrangeas for foundation shrubs (probably dwarf ones so that they don't grow and block the windows), and maybe some hosta and impatiens to fill in the foreground.

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WigglyPaw Hastings, MI(Zone 5b) Jun 26, 2007

you live in a great area for evergreens that flower. lucky you!
i would try a nice tall , about 7' high, weeping cherry tree next to the
front door, just to the right of it.

put some rhododendrons along the bed, you can get ones that
stay low, about 4' high and in front of them, do some azaleas. I love
a nice hydrangea, they tend to flop and add some relaxation to a
plant grouping. They would hide that raised bed look too. Hostas
are good for that too, and try some weeping grasses, Hakanecheloa's
are nice, but slower growing. OOOOOOhhhh, tuberous begonias
for great vibrant easy colour! ooooohhhhh. gorgeous.

Bring some of the plants out in front of the raised bed area, put a
small box in front of the weeping cherry for instance. Also, have a
tree company come and thin out that tree for more air and brightness.
Don't plant too close to the house walls, as mold will build up behind
the plants. Its important to give air room there. hope this helps.
sheri

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