Outside

Front Garden Mockups

What do we think? I like this idea for the basic layout of the front landscaping…

Mockup - The Basics?

The bare spots could be filled with more colorful flowers – but which ones? We have the peonies…

Mockup - Filled in?

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?

Sources & Paint ColorsNeed design help? Let's work together.

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  • Aimee
    June 12, 2008 at 1:19 am

    CUTE house! What about some height on either side of the stairs… small spruce trees?

  • Juliette
    June 12, 2008 at 2:54 am

    I agree with Aimee – you need some height by the stairs. Maybe a geometric trellis to bring the eye up and some climbing flowers. Keep in mind what it will look like in the winter…which is why a cool trellis will look good even when it’s empty and/or evergreens. In the meantime, some potted plants of color on the steps would draw the eye up until you get your height features figured out. I definitely like the spots of pink between the hostas – just allow enough room, hostas spread out pretty fast!

  • Elizabeth
    June 12, 2008 at 4:44 am

    What zone are you in?

  • Christina
    June 12, 2008 at 4:54 am

    Hiya,

    I think lose some of the little bright green shrubs and scatter with tall spiky grasses which will help break up the ‘sphere’ theme, and will give that window a better sense of privacy. Also two topiarys at the base of steps. at the end of each banister. I could see the kind with spheres on it (typically martha stewart-style), or the kind with a twist upwards. Do you know what I mean? Ack!

    Another idea, but this is just to my taste, and what you’ve already done looks great, is to have one super-full and flowery hanging basket in fromt of the window, centered, instead of two, with flowers echoing something in the planted beds, and then have two smaller hanging ones in front of door framing it, instead of one. maybe something in them to echo the topiaries?

    For grass, I was thinking something like this:
    http://www.potandgrass.co.uk/sedges_information.html

    5th plant down on the page. :)

    Hope this might help.
    Christina

  • panyizsuzsi
    June 12, 2008 at 6:03 am

    I love your houte. I keep working on uors for years, it is a challenge, it is fun. I should do something with the garden, actually if I improve tha patio the garden is ok.

    I love your blog,
    Zsuzsi

  • erin
    June 12, 2008 at 6:54 am

    The mock ups look great – I really like the taller bushes and how they mirror each other. And if you can, I would try to keep the peonies where they are. If you move them, they likely won’t bloom for a few years. Is there anyway you can work around them?

    I agree with Aimee that you need some height next to the stairs. I think something evergreen would be best because then you will have something when winter comes along. I would put something on either side of your door, too – potted impatiens would work well in the shade and you could use pansies in the spring and mums (or gourds) in the fall. Or topiaries. The hanging baskets are nice, but I think the one on the right of the stairs is a bit distracting. I think Christina is on the right track when she says go for one bigger one.

    You are definitely on the right track! Have fun.

  • Allison
    June 12, 2008 at 7:03 am

    My first thought was also something a bit taller and pointed on either side of the stairs. If you go with an evergreen shrub, this will also look nice in the winter.

    Other than that, I would worry about the roundiness too much. It won’t look quite so perfect in real life since the plants will have a bit more variation.

  • Corey
    June 12, 2008 at 7:03 am

    Agreed on needing some more height, and not just by the stairs. If you put a file that shows an overhead view I’ll draw up a plan.

  • marzi
    June 12, 2008 at 7:43 am

    if you want to stick with circular, some giant allium might be very cool. they’re super tall to give you some height, but have huge ball shaped flowers. they’re one of my favorite flowers and they grow way up here our cold climate. here’s a link: http://brecks.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_67365

  • Betsy
    June 12, 2008 at 7:47 am

    I like the idea of a geometric trellis (not diagonal diamonds, but horizontal squares) installed over the entire porch wall, which would obscure your window. Have it come out an inch or two from the wall itself for shadow play and plant climbing. Am I the only one who thinks security when I see your basement windows? Then you could play with climbing flowers/vines. In your zone — Chicago, right? — this could be climbing hydrangea, clematis, English ivy, that reddish mapleleaf-looking vine that I can’t think of what it’s called at the moment (euonymous?), honeysuckle or chinese lantern or bittersweet — all which get beautifully gnarled and twisted for winter interest. Or even an heirloom climbing rose, choose a hardy one and it would be care-free. They would give you a vertical element by the stairs that curves in a crescent toward the center of the porch rail if you train the vines. Most of these choices attract hummingbirds and butterflies, too. So charming when sittin’ on your porch!

