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Landscape help! My first house!

10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago

Hi all! M husband and I bought our first house and the garden is a nightmare! We updated the inside and now I need to work on the outside, I left the shrubs the house came with but I think I need new mulch and soil and some flowers. I tried planting flowers before and the deer ate all of them, we get tons of deer! I attached pictures , I hope someone can give me advice on some landscaping! My family is visiting in July and I want my house to look beautiful!




Comments (3)

  • 10 years ago

    www.americanmeadows.com for deer proof plants. Dwarf varieties that don't outgrow their welcome would be nice against the house. That damaged tree might need to come down. If you like the stone-walled bed, I'd re-stack the stones. It looks like there are plenty of large stones that could be used randomly in the bed by the house, or as flanking rocks for a dry creek bed.


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  • 10 years ago

    It looks as though you may be struggling with several landscaping issues - not just one. Obviously the first is wildlife like the deer. Many favorite garden plants simply create a wildlife buffet which is not your intent! There are many gardening centers and seed or plant catalogs which will direct you toward plants that are less appetizing to deer and other critters.

    Your second issue is that your lot looks wooded from the photos - maybe not right up to the house, but you have a lot of woods around the yard. This means that you probably need to deal with partial sun or shady areas more than full sun. Plants that do well in shade/partial shade are usually much less showy than those that require full sun. Again, your garden center and catalogs will direct you toward plants that will do better in partial sun to shade.

    A third issue that may be caused by the first issue is of the 6 legged variety. Deer and other animals will bring ticks, fleas, and other insects to your yard. A shady yard may also attract mosquitos if there are water sources nearby. If you are in the south, having a lawn means automatically having chiggars. You may actually need to consult with an expert to keep this under control if you intend to do a lot of outdoor living in your yard or if you have children or pets. You do not want to have to deal with tick or mosquito transmitted diseases such as Lyme's disease or West Nile virus.

    Finally, the fourth issue I see here is that some of the plants you have appear to not be thriving or potentially have diseases. That one bush you show has yellow or brown areas while one of the trees you show has damage where bark was knocked off near the base of the tree and it's healing a large wound. My first call would actually be to a certified arborist who can come out and inspect your trees and shrubs and tell you if any of them are sick or infested, or if there is any danger from a tree or large branch potentially falling on your home, car, or a person. They might tell you something helpful such as "all the shrubs you have are meant for full sun and that's why they're yellowing because they don't get enough of it." Find an arborist.

  • 10 years ago

    If the deer are hungry enough, they will eat just about anything. For the shady, stone-walled area near the road, transplant a few things from the woods behind your house. Those will be the plants your deer don't like.