"Clearly the huge pine has to stay... Let's not call that a pine any more. It's probably a spruce ... possibly a fir ... but definitely not a pine.

It's not possible to draw a completely cleaned up version of the house front over the existing pictures so I'm trying to provide the illusion of that ... which, of course, means limbing up the low-hanging foliage of trees out front. Regarding the large shrub to the immediate left of the picture window, since it looks rather healthy, I'd look into the possibility of limbing it up into a small tree. A large expanse of unbroken, plain roof isn't especially a handsome sight, so having a small tree in that location would help the overall picture. Whether it's possible to do would depend on what kind of plant it is and if desirable architectural features are behind it. If what's behind it is predominantly blank wall, then keeping it could be a big plus. The overgrown green shrubs at the left half of the house face should be removed for sure.

A new bed line and linking plantings with groundcover would make a significant improvement in the overall picture.

I would suggest widening and reconfiguring the steps and walk. Currently, they look scrawny and cheapen the look of the house.

Thank you for the reply. My apologies, I should have probably used the term evergreen instead if pine. That's why I'm here though! I like your ideas, a lot actually. I have attached some more photos of the front, a few closeups of that tall green/red shrub dead center as well. Hopefully someone can chime in as to what type of tree/shrub this thing is. Behind that shrub is the bathroom window. I'm not sure how I feel trimming the spruce/fir up 10ft yet.

An issue with that shrub is that it is not very symmetrical because it is growing so close to the house.

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You definitely need to open up the front of your home before tackling any new landscaping.

The evergreen in the front corner is a beautiful specimen, but it overwhelms the house --- physically and visually. If I were you, I'd contact a licensed arborist for opinions as to limbing it up.

I don't recognize the tall shrub in the center. Maybe someone on the forum can. In any case, it's much too close to the house. Limb it up all the way up to highlight the branch structure against the house, as Yardvaark suggested, or remove it. Perhaps an arborist could suggest possibilities --- removing/moving/trimming.

Molie

I like the little tree next to your porch. I don't see the need to have an arborist look at it. Just trim it up as Yardvark suggested. Live with it as a tree for awhile to see how you feel about it. Did you say the Junipers were staying?

"I'm not sure how I feel trimming the spruce/fir up 10ft yet." One couldn't say the magic number of feet based on an imperfect photo. It would be worked out on site. Hopefully, the bathroom window doesn't rely on an evergreen for its sole source of privacy. :-)

"An issue with that shrub is that it is not very symmetrical because it is growing so close to the house." Some conditions can be remedied with maintenance. Some would require a new plant instead. Your last photo leans toward the latter.

Thank you Yardvaark, your advice has been great.

This may not be the proper forum for this, but I'm planning on having gutters/trim redone on the house. I'm debating color because the stark white is not pleasing on the red brick.

This is a photo of my neighbor across the street, whose brick is identical to mine. This looks great, but I am trying to avoid having an identical looking house as his (color scheme). Thoughts?

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Thanks!

It's fine to personalize, but IMO too much emphasis is applied to the idea of "expressing one's individuality" and being "different" ... many times at the sacrifice of being less than best.

The picture of your neighbor's is on the dark side, but it appears that his trim color is taupe (a neutral "stone" color.) I think you could improve upon this by using a similar color that was a shade or two lighter. If one does not have much experience with paint colors, it's pretty common for them to purchase an exterior color that is too light. (And conversely, an interior color that is too dark.) It's better to work with small, inexpensive samples before spending money on the actual paint. Start with some color chips from the paint store and look at them in the environment of the paint job. Of the possible choices, select the DARKEST one (or even one shade darker) and purchase a sample. (At Lowe's these are only $2 or $3.) Purchase a sample of white, too, if there isn't any lying about the house. With those two samples, you can mix several sample shades that are lighter than the darkest sample and it's a pretty sure bet that one of them will be the color that works out for you ... or will get you close. Paint large enough samples on the house that you can appraise them from a distance (like across the street.) Also paint (heavy) a sample on a piece of scrap cardboard or piece of wood so you have something to take back to the store and match up to a color chip or have it computer color matched.

Thanks again Yardvaark. I'm having the gutters, trim (facia/frieze) and window trim done in all new aluminum (vinyl soffits), so I won't be painting anything.

Then I am not sure what you are asking in your Oct. 28 question. ...color choice of a manufactured item?

Yes, the installer has provided me with color samples to choose from prior to them doing the install. I'm soliciting ideas from the experts here for what trim/gutter color to go with since now is the time to change it.

Then you would need to show what the color choices are. Is there one that looks like "putty"?

Here are some that appealed to me. My gutter guy believes the guy across the street has "clay", but I'm not 100% sure.

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There are about 5-10 more that fit that color family that I can provide if needed.

Thanks!