    For corner/vertical accents, I would ditch the evergreen suggestions — too predictable and symmetrical for you, the style maven! Instead, go for verticality and winter color with redosier dogwood (red twig), or yellow twig if you want that palette. They can be easily pruned to train more vertical. Evergreens’ root structure too close to the house can wreak havoc with your foundation. Or if you like, try a pagoda dogwood, the tiered effect once it matures is very pretty, and you’d just need one for a focal. I’m just not sure which way you face, as the pagodas tend to like partially shady conditions. If you want more of a weeping effect, why not try a willow or bridal veil spirea? Rhododendrons are also evergreen and explode with color very early. Can I just beg you not to do an arborvitae or a topiary?!

    Where are your lilacs, girlfriend? If you’ve got peonies, you need lilacs for earlier fragrance. Throw some of those in the side yard. The French hybrids bloom longer, and have a more vertical profile, too. You could do anything from pale pink to variegated purple. You could do a nice blend of lilacs, peonies, lavender or russian sage, for a cool palette. Accent it with pale lamb’s ear for texture and a little bit of white. If you go warmer, pick clematis, heirloom rose, asiatic lilies and rudbeckias for punchy yellow/orange. You are right to transplant your peonies in the fall. I didn’t know to do that and nearly destroyed mine with a spring transplant.

    In any of these schemes, you’d need to fill in with only a very few annuals and could experiment with them for your color. I’d match your hanging baskets to the color scheme and watch my textures by adding licorice vine and some variegation in a cool palette, or if you choose the warm/hot palette, go for sweet potato vine in the lime green.

    Also, I’d like to see some cool glazed ceramic pots on the porch wall on either side of the steps rather than the one hanging basket. The trellis and the pots could play up a Craftsman element. Right now you can’t see your cute little window next to the front door.

    Enough, already? I just love this stuff!

  • Talal
    June 12, 2008 at 9:11 am

    This has nothing to do with your yard, since my thumb is blacker than coal, but…I was looking at the picture of your house, and the first thought that popped into my head was “The door needs to be BRIGHT RED”.

    So, yeah: paint your front door bright red lol.

    Also, maybe white flower pots lined up on one side of the stairs?

  • Heather
    June 12, 2008 at 9:12 am

    How about some window boxes on the rail of the porch with flowers that would trail down over the edge? Perhaps nasturtiums? They’re easy to grow, and it seems you like yellow and orange!
    Good luck!

  • daisy janie
    June 12, 2008 at 9:20 am

    When we lived in a bungalow in Elmhurst, we used river rocks to make a border for our bed (which elevated it a little bit) and planted a lot of grasses – to keep in the context of living in a prairie area. Might look nice for you, too. Just make sure to add a few coniferous items so your beds aren’t empty in the winter!

  • lucky
    June 12, 2008 at 9:23 am

    i LOVE hostas – especially the variegated ones – i am getting my backyard landscaped in the next week or so – and am thinking very much about about a green and white theme. good luck on yours and cant wait for pics.

  • Making it Lovely
    June 12, 2008 at 9:29 am

    Hmm – nobody likes the little green velvet boxwoods? Those are the only evergreen I like! I don’t want yews, arborvitae, or junipers. I’ve been looking at rhododendron, but it seems sparse and leggy, and I the neighbor has one that I don’t care for. I think topiaries might be a little too formal for the house. As it is, I wonder if the boxwoods are too formal, but I really like them.

    I guess I should have mentioned all of that, eh?

    The neighbor has a red twig dogwood (it overlaps our side yard), and it’s HUGE. It’s very pretty, but I think it’s sending up little shoots all throughout our yard and it’s driving me nuts.

    I’m in zone 5 (Chicago). This is the West side of the house, so it gets sun later in the day. There’s a big tree though that makes most of the front fairly shady. The side yard is on the South side and it gets more sun, but it does still get some shade too (from the tree and also the neighbor’s house). I have an overhead view of the property here (and here’s the .eps vector file), and I also have it drawn out in Google SketchUp (here’s the file).

    I love aliums! I definitely want some of those somewhere. I also like the idea of window boxes, flowers in the hanging pots (and maybe moving them around), and adding some pots on the porch or stairs. I’m not sure about a trellis, but I’m intrigued. I’ll have to start looking for nice trellis examples to get a better idea of what it could look like.

    I love all of the advice! If you have ideas, please keep them coming!

  • Making it Lovely
    June 12, 2008 at 9:35 am

    Oh yeah, I should also mention that I already bought the four boxwoods. *blush*

    I was on a gardening kick yesterday and I went out to the nursery. I love boxwoods but could never find the ones that can go in the shade (‘green velvet’). The nursery had them, so I bought them. Four of them. They’ll eventually be 3’x3′, but they grow slowly. Can I make them work?

