What do we think? I like this idea for the basic layout of the front landscaping…
The bare spots could be filled with more colorful flowers – but which ones? We have the peonies…
It looks like too many rounded forms though, right? It needs something spiky and some height variation, yes? I feel like I’m 70% there, and I kind of need guidance for the rest of it. Eep!
I do know that I really want one of these iron garden spheres.
Aren’t they amazing? I wonder if shipping is prohibitively expensive.
Help, Please!
Here’s the photoshop file that I used for the mockup – if you want to play around with the layout, that would be AWESOME. Simple comment suggestions would be appreciated too though! Do you think the basic layout works, and just the finishing touches need to be modified?
I LOVE boxwoods. Love (Kari, am weirdly drawn to the smell!). I have a hard time selecting evergreens, I don’t like all the usual suspects either–arborvitae, juniper, yews. I just had to take out a rhododendron because it was all sparse and leggy, like you said. It was very old and just didn’t have enough green on it to be worth it. I am really drawn to evergreens with big broad leaves, though, and just got three Leatherleaf Viburnum to fill in an area. I think they are beautiful. I also like the looks of the mountain laurels that Martha Stewart just featured in her mag. Pyracantha might be a good choice to send climbing across the wall on the left, and maybe a climbing hydrangea to the right of the stairs? Don’t be afraid of roses, either, people think they are hard, but they have been the easiest, most carefree plants I’ve ever tried. Old roses and garden roses like David Austins are very hardy.
Kari has great advice, I have been working with the idea of treating our front yard as more of a garden, rather than just plopping in a single row of traditional foundation plants and calling it a day. It’s a challenge, but there are so many beautiful plants to choose from. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
I have another mockup… This one’s from Kimberly Hurst (I’m working with her on a blog design for her photography business!).
I love the pink tree!
Kim’s working on her yard too, putting in a patio. That’s coming up for us, so I’m especially looking forward to seeing how hers turns out.
Kari, your garden is beautiful! So lush and pretty. Oh, and I noticed the smell of the boxwoods too. ;) They’re not that bad, but they do smell a bit!
Kylie, everything will look dead here for half the year. That’s why I want something evergreen in front of the house – everything else dies off and looks bare. It makes you appreciate spring and summer all the more, I suppose.
Corey, thanks! I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I like a touch of formality (I’m not big on the whole ‘cottage garden’ look).
Amanda, I didn’t even know about some of those plants! I really don’t know my stuff when it comes to gardening…
I agree with all of the height comments. Do Red Twig Dogwood grow in your area? They would be gorgeous against your house in the winter- a very branchy red twig bush!
To add some vertical height, try ostrich ferns and iris. The iris will form lovely, tall, spiky rings with gorgeous flowers. Also try columbine (they’ll need staking) and delphiniums.
They’re all fairly easy to grow, as well.
For height, you might think about foxgloves in purples and pinks. They are biannual – they grow for two years and then die, but they are perpetually re-seeding themselves, so they behave like perennials. They can get to be five feet tall, and they bloom for a long time, June – July.
Oh, and plus, the short part of the foxglove plant, not the long flower stems, maintains a hosta-like low level plant year round. At least it does here…I don’t know how it would behave overwinter in Chicago. I should go look that up.
I love the potted plants in that last one!
This is so fun with your photoshopping! You are planning alot of the same plants we have in our garden. We mixed our hostas with coleus (an annual) and ferns. Keep the boxwood! You don’t have to trim it into spheres. You can use it as a backdrop sort of natural shaped hedge. If you want spheres, they do well in pots also….maybe on the bottom step either side. I agree with the dogwood idea.? They are beautiful so much of the year. And astillbe (sp?) gives some height and spiky-ness. It will be beautiful knowing you!
I’m not sure anyone mentioned painting that lower window/vent (I’m not sure what it is) the same color as the house so it blends in and isn’t the focal point behind your flowers.
You could grow purple fountain grass as an annual for some height beyond or between the boxwood.
the mock up link doesn’t seem to work. takes to a blank page!