Which option is better?

20 years ago

I am trying to landscape along the front of my house and need a little advice to make it more inviting. I would like to have a plan before painting the trim, door, and shutters. I want to have some kind of seating area with a bench or swing near the front door to set things when entering or watch the kids play. I need some shade to be able to tolerate setting in zone 8b, Louisiana full sun and heat. We have deep overhangs of 3.5 feet and the door is inset another 3feet. The front faces north but it gets plenty of full sun even in the recessed door. Our front yard is nearly one acre. We have a live oak quite a distance from the house as well as pines and pin oaks lining the road. We hope to dig a fishing pond this summer in the open area of our front yard.

I have come up with two options but can't figure out which is better or if they both fail. Maybe you can help.

Option 1: Add a pergola/arbor extending from roof at the door and almost from window to window. The max space available along the house is 7', reaching window to window, but it could extend out into yard as far as needed. I would brick the area under the arbor and the sidewalk leading to the driveway. (concrete would be removed) I would add a swing or bench to the arbor facing the drive way.

Option 2: Place a bench at the short end of the sidewalk, facing the driveway. Either replace the sidewalk with brick or leave it and use pebbles under the bench. Plant a tree or grouping of trees near bench for shade. The delima is the kind of tree. I thought crepe myrtles since we have them lining the property on the east side but dh says they won't give much shade although will look nice. Other ideas are redbuds or maples. I know I have to plant a distance from the house but don't know how far that is.Keep in mind the overhang is 3.5 feet out as well so would I measure out from there or the actual house?

Thanks so much for the help.

I am having trouble figuring out how to post pictures. If you could clue me in, I appreciate it. THanks.

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Comments (4)

kahlanne
Original Author
20 years ago
Hopefully you can view the pics at using this link...
http://groups.msn.com/Kahlsplace/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1

Here is a link that might be useful: my house pictures
karinl
20 years ago
Could you clarify on which side of the front door you envision each of these options?

One preliminary thought arises regarding the use of trees for shade, which is that their roots complicate any brickwork in their vicinity. Another is that pebbles, especially under trees, will be a maintenance nightmare.

Depending on whether I understand your proposals correctly, so far I like the pergola/arbour idea best, but I envision it on the left of the house, where it looks less busy, or centred, and I would recraft it as sort of an entry courtyard/meet-and-greet area, maybe done in flagstone or pavers.

But I can only access two photos of your house in your album, and neither one seems to show the margins, especially the right, nor a good distance view. So really, I'm kind of flailing about for context.
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kahlanne
Original Author
20 years ago
Sorry. I thought I was clear but sometimes it is difficult to explain when I can see it clearly myself. Let's see, when looking at the pictures the sidewalk leads to the driveway which is on the right side of the photo which is the east. I was thinking the arbor would began near the window on the right of the picture and stop near the window on the left of the picture. This gives me a distance or width of the arbor of 7 ft. However, I can extend the length as much as I want into the front yard. The bench/swing would be placed with its back to the west side of the house which is the side with the two windows or left of the picture. It would be facing the driveway which is right outside of the picture to the right. Does this help at all? I will try to take a better picture this afternoon.
Saypoint zone 6 CT
20 years ago
If the east is to the right of the photo, and the left is the west, then your house faces south, not north.

It appears to me, assuming your front door is about 3 ft. wide, that the space between the two windows that flank the door is about 15 ft. wide. Why are you limited to a 7 foot wide pergola?

Either solution will work. When choosing a tree, look up the mature size and leave enough space between the tree and the end of the eave for the tree to reach it's mature size.