Maybe in one of the samples not yet shown, there is a color that is halfway between heather and herringbone. Clay is light enough to basically read as white. All the others are pretty much the same darkness value. Heather is a little lighter but not enough. Of the 6 colors shown, I would consider the 5 darker ones to be body colors and Herringbone to be the one possible trim color. (Presuming a conventional paint scheme with darker body and lighter trim ... as you will have due to the brick color.)

(After homing in on one, you'll still need to see a decent sized sample of it on site.)

Here are the others that I see fit between Heather and Herringbone. I threw those two in also for reference. They are less grey, more tan, but the shade is between the two I believe.

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Sandcastle looks like a possible trim color that is not white. Look at others in succession of their darkness. I would avoid tans and beiges (anything yellowish or brownish) but even though those words are in some of the names, they may not apply. Desert Tan looks pretty good and not very tan.

I see what you're getting at. I like Sandcastle and actually Wicker. Thanks for the help!

You're welcome. I hope it's help instead of misleading. You be the judge. I'd even give Herringbone a 2nd look as things matter how they are in real life, not on a computer screen, which is how I'm seeing them.

Nice house, just adding 2 cents here- I wouldn't trim up the spruce at all since you would lose any sense of enclosure and privacy in the front. If you like the open look have the whole thing removed.
I would get rid of all the taller foundation shrubs. They're too close up to the house and IMO don't add anything to the front appeal of the house. Plus they block the brick and limestone accents that I suspect are also on your house just as on your neighbors. You don't have a foundation to hide so it's up to you as to having any plantings up against the house. I would follow your neighbors lead and stick to perennials knee high and shorter since your lower style house doesn't need anything to scale down the front. I would put a large planting bed around the spruce.
Careful about going dark on the trim . I think your neighbor matched the trim color to the limestone. If you do the same your houses will look identical and I don't think that would go over well. A good thing is that anything will look better than white, my house is brick with white and well..... the less said the better

"I wouldn't trim up the spruce at all since you would lose any sense of enclosure and privacy in the front." In most cases, in the front yard, aren't homeowners trying to display the home to its optimum level, as opposed to creating privacy and a sense of enclosure? If they opt for privacy and enclosure, aren't there better, more purposeful ways to create it than with low-hanging tree branches? To my thinking, using that method strongly risks appearing like plain old neglect.

I'm leaning towards Wicker...I think it picks up the tones in the mortar, but is light enough to not be mistaken as my neighbors house.

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Double post

This post was edited by DetroitNate on Mon, Nov 4, 13 at 18:57

While the color you've homed in on might be exactly the right one (and seems like it could be) a 3" square of it seems not large enough to view and be certain that it is the one. I'd spend the 2 or 3 $ on a small sample of paint that was color matched, apply it on something that will be removed later -- could even be pieces of cardboard or masking tape, or covered over -- and appraise the overall scheme from a distance. Then you could be certain you like the "look" and that it does everything you expect.

When selecting color, I am usually not concerned with "picking up tones of" other elements that are in the picture, such as brick, mortar, etc., though this method usually gets one in the "ball park." I just go with what I think looks compatible and best.

It's time to bring this thread back from the depths of winter...I had the gutters and trim done in November/December and now it's time to put focus back on the landscaping. I will attempt to trim up the shrub immediately next to the porch and I'm considering removing the 2 sad looking shrubs right under the planter beneath the window...

Any ideas on what to place there?

Also, does anyone have a recommendation on what ground cover to use around the evergreen, it's usually shaded and dry there.

This post was edited by DetroitNate on Thu, May 1, 14 at 13:59

A classic bed planting scheme is three layers--tall(ish) plants at the back, medium ones in the middle, and short accents right in front. This gives a lot of visual interest.

To achieve this, the planting bed needs to be wide enough. Most planting beds you see were put in by the builder. Sod is cheap to plant, and shrubs are expensive. So builders make planting beds really narrow and put in lots of grass, and we end up with neighborhoods that don't look as good as they can, because homeowners never realize the builder made the planting beds too proportionally narrow to flatter the home.

All that background is a suggestion to make your planting bed quite a bit wider than it is--10 feet would not be too wide. Select some shrubs for a background that at mature size won't block your windows or grow above your eves or get too wide. For the middle, select some plants that add foliage color or are long blooming. For the low front, have fun with bulbs and other small accents. And less lawn to mow. Be patient on the size of the plants. They may look tiny when you plant them, but plants grow. That evergreen may have been a six inch tall seedling in a little pot when it was planted.

You have a beautiful home there--make the most of it.

I lost my old account when GardenWeb was absorbed by Houzz...I am back again to revive this thread. Need help with the landscaping!

I attempted to trim up that tree next to the porch, but it looked very poor after doing so. It had grown too large for it's placement and it was completely lopsided (front heavy due to house hindering it's rear growth).

