Help save my front yard!

[bigelow965]

Just joined the board here and I'm hoping to get some good advice to make the front and sides of my house look really good. I've let it go for too long and even though it's a little late already this season to be planting bushes I want to go ahead and get it done this year once and for all. If I put it off another year who know how long it'll take. Here's some pictures of what's there now...













House faces ESE so I'm facing the sun when it comes up. Looking from the front the left side of the house gets sun a lot of the day, filtered until 2P but then full sun for the next 5 hours, then filtered the last 2. The front sees filtered sun until around 2P then it's in the house's shadow for the rest of the day. Right side where's there's just nothing except those really ugly windows that need covering gets practically no sun at all. I'd consider that side 100% shade all day. Central Kentucky Zone 6 so the summers here get up into the mid and sometimes upper nineties in July and August.

Don't know what to say other than that obviously I'm totally new to landscaping and could use some good advice on what I can put around my house that'll make it look good, if not great. Although I'm interested in suggestions for all 3 sides of the place, since the left side has a little something there already (and because I'm in a hurry) for now I'd like to concentrate on just getting something up front, and then on the right side after that. Keeping it simple in the front I'll be installing a new wood bordered raised bed, about 7 inchs on both sides of the front door. Our soil is hard packed and I think fairly nutrient deficient so a raised bed of nutrient rich soil is probably the best bet for establishing anything new out there. Not sure where to source the dirt though. Bags of miracle grow soil would be ideal if they weren't so expensive. I've got a trailer so hopefully that'll open my sources up to maybe some kind of wholesale landscape dealer. I've heard the old rule always plant bushes in odd numbers so I'm thinking about 3 bushes on each side of the front door. I was initially drawn to some of the box woods because they can do well in shady circumstances. But because they'll be shaded much of they day I'm sure that kind of thin leaved evergreen won't grow fast enough to fill the space any time soon. So I'm very open to suggestions as to what might go well and fill out fast in the front. Priorities are that it be green throughout the year, grow fast, and hopefully be as entertaining as possible, with color etc. And as for the right side I am entirely open to your suggestions as well.

Well now ok I've finally done something to get this thing going. I'm all ears.

[valley]

Hi, Your place looks very nice to me. You've come to the right place for suggestions. I have one for the north side of the house: Calla Lilies! That won't take long and will reward you every year. We'll see what else you hear. Welcome, I wish you a good summer.

Richard

[KeyWee]

I replied to your post over on the GG website, but good to see you here too. There is WAY more activity here, you will find.

[rainbowgardener]

You have to tell us where you are and what your climate is. Nothing we can say about plant choices without that.

In the meantime, here's some threads where I and others have responded to people's front yard landscape questions. It's worth looking at, because the basic principles are the same.

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 12&t=52651

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 12&t=53331

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 04#p328204

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=26354

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 12&t=56975


So to summarize: Go much bigger and bolder than you are thinking. The most common landscape mistake is to plant a small row of small plants that are all out of scale with the house behind them. Use curves not straight lines. Use different heights and textures of plants. If you want color, use some foliage color. Blooms come and go, but foliage color is all season.

I will throw out a few suggestions for your shady side. Based on the kind of big old trees you have, I'm going to guess somewhere with cold winters. Someone suggested calla lilies, which are a beautiful shade plant, but not at all cold hardy. Most places in the US would have to dig them up for the winter and bring them in.

Some cold hardy shrubs for your shady area include: serviceberry, bearberry, ceanothus, st. johns wort, mountain laurel, azalea, spicebush, ninebark, spirea, coralberry, viburnum, juniper, boxwood. Most of these are not available in your local big box and some of them you would have to find a good native plants nursery. But if you put out the effort to find them (or order on line) you will be rewarded with tough hardy plants.

So pick two or three shrubs and then fill in with shade perennials: columbine, bluebells, camassia, coral bells, foam flower, wild ginger, Solomon's seal, penstemon, astilbe, ferns, hostas, bergenia, brunnera, bleeding heart.

But really I'm guessing. You need to let us know where you are, cold hardiness zone. Preferably you also need to know the pH of your soil. Some of these like acidic soil and will not thrive (or maybe even survive) if your soil is acidic like mine.