In general, I would say that a gravel walk should not be used for the main entrance to the house and especially for one that will be a prominent as this design...but then again the "design police" will not arrest you if you choose to go that route.

I am a little curious about your design. How far is it from your front door to the curb? Is there a paved sidewalk in front of your house? When I drive around looking at houses for ideas on my own front entrance I notice that almost everybody has a front entrance walk that curves over to the driveway instead of the sidewalk. The rare exceptions that I have seen are houses on corner lots where the drive is on the other street and houses that are very close to the street (I am sure I could find more if I looked enough). I have to wonder why this is.

- Brent

As you have a functional entrance to the house from the driveway, I would wait until you have the funds to do it in the style/material that you really want, rather than doing a quick fix with gravel.

I understand that you are excited about your new home/lifestyle, but part of homeownership is learning to be patient, planning, pricing, looking for alternatives.

As for the maple, if you don't want it, maybe you could try to re-home it, rather than throwing it away--it would be a great way to get to know your new neighbors and it is a specimen that many people would enjoy adding to their yard.

Dianne

I certainly hope that you might re-consider the Japanese maple. They are wonderful trees; beautiful and easy. And they are expensive to buy.

If you're sure you don't want it, you could post it on Craigslist or the Freecycle in your area and someone could come and dig it up and take it.

I would also wait until you can do it in the best material you can afford. Gravel can be a bit unstable underfoot, and you may have to think about snow removal, too.

Do people park on the street, making this walk actually useful? If not, it may not make sense to put time/money/effort into it.

They way you indicated generic plant masses and forms on your design is well done. People tend to pick the actual plants first, but it's much better to choose a size/shape/texture/bloom season/color first, and then find a plant that most closely fits the description.

Your design looks unbalanced because of the visual weight of the large shrub on the right and the mass of the two story section where the garage is. Some "weighty" plantings at or just off the left side of the house would balance it better.

I would also paint the garage door a color as close as possible to the color of the brick on the left side to make it disappear.

Does zone 7a get snow? Bushes right up to a path you have to shovel are a pain. If you do get snow and its the kind that drifts it will be a real pain. Voice of experience. mmo

IMHO there is something to be said for a walkway to the curb, whether it is actually used or not---it makes the house feel/look more welcoming and to give the entrance more impact. If you look at the two pictures, you can see what I mean.

MMO is right about snow removal and shrubs. Also, if you plant them a bit farther away from the walk (and use perennials to bridge the area), you won't end up with wierd looking shrubs from pruning to keep the walk clear.

Dianne

I have to tell you that I quite honestly don't like the design you've done. I wonder if it conforms to some ideal you have in your head about what "a landscape" should look like, as it does not respond particularly to the challenge of enhancing the appearance of this house and this property, and others have mentioned its other drawbacks. By putting plant weight at the front of the property and with a long stright walk to it, you've created a perspective that shrinks and contorts the house, rather than one that frames and balances and grounds it.

Unlike many houses that have been posted here with questions about how to do a good foundation planting to whom we've said they should pay more attention to the larger property rather than the foundation, this house DOES cry out for good foundation planting - yet you've ignored (in your sketch) the mis-placed overgrown monstrosities growing near the foundation, choosing instead to remove the only two attractive shrubs on the property. I'd agree the maple is badly placed, but it is one of only two pieces of landscaping you've got (three if you count the rock) that's worth keeping. The placement of that little tree, on the other hand, is pretty good and it will enhance the house as it grows; it can outgrow a poor pruning job. Tree circles are certainly not the right setting for either of these plants, you can make better beds, but they need to sweep across the slope, not down it.

The place really has great landscape potential and you sound like just the right people to tap into it - but something's got you taking a wrong turn right out of the gate. If I were you, I'd backtrack. Forget the new sidewalk; work with the one you've got and get the foundation plantings right.

I wold suggest that if you are on a limited budget, that you begin by pruning those horrid blobby shrubs (pruning is cheap) and see what you've got once that's done. They might be induced to behave; maybe they don't need to be taken out. You can prune them for an interesting airy structure (keeping the height and planting something else underneath) or just into smaller blobs. You don't say what direction the house faces, but almost any direction will allow you to mix rhodos, japanese maples, conifers, and those blobby things cut back into a nice substantial foundation bed with lots of foliage interest and contour. Search this forum for foundation planting and you may find some relevant information.

KarinL

I like the design changes in your drawing. The walkway from the front looks much better than from the side - regardless if people use it or not. I would just move the little trees that are in the wrong spot. I like the new double front doors and garage door. I dont like the arched window you've drawn above the front door. Look at the lines of your house. There are no other arching elements/lines in the entire structure - therefore, the arched window does not go with the flow IMO. Good luck! Post an update.

John

Believe me, I understand the enthusiasm of wanting to get right at the yard after buying your first home. But I also agree with the advice of wait and see, live with it a bit, see what your needs are, and take lots of walks around the neighborhood, taking notes of what others have done that you like. Rather than tear out, start by editing. You could even maybe transplant that japanese maple. That's not a cheap tree to just throw out hastily. Try things a little bit at a time, you won't regret it.

Don't do a gravel path. You will hate it. Maintenance nightmare(weeding it...shoveling it) and people track gravel into the house. My neighbor put one in...almost exactly as you have described, for the same reasons, and is ripping it out now that they have the money to do what they wanted to do all along. Then rarely used their front walk (because of the issues I cited above) and now they have to dispose of all that gravel...

Zone 7b NC gets serious snow from time to time (we once got 20" in one night)--so I'm assuming 7A does as well!

I'm kinda wondering where this person went.

KarinL