  • Kyle
    June 12, 2008 at 9:43 am

    I think a few white flowers, do something tremendous for a garden.

  • Sarah
    June 12, 2008 at 10:01 am

    I agree with height by the stairs. I love grasses but evergreens have the whole ‘doesn’t turn brown and die every year’ thing going for them…

    I just want to add that I totally envy your Photoshop skillz. I need to work on mine especially since we’ll be doing a lot of remodeling & redecorating soon. I can tell your mock ups have been so helpful!

  • molly
    June 12, 2008 at 10:03 am

    I love the boxwoods. I think the color is great. I agree that you need some height near the stairs, and would love to see some color above in your hanging planters. And go for alliums somewhere… they are so fun!

  • Debbie
    June 12, 2008 at 10:04 am

    Great job Nicole! I agree some height would be nice. I sent you an email with a photoshop image of some ideas. The house is beautiful and represents you and your style perfectly. Well done.

  • Making it Lovely
    June 12, 2008 at 10:12 am

    Here’s Debbie’s mockup:

    Mockup from Deborah Dee

    I love the idea of using another sculpture to add height! And the arborvitae look nice along the sides, flanking the house.

    Thank you, Debbie!

  • Shannon
    June 12, 2008 at 11:11 am

    This is just my opinion, but the stairs seem like a rather large and glaring feature that becomes a focal point. I think you should put identical pots of flowers (maybe geraniums?) marching up one side of the stairs to break it up a bit. It’s a lovely house that will look great with a bit more landscaping!

  • Jasi
    June 12, 2008 at 12:14 pm

    Are any purple spikey grasses native to your area? What about those soft tall billowy ones in Tan to bring the woodwork out?

  • yvette
    June 12, 2008 at 12:41 pm

    some kinds of hydrangeas give beautiful shape and height. if it were me, i’d plant a white magnolia near the stairs, or train clematis or moonflower up over the wall at the front there.

  • Robin
    June 12, 2008 at 12:50 pm

    Love your mock up and your color scheme! I’m not much of a gardener but I’ve always liked those evergreens cut in a spiral shape. They’re like a play off a traditional topiary and you can get ones that only get 3-4′ tall.

  • Maggie
    June 12, 2008 at 1:08 pm

    Love your blog! Disagree on the red door though, I’d like to see your house having a solid wood arts and crafts style door! I LOVE the sclupture idea.

  • Corie
    June 12, 2008 at 2:05 pm

    I totally agree with adding some potted plants on the stairs. I think that would look so great!

    This is just me, but what about adding more colors that you like inside your house… like yellow, orange and white along with the pink and green? I really like bright happy colors in spring/summer!

  • nikkirose
    June 12, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    When I saw this picture of your house I immediately thought: Paint the door! I noticed that another reader mentioned red… but I was thinking PINK! A friend of mine has her door painted a dark magenta (on an otherwise nuetral pallete) and I LOVE it.

  • becky
    June 12, 2008 at 3:37 pm

    Hi! You can’t go wrong with boxwoods. If it’s real boxwood, just know it will grow VERY slowly. Fake boxwood (ilex) grows much faster.

    A serviceberry tree has a gorgeous form and gorgeous bark to get you through those cold winter months. I think it does OK in your zone, but I’m not sure; I studied landscape architecture in Virginia, where it’s much warmer!

    For a major project, I’d love to see the walkway from the bottom of your stairs to the street be the width of the stairs, perhaps in a slate or other stone.

    Also, beware of foundation planting. If you have room, leave several feet between the house and where the plantings begin. This gives access to the house, room for hoses, and makes it less likely that you’ll damage your home with the plants. Keep in mind how much bigger the shrubs and trees will grow over the years when you are doing your planning.

    Becky

  • erin
    June 12, 2008 at 5:41 pm

    i love your mock-ups! maybe some flower-boxes or flowers in your hanging baskets to bring the color up onto the house…

    maybe some yellow flowers? i always think a little yellow goes a long way and brightens everything!

    oh and i love the spheres!

  • Alison
    June 12, 2008 at 5:47 pm

    I love the idea of a colored door. What about ferns in your hanging basket (not sure which way your house faces)?

  • sarah jane
    June 13, 2008 at 4:20 am

    A. Love your blog; long time lurker, first time poster.

    B. I love the idea of adding some height by the steps, but I would be wary of using “some small spruces.” My parents put 2 trim, elegant, small spruces at the back of their house (in Joliet) and within about 2 years they grew into giant, hairy, light-eating monsters that have now totally obliterated not only the view of the back of the house but also most of the sunlight that used to come through the back windows. Proceed with caution! They will eat your front porch!!!!

