I can't see any way of improving the look that does not including reshaping the pebbled bed on the left side. The Lilac seems oddly placed. Is it shaped into a tree? One of the best aspects of your house, to me, is the way the windows are in a sort of niche.It makes the roof line more interesting and relates to the shape over the entrance. The shape of the bed just defeats it. It is awkward the way the pebbles narrow before they disappear.

As to the right side of the house, the planting area is too small for those boxwood. It might be a challenge to you to find shrubs to fit in there. I know the boxwood might be going away but any shrub you put there should be sheared or pruned to the same height on the wall. Say like you have them stop at 40 inches below the two windows.

You need to add another photo taken from the same place you stood to take the entrance photo. Pivot a bit and take a photo of the left side entirely.

Will you be doing the work yourself?

Sorry, my errror on the lilac. Completely wrong species! I was referring to the collection of flowering bulbs sort of in the center of the main pebbled area where you see the rock garden.

The tree looking thing that I think you were reacting to is sort of a pine shrub. I don't know the correct name for it. It is fairly nice but it is on the large side and obstructs the view of the rest of the area (ie. by the sculpture) as guests walk up the pathway towards the front door. I don't think it can be cut back very much because the inside of the shrub is somewhat bare.

I do kind of see what you mean about the lines of the house relative to the pebbled area but I don't have the eye to know how it could be done differently/better. I am also not quite sure I know what you mean by the pebbles narrowing before they disappear. It is a little hard to see because of the snow maybe, or I could be confused, but in the upper area the pebbles are effective a quarter circle but they carry along the foreground in the last photo in front of the pine shrub and along the side of the slate walkway. It is probably around 2 feet of pebbles along the full length of the lawn side of the walkway.

I agree that the boxwoods are too large for the planting area. The slate walkway is beginning to deteriorate so I could consider making it less squared off so that I can make more space for plantings in that area. I also agree, re: the height of the left most of the 3 boxwoods in that area. It is too tall but it partially died last year and it is quite thin right now since I tried cutting it back and tying back branches to try to get it to fill in. This was marginally successful but I didnt feel that I could cut down the height of that shrub like how I topped the other two.

Also, I believe this is the other photo that you'd requested. Unfortunately, we just got about 5 inches of snow between now and when I took these photos this morning. I have a couple of more photos but hopefully this one will do the trick!

thanks for the feedback!

I forgot to mention that I would be doing at least some of this work myself. If I redo the walkway, that would probably be beyond the scope of something that I would do. If removing the pebbles was suggested, I would probably get some help for that since I am sure they weigh a ton. Also, my soil is very rocky so if there was a need to really dig up a large area, I would probably get help with that as well. That sounds like a lot of help, I realize, but I like to do as much as I can myself so long as I don't kill my back.

Your slate walkway and steps are wonderful and I like the concept of the rock garden that showcases your sculpture.

I have no plant suggestions though, sorry. My climate is completely different and my 'go to' plants wouldn't work in Connecticut.

Thanks! any other feedback would be much appreciated. Snow is melting so I can take more photos again if anyone would like.

when my computer comes back from the repair shop I can make some graphic suggestions about how you might reshape the bed, which i think is necessary if you want to increase street appeal. this is 1 of the few houses that have shown up here that already has a nice steps and walk. So you are lucky there! Needs all new foundation plantings in my opinion.

Looking at the photo's i think you would be better starting from scratch, sometimes it is easier to just lay out your ideas and plans, research the plants and look you want and create the design you want, there is a good article here that covers all the basics of landscape design . It will give you a bit of guidance on how to design your own landscape.

thanks everyone!

I think the beautiful stones should be grouped with your tree in a free-form mulched area. If you like boxwoods you could use some Green Gems which will not grow large and will not require much pruning. I think the extension on the right calls for a columnar evergreen Weeping Blue Nootkatensis smack dab in the middle, maybe so it doesn't block your view. Maybe a couple of De Groots Spires framing, but not blocking the group of 4 windows on the left (most columnar evergreen possible for this area). Maybe some small leaf rhododendrons under the windows that you could keep trimmed. Some big Sagae hosta in the left side which looks shaded. Edging the walkway with Liberty Hosta is a knockout border. Flower bed out in front filled with perennials. A couple of cherry trees or Japanese Maples out further in front. I'm in 6a, MA so these are all hardy in your zone. Just some thoughts. If you buy smaller plants you will have a better chance of success and save a lot of money since you are doing this yourself.

Jon

Hi Jon, thanks a lot for your feedback! A couple of questions that might help me to follow along with your ideas.

"I think the beautiful stones should be grouped with your tree in a free-form mulched area."

- do you mean the small stone garden area in front of the 4 windows / to the right of the sculpture or were you talking about the full pebbled area? Which tree were you referring to?

"If you like boxwoods you could use some Green Gems which will not grow large and will not require much pruning."

- We like Boxwoods, although these were planted WAY before we bought the house. Thank you for the tip on the Green Gem boxwood. I wasn't aware of this specific type and it seems like a good option for something that won't get out of control in terms of size.

"I think the extension on the right calls for a columnar evergreen Weeping Blue Nootkatensis smack dab in the middle, maybe so it doesn't block your view."

- I'm a little confused on this one too. Are you referring to the area by the double level 4 window part of the house, ie. nearby the sculpture? This could be an option but this is kind of a large tree, no?

"Maybe a couple of De Groots Spires framing, but not blocking the group of 4 windows on the left (most columnar evergreen possible for this area). "

- This seems like it could work. So a single De Groots Spire on each side of the windows?

