Need to add personality to a plain foundation

Hi everyone, this is my first post in this forum.

We moved into this home this summer. I'm quite surprised that it's 4 years old and no one ever bothered to plant anything! We're Zone 6 and the long side of the house faces south, while the front faces east. Just out of view, there are hardwood saplings lining the sidewalk, so shade should be taken care of in about 20 years.

What on earth do we plant here?? I strongly dislike boxwoods marching along a foundation. I've done research about full sun plants in zone 6, so I've read about nandina, azalea, forsythia, euonymus, burning bush...but I can't envision any of them or how they'd look together!

Should I do something plain & evergreen against the house, then add a colorful shrub, then flowers? Any suggestions much appreciated!

The side in question: http://tinyurl.com/28xeew

Another view: http://tinyurl.com/2x387x

Welcome, The south side of a house is typically very hard to plant since everything gets roasted in the sun, unless it's shady (of course) so make sure you choose more drought resistant plants for your zone. You can use pre-planned garden plans to get an idea for foundation planting like this...
http://springhillnursery.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_67020
You don't have to buy from certain companies but it gives you an idea. Also, better homes and gardens has garden plans, you just have to register with them.(it's free) Happy planting!

Do you have a corner lot? It looks as if it is. If so, I would consider that a good thing...as you can have your design "wrap around" the corner of the house and have it blend in with the front.

Your options seem pretty unlimited...so you would have to decide if you want to make a "statement" or just plant things to "fill in the space".

I personally am not big on straight lined beds and foundation shrubs. A curved, sculpted , flowing design would compliment all the hard angles of the house and the corner of the lot. (VERY COOL house, BTW !!!)

Do you want a lot of lawn, or would you rather have more plants?
Do you need access to the gate on a regular basis? (Assuming that what's behind it is yours as well...)

If you can draw, make a scaled drawing of your plot plan on sturdy paper, and then play with a design using tracing paper over it...(use the kind on a roll, not sheets).

Many things to consider when you are doing your design: Do you want privacy, or do you want to block out anything unsightly from INSIDE the house that you don't want to see? (i.e. someones trash area, a neighbors ugly property, whatever...)

I know they make software for landscape design, but I always do it on paper...but I do take pictures for reference.

Another thing you can try, if you don't want to mess with drawing is: Lay out a good flexible garden hose (get a good long one) on top of the soil and move it around to get an idea of how you want to shape your planting areas. (On existing lawns, I use a black hose...it's easier to see) This is really easy to do...and saves you digging up more than you need to or making mistakes.

You can shape your planting area any way you like...wider in some areas, narrower in others, etc...it's up to you. If you're going to keep lawn, don't make the curves so sharp that it's difficult to mow and edge around.

Once you get the layout you like, you can leave the hose in place and take a FLAT narrow shovel and cut through the sod along the hose edge, using the hose as a guide, and then remove the sod accordingly. A narrow flat shovel works better than a spade for cutting your outline.

Your choice of plants depends of course, on the look you prefer .

Do you want a "landscape" or a "garden" effect? Or a combination of both???

If you use any of your local nurseries, explain your problem to them and ask if they mind if you pick out numerous plants and set them together to see if you like the look. One thing you might consider is mixing in some ornamental grasses. I have some dwarf Hamlin and Little Bunny that really look nice mixed with my shrubs and they won't get so big that they will overwhelm the shrubs (if I remember correctly, the Hamlin only gets to be about 3 feet tall and the Little Bunny gets to be about 1 foot). Take the pictures of your house with you so you can try to visualize what the plants will look like with the shape and color of your home.

I agree that you have a huge amount of plants that will thrive in your position and conditions, but before you go buy any plants, it would be wise to get your soil tested to find out if you have acidic soil, these are the conditions for Rhododendrons, Azaleas, and other acid loving plants that can take some sun, but prefer a bit of shade from either buildings, trees etc, or there are the other ornamental that like a more richer soil to grow for you, so before you start, go a walk around your neighbourhood and look at what grows best there, in the parks, the community areas etc, as your not too sure what plants will look good together and the different textures that are an asset to the structure of a garden, may I suggest you go to your local library or book store to search through all the gardening books suitable for beginners and landscaping designs as these will give you lots of ideas before you make any costly mistakes, they will also show pictures of fully mature beds and borders and this will give you the timescale needed for plants, shrubs and trees to reach some maturity before they look like they were growing well as the conditions are right for these plants, they also show colour schemes, textures, evergreen beds and borders that dont require a lot of attention if your busy at work all the time, so you can use the Autumn time to get the beds and borders well prepared for your plantings as well as what you need to buy to make the kind of garden you require, Autumn or spring are the best times to plant anything as the hot sun has not really reached the stage where plants are struggling to cope, this time of year also gives you the time to dig out the shapes and sizes of the beds you like and then prepare the soil before winter sets in for real. the best way to find the right shape of beds and borders is to lay your garden hose along the ground, curve it or whatever shape you like, then step back to look at the shape from all angles, even from the windows of your house if you look onto this from the window, rearrange it till you are happy, then dig out the turf for the beds you want planted up. so as you can see, it all takes time to get the garden you want and some prep work too, so take your time, do the job right from the start to save you lots of expense and heartache from the start, starting off a garden ain't cheep, but patience cost you nothing, plants will flourish for you if you get the conditions right and you will be a much happier garden owner if you do it a bit at a time, that way you gain experience quicker rather than be disheartened when things go wrong as they do when you first start out, good luck. WeeNel.

roses are always a fine choice and so many to choose from. shrub with flowers.