New front and side bed design input

17 years ago

This house belongs to a friend of mine. It is clearly time to revamp the landscape design. As you can see in the pictures, there is a bed on either side of the front entrance/stairs and then the bed continues along the south side of the house to the back where it acts as a barrier from the street to the patio.

I would love any feedback, structure and/or plant suggestions you have for these beds. These are the starting parameters:

1. They want a cottage feel to the plantings. My interpretation of that is more movement and color however I want to structure the beds with repeating plants/shrubs and colors.

2. Color pallet is blue/purple and pale yellow with a few punches of white and/or silver.

3. This is a mid to low maintenance gardening family. (i.e. general maintenance, occasional dividing of oversized perennials, pruning and weeding as necessary)

This is zone 5, half days sun in the front bed and full day sun along the side beds. Drainage and soil are both good.

Thanks in advance!

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Comments (3)

missingtheobvious
17 years ago
Can you post larger photos, or links to larger photos? It's difficult to see what's there now....
diana_noil
Original Author
17 years ago
Sorry, I tried to do that and photobucket won't let me make them larger.
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reyesuela
17 years ago
Next to porch--boxwood
Under widows--Forever hydrangea
Corner--BIG lilac
Other corner--Pieris (pieris needs less light and is evergreen--put in on more N side/winder shade issues)

Then, in front:

Early spring
------------
Daffodils (can't go wrong there!)--get some insane mix from here: http://www.kvbwholesale.com/store/daffodils/13446

Ditto crocuses: http://www.kvbwholesale.com/store/specialtybulbs/crocus/10454

These will both die to the ground soon, so other plants go on top.

-Assorted astilbe toward the back, with Delphiniums
-Three hosta in a U on each side in front
-Irises in the hole between astilbe and hosta
-Miniature reblooming daylilies toward the front--the Stellas would be fine
-Lavendar
-Ferns
-Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

Jam in the holes any of the following :-) :
Achellia (in a nice purple!)
Purple coneflower
Coreopsis
-Geranium (blue)
-Liriope
-Heuchera
-Liatris
-Lady's Mantle
-Heliopsis
-Rudbeckia

Add a well-behaved climbing rose to the front porch, and voila!

With a purple/blue dominated scheme, yellow will be the punch!

Put hollyhocks between the windows on the side and put some Russian Sage directly under the side windows. Then pretty much go wild as above. Remember that lavender is an evergreen.

Really, the key is to put enough of the stuff with substantial foliage (hostas, lady's mantle, the heurchera, geranium, sedum, etc.) with the substantial-but-grassy-or-frilly stuff (iris, liriope, daylily/astilbe, ferns) and to pretty much HIDE the foliage of the stuff that's not so nice on its own.