"Maybe some small leaf rhododendrons under the windows that you could keep trimmed. "

- I like this idea too. Did you mean in front of the windows? Or to the right and left of the windows? The two lower windows of the four are my only source of natural light in my home office space. Rhododendrons I think tend to get pretty dense so I don't want to block out the light.

"Some big Sagae hosta in the left side which looks shaded. "

- We don't have any hostas in the yard right now so this sounds like a nice idea. Are you talking about the area around the sculpture? That is a somewhat shady area (large trees further to the left... but it does get sun during morning and midday.

"Edging the walkway with Liberty Hosta is a knockout border. "

- I like this idea as well.

"Flower bed out in front filled with perennials. A couple of cherry trees or Japanese Maples out further in front. "

- Which area were you referring to here?

Big thanks for the detailed feedback!

Jon, I'm guessing you don't have deer.

We get a ton of deer... Ohhh bummer... I see the Rhododendron and Hosta would be eaten by deer.

OK,

- Yes the stone and what I think is your lilac. To me the two 'spots' would look better as one larger free form.

- By 'extension' I meant the section on the right (2 windows) that extends out. A Nootkatensis is a big tree, but it doesn't grow as large as it does in its native Alaska. 20-25 feet 15 years maybe. Natives can triple that.

- Yes single DeGroots. I think centered on the side panels they would fit in nice and they are fantastic when they are full grown.

- I have some small leaved PJM rhodies (very common) and pruning them after blooming will keep them in check. Mine are under windows and I take my electric trimmers once a year and keep them low and round off the edges.

- I was thinking Sagae on the left side of the house. They will get 3-4 feet wide and are nice looking hosta. Good for shade and thick leaves for slug resistance.

This is a photo of where I think Liberty would be great.

This is Liberty with Hakonakloa grasses. It is the 2015 hosta of the year named by hosta growers who have picked it as low cost, quick growing and easily tissue cultured which means it should be readily available. My mail order favorites are Hallsons and Naylor but there are many and you can probably find it locally as well although maybe not in 'box stores'. Steve 'Massachusetts' a hybridizer himself, has a thread going on the hosta forum about places to buy. Link here --- Places to buy hosta

- The flower bed I pictured would extend out past the walkway in front and two cherry trees or Japanese Maples centered in between the four windows and the two windows They are smaller and shouldn't block the view or light.

mad-gallica- I have herds of deer and over 150 hosta. Spraying with an egg mixture (main ingredient of most repellents) with some pepper keeps them in check as well as having a dog that leaves her scent. Deer and rabbits are a problem, but they do not bother either the hosta or the rhododendron near the house. Away from the house, they are definitely a problem. They also forage in woods rather than come near the house and when they get real hungry in the winter the hosta are dormant. Also my PJMs in the front of the house never get touched.

I'm glad you liked some of the ideas and I'm sure you might substitute some other ideas. I wish I had a program to show a sketch of my thoughts.

Best of luck with your project and ask away if you think I can answer any other questions.

Jon

Some really great feedback here! Thank you so much for all the input. I may take a shot at mocking up some of these ideas a bit further. It seems like everyone seems to think we should mitigate the use of the pebbles. We've been heading down that route already in another area where we removed the pebbles and mulched. I guess the prior owners of our home really liked pebbles. We may try to figure a way to incorporate them still but perhaps as a less dominant element.

Ok, I did my best to try to capture Jon's ideas... maybe??? I'm not sure I love it but I am guessing I didn't really capture the ideas correctly. I am also going to add the base image with none of the existing shrubs in case that helps anyone visualize the space. I think I might like Yaardvaark's design better, although like I said, I am probably missing elements.

side note: Yaardvaark, special thanks for the mockup. This is time consuming and yours looks way more professional than mine!

One day I will think of a good way to EXPLAIN WHY lining a walk edge with plants (to divide it from the lawn) is generally a bad idea. Hopefully, you will accept that it is and not do it! Consider also that a landscape should integrate the house within the larger surrounding ... not seem like decorations as one would see frosting decorations on a cake.

I do not detest the white pebbles. I just hate the shape of the bed. I like the design Yardvaark made for you. Stook1 is there any chance we could get a close up picture of your sculpture? I am so envious!

Hi Yardvaark, just to be clear, I also prefer your design to the one that I mocked up. I was just trying to give myself a visual of some of the other recommendations. In particular, your layout I think makes the entryway more inviting and visually draws you to the entrance. I am going to take a few more photos from other directions just so the broader space is more visible.

Emmarene, thanks! I don't have a photo of the sculpture here at the office but I do at home and will post one tonight. I'm so fortunate that my mother is a sculptor. She made it as a gift for us a couple years ago. It is a bronze piece integrated into a stainless steel pole structure with a bearing in it so that it can spin in the wind. It is pretty heavy so it doesn't spin all that much but it does. My sole contribution was pouring the concrete base!

Emmarene, here are a few photos of the sculpture that you'd asked about. This was from the day we did the installation so don't mind the messy base. At least the yard is green though!

You mentioned that the bluestone walk is starting to deteriorate. If you are planning to replace it, do it before you start planting, but make it part of your plans. Personally, I am not fond of the frequently-seen narrow beds between a walk and a house since as in your situation the plants usually crowd the walk and are too close to the house. If I were you and intending to replace the walkway, I would move it out from the house in order to have a sufficiently deep bed to plant shrubs in or I would situate the walk so that it completely eliminates the planting bed and put some artwork on the wall or in a narrow bed along the right side of the walk. I would also remove the bed of stones on the left side of the walk and have lawn up to the walk regardless of whether you replace the walk or not.

Sorry, I forgot to thank you. That sculpture is fantastic. Good to know it is cemented as it must be designed around.