Today I decided to rip everything out of the flowerbeds and start fresh. The house is from 1955, so I'm trying to keep it with a conservative mid-century look "Mid Century Modest".

I will snap photos tomorrow and put them up.

Thanks!

Welcome back

Thank you! Here are the photos I promised.

I would fix bed line first.

Thank you Yardvark! Always love your input.

My plan is to:
1. define the bed (kind of how you have drawn)
2. Get 3 yards of soil to better grade the beds away from the house
3. Figure out plantings

I was thinking a row of shrubs in the back and a row of short grasses in front, very orderly like. You know, the mid century way.

Any tips?

Thanks!

I'm a bit anti-trying-to-copy-the-way-things-were-done because so much of the way things were done is inferior, especially in the way of landscaping in the mid-20th century. sorry, the picture not too good, but it gives general idea of w/o small tree.

Thank you so much, you conveyed your concept just fine.

Now for plant recommendations!

Well I finished pulling everything out, cut in the beds and started grading the beds. I still have to clean up under the spruce, but that will just be more raking.

That is a rather marked improvement over the above photo of the bed line!

Along side of house, have the bed-line line up with the chain link fence (it's a tight bed!) if not having the whole space be bed.

Thank you!

If I turn the area along the fence into a bed, do I keep that little strip of turf or remove it and make it all a bed?

The wife and I will be identifying potential shrubs this week and may need help further narrowing them down from some of you folks.

I just read the discussions over the last 2 years with interest. We, too, have a red-brick mid-century ranch (1947) with a very large spruce that dominated the yard, I use the past tense because we had it cut down last week and are amazed at how it's opened up the yard visually but also opened up the potentialities for a complete re-design. Nothing whatsoever will grow under one of those things. I couldn't be happier. We're planning to plant sumacs. They grow fairly fast, provide privacy, especially when leafed out, have beautiful leaves in the fall, and the architecture of the stems in the winter is beautiful. Best wishes -

Because of how much room plants actually take, it would be easier to turn the area by c.l. fence into bed rather than trying to maintain the skinny strip of grass.

I'm sorry, I should have specified better, the area from the fence down, and next to the driveway. I would definitely not leave the strip to the right of the fence and the bed.

If it was me, I would not have any grass between drive and house regardless whether fence there or not. You would have to really WANT grass to bother with its maintenance there. Also, I would not plant shrubs, except maybe one or two where the fence isn't, because they would be difficult to maintain. (And yours in the picture are much too close to the wall. They should be in the center of that space.) A perennial that gets cut to ground periodically would be easier than shearing and trimming.

How did you create the mulch texture in the second picture?

Agreed, my only concern is that the area to the left of the long ways chain link (running parallel to my house) is the property line. The grass left of that is not my lot, but I've always cut it.

I used a brush in the You Doodle iPhone app.

If a property line issue then there's nothing you can do unless you work out gentleman's agreement with neighbor.

I thought maybe there were new abilities I haven't discovered in MS Paint.

Well this is as far as I could get this weekend. Please ignore the hose reel, the pipe to my rear spigot split a few winters ago and I haven't had a chance to replace it.

Looking better-- cleaner & tidier -- in pictures. How about in real life? The distant shrubs look too close to building wall though.

Did you think you could get away without telling us what the new plants are? Please inform. That is a lot of work you did. Good job!

Yardvark, I can move those grasses and what's in from up a foot or so. They are 24" from the house

From left to right: The grasses are dwarf fountain grass "Hameln", in front of those are 3 silver mounds. The shrub is a Hakuro Nishiki Dappled Willow and to the right is just 3 dwarf English boxwoods.

My wife and I wanted to start minimalistic and add down the road if needed. We are still deciding on what to put under the large tree and next to the steps.

I would definitely move the plants forward. 3' from a wall is generally my absolute minimum distance, going up from there depending on the plant. I know when plants are small is might look like too much distance, but plants don't stay small long. Usually, the distance ends up being not enough.

Are the grass and the silver mound exactly in line with each other? Staggered would be a better look. The grass is a bit close to the wall but to me the other plants seem fine. Good luck to you!

They are staggered :) I'll move them forward a bit. Thank you all!

I'm not sure where you are with your project Detroitnate, but as hausfraumt did, my husband and I had a large spruce removed in front of our 1950's ranch. We're very happy with the way it opened the view and look of the yard. As far as alongside the house, we're going to keep it simple with hostas.

This was a great thread and detroitnate did a great job. If it were my house, before I did any planting I would have widened those steps and the walkway. Every picture in the series I focus on those tiny little steps and want to rip them out and redo. I've read that the main walkway leading up to a house should be wide enough for two people to comfortable walk side by side, that rule of thumb seems just about right to me. You want people to be invited into your house with the walkway, not forced into a single file line.