  • jo
    June 13, 2008 at 5:06 am

    Hi,
    My thoughts is the height of your porch should integrate more with the plantings—-otherwise i feel the blank wall of the house becomes of a focal point more than it should be!
    Ever considered great looking shrubs called variegated Dogwood??? A whole row of those would be a great backdrop in front of your porch, you’ll love the shrubs, beautiful mottled green/white leaves and stunning red bark, they would soften the wall.

    Then extend the bed and plant the peonies in front of the dogwood backdrop……….bump it out on the left side and put in a little paper bark Maple tree…….stays little but looks tree-ish!! The garden ornament could sit in the bed in the center of the left side of the porch. well, those are my ideas at first glance.

  • jo
    June 13, 2008 at 5:15 am

    one more idea……the side of the house to the right of the front steps…..wouldn’t it be lovely to see your address painted vertically in brown letters? It could look very modern and striking!!

    p.s. Should’ve double checked my first sentence in my sent comment….oops
    but you get the drift!! :)

  • jo
    June 13, 2008 at 5:23 am

    okay, i better go back to sleep…..too many late nights….. the NUMBERS of your address painted in brown vertically— NUMBERS not LETTERS…….!!!!!!! oh my!!!
    1
    2
    3
    4

  • Betsy
    June 13, 2008 at 7:48 am

    If you love boxwood, you should have boxwood. To keep the entire design from looking too “stiff,” shift out of the globular elements and go for something that grows in a more abandoned fashion — like the vines. My clematis is growing so fast we can almost watch it. And a honeysuckle would do the same thing. Here are some trellis examples. Yours would go more horizontal, of course. http://www.trellisstructures.com/trellises/index.html

    Sounds like your neighbor’s dogwood is a larger variety, you can get medium sized ones, and you can cut it back every year to maintain it. Rhododendrons need to be fed and acidic soil maintained, that’s why they might look sparse. Azaleas look very sparse to me, don’t like them, as the little flower puffs on the end of the stem remind me of the Chinese Crested or Mexican hairless dogs.

    Try the pagoda dogwood instead of the predictable arborvitae. Google has a great variety of images. As you look at the house, on the left, extend the bed’s border out in a more curving element to accommodate it’s eventual width. This will give your design more depth. Because its stem is open, you can surround it with astilbe or something feathery to contrast with your boxwoods, too.

    Allium would be a very pretty mimic to your round sculpture, and I love the focal point Debbie created as well, you could easily do the same thing with a simple water feature. Have fun! You’ve got good bones to work with.

  • Nicole RJ
    June 13, 2008 at 9:39 am

    If you’re not stuck on keeping it pink and green some bright yellow forsythia or even a pussy willow would add some height and interest. And I hope you’re going to do some tulips for the spring! A big fat row of pink tulips would be great betweem the hosta and the bushes!

    Also, if you wanted to fill in the front a bit more, maybe window boxes along the porch instead of the hanging baskets?

  • Laurie
    June 13, 2008 at 9:53 am

    This post and the resulting comments have made me realize that I really need to learn more about gardening.

  • Julia
    June 13, 2008 at 10:07 am

    Basic works, yes! I wonder what would happen if you decided to add more varying height into the garden with terra cotta planters or stubby pedestals?

  • brandy
    June 13, 2008 at 11:51 am

    you mush check out skypencil japanese hollies. i bet you’d love them. the height and shape are very modern.

  • Making it Lovely
    June 13, 2008 at 12:34 pm

    So many good suggestions (and advice for what not to do too)! I love it.

    And I have another reader’s mockup! This one is from Sandye:

    Mockup from Sandye

  • Laura
    June 13, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    Hi

    I happened upon your site serenditpitously & when I saw that picture I thought: “Oh my gosh, she’s here in northern Illinois I bet!” I am up in Waukegan in the north-east corner. Love your house!! I grew up in one that looked very, very, similar from the outside!! My mother in law taught for years (1940’s) in Oak Park. We are taking a day trip with my kids this summer to visit your area. My 10 year old son loves Frank Lloyd Wright & we have promised him a visit to the area. Last summer we visited the Dana Thomas house in Springfield. Nice to me you!!

    Laura

  • Yesi Yesi / Jessica
    June 13, 2008 at 6:40 pm

    I loove Sandye’s design. It this makes the garden feel more full in proportion to your house!

    I think if you added some color to the hanging plants you’ll have a keeper. The slash of color will help bring your eye’s up towards the actual house. (White paint on the staircase railings might be a nice touch also.) I wish I could show you my idea by altering the file, but my computer is being stupid > <.

    Good luck! I hope you let us know what your final decision is! <3

  • jennifer
    June 15, 2008 at 8:44 am

    I think you need some sort of climber or vine. That would look great!

  • Christine
    June 15, 2008 at 10:59 am

    I think tulips or Iris would look good for early Spring. I also agree with a poster who said lilacs. I think you need to decide on a focal point or a “lead up” to your door. When I look at some of the photos my eye goes all over. The front door seems like a black hole.

    You may want to put the hanging baskets in the doorway arch and put two pots beside the door, with a small chair or bench. Maybe put the brightest colors on either side of the stairs?

    Hydrangea would also work good. Cherry or apple tree or a bush that changes color in the fall like a burning bush etc.

    Love the blog. Just discovered it.

  • Kari
    June 15, 2008 at 11:26 am

    I have a picture of a vertical trellis we built to hide our ugly garage that sounds like what someone else was trying to describe building by your porch. It was pretty easy to make ourselves. http://kariyoung.blogspot.com/2008/06/garden-tour.html

    If I can find time, I’d love to do a mockup for you too, we’ll see. If we lived any closer I’d trade you interior design services for landscape designs! I’m trying to figure out our bathroom, which is how I stumbled across your blog.

    One good guideline is for no bed to be smaller than 4 feet depth. Any smaller and scale tends to get thrown off and you end up with a row of plants instead of a nice layered design.

    Also don’t be afraid to tear out lots of lawn. I’ve read everywhere that beds are much easier to maintain than lawn, although persistent weeds might make you think otherwise. But if you are mowing an hour a week, well that much weeding will do a ton to keep your beds in good shape.

    Nice big beds out away from the house help anchor it and make the house look nestled in the garden instead of sticking up from a flat lawn. The added bonus is that you can then see them from the window. Think about improving your views from your windows, not just how it looks from the sidewalk.

    Hope that helps!

    Oh, and boxwoods are never a bad choice, they add great structure to any garden whether its formal or cottage wild. Except some people think they smell like cat piss. : )

  • amy purple
    June 15, 2008 at 1:52 pm

    It’s so nice you have all these kind folks offering suggestions. I wouldn’t even know where to begin myself. Alas, I’m looking forward to the after photos!

  • Kylie
    June 15, 2008 at 6:55 pm

    I love Sandye’s mockup, I adore the lavender and what looks like a standard rose for height.

    Not knowing anything about your climate over there, what will this look like in winter? I’ve planted my garden (granted I’m in Australia where it will never get as cold) with roses and cammelias. Then I have colour all year round.

  • The Lil Bee
    June 16, 2008 at 7:52 am

    Hmmm…I was actually going to tell you I like the bare version, as is. Sort of a less-is-more simplicity to it. But then I saw Sandye’s version and I think that’s fantastic!

  • Corey
    June 16, 2008 at 8:42 am

    Sorry I haven’t been back – I’ll take a look and draw something up. Also glad to see you bought some boxwoods, was going to use plenty of them to lend some formality to the space. :-)

  • Amanda
    June 16, 2008 at 9:36 am

    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!

  • Making it Lovely
    June 16, 2008 at 10:06 am

    I have another mockup… This one’s from Kimberly Hurst (I’m working with her on a blog design for her photography business!).

    Mockup from Kimberly Hurst

    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.

  • Making it Lovely
    June 16, 2008 at 10:14 am

    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…

  • Tracey
    June 16, 2008 at 12:41 pm

    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!

  • Janine
    June 16, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    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.

  • Julie Anne
    June 16, 2008 at 7:23 pm

    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.

  • Julie Anne
    June 16, 2008 at 7:25 pm

    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.

  • Lili
    June 16, 2008 at 7:58 pm

    I love the potted plants in that last one!

  • katiedid
    June 17, 2008 at 12:26 pm

    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!

  • Making it Lovely » Blog Archive » Grand Plans for the Outside of the House
    February 13, 2009 at 2:23 pm

    […] be able to do this year, but it’s certainly fun to think about. Last summer, I worked on a mockup of the front (and several readers contributed!). I think I’ll have to continue playing around […]

  • Barbara
    February 14, 2009 at 10:10 pm

    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.

  • Making it Lovely » Blog Archive » I Want My House to Look Like This, Please.
    February 18, 2009 at 3:11 pm

    […] In case anyone’s feeling creative/bored, you can download a file for the mockup. Feel free to play around with it… I loved seeing what everyone came up with last time! […]

  • quilterlynn
    May 23, 2011 at 2:48 pm

    the mock up link doesn’t seem to work. takes to a blank page!