Consider an alternative to grass with bolder landscaping features.

Thank you. That is pretty, but I'm want a little patch of grass in the front. Any other suggestions?

I appreciate any feedback!

Congratulations! I am also trying to get some "curb appeal." I took a picture to a garden nursery and one of the owners gave me some ideas. You could do a clematis or climbing roses on your trellis.

Our climate is a lot different up in ND...however I would get the yard professionally sprayed with herbicide and go from there. I would grow climbers up that trellis. I would fill in the bed next to your house/foundation with ornamentals, plants, annuals...IDK what types work there, but the local garden centers can help, or county extension office. Some ornamental grasses stay contained and look great.

Thank you very much!
Keep the ideas coming.
I could use as much help as I can get.

Warning, gardening can be habit forming.

You do need a climber for the trellis, but it could be something easy care like flowering jasmine - white flower to go with your white trim. Ask your nurseryman what easy care local vine that is fast growing that he would recommend. Plant it at the base following directions for planting you research on the internet.

All your foundation plantings need attention. What is planted there along the front of your home now (except the bush by the porch) looks like it will always be too small, too low and too many different options. You want something that will at maturity sit just under your windows - as high as 4 - 5' Buy a sunset garden book for your area, and ID the plants that you have before you tear them out and replace them - but do go for a unified look of massing plants.

Trim the bush by your stair since it is the largest thing there. It should be higher than porch level but not so ragged. Ask the nurseryman for hardy evergreen shrubs for a foundation planting - then purchase about five and mass three on the left - two to the right of the trellis. Look at their mature size for spacing so they will look like a solid mass when they grow in. Abelia grandiflora is a good choice most places - bronze leaves and summer small flowers have made them a favorite for many centuries now. Until they get full size / even then, you shouldn't have to trim them as their natural growth pattern is attractive.

You need one feature planting area somewhere in your lawn - here's what that "looks" like. About 2/3 way to the curb and 1/3 away from the drive you pick out a spot. You cut a perfect circle or ellipse in your lawn (after you've killed the weeds) and within that circle you add compost and amendments and worms and work it up until you have a little berm - use some soil from somewhere in the backyard if you need to. Use a stake at the center with a radius string to lay it out - two different sized strings for an ellipse - shorter for short sides, longer for egg ends. Once you get the hang of it, you can free hand and cut the top 4" of turf / weeds out of it and discard in compost pile.

Just off center in the circle, you are going to plant a tree. Don't pick a flowering bush that will only get so big, choose a multi-trunk tree in the 15 gallon size (no larger - let it grow into your property) that is deciduous and has a nice architecture - birch trees native to your area might be good - again, some silvery white bark. Again, read the sunset garden book, see what you like, ask your nurseryman, and then select it. Multi trunk trees look more natural than the trained lolipops and in a few years look like two or three trees for the price of one.

The tree itself needs to have a planting basin and the basin area needs to be level - but the entire circle or ellipse wants to be raised from the level of the rest of the lawn before you begin planting - just 1' gently sloping up and down will do.

At the base of the tree, in the circle, place a flat boulder on the south side of the tree. If you have / can afford / borrow from the back yard / a huge rock (ideally it invites play or you can sit on it comfortably), then dig a hole and bury some of the boulder so no one climbing on it can move it.

In the rest of the circle, on the side of the boulder add a group of three quart size / small matching flowering shrubs.Plant them in a triangle again with some attention to their mature size so they mass together in a couple of years. Ask your nurseryman for something that is low growing 2' - 30" max / ok if it spreads sideways. Purchase at the nursery one specific wildflower seed native to your area (not a mix) and rake them into the rest of the area. Then mulch the whole circle / ellipse. You should mulch the planter bed against your house once you put in the foundation plantings.

Congratulations - your freshly painted home must be a credit to your street.

Don't till and reseed you will only be working seed and roots of your weeds into the ground. If you dont like the weeds you can buy or have someone use herbicide to kill them and then reseed. Continued use of herbicide is not recommended as it also contributes to weakening the beneficial insects that we need to sustain a healthy garden so a few weeds in the lawn are okay and if you keep your grass healthy it will choke out weeds. Your house would have a very cottagey look with a climbing rose on your trellis such as 'pink dawn' which is fragrant and reblooming. I would plant another annual vine on the trellis as well such as morning glory so that you always have blooms appearing. I would curve the bed around to the top of the driveway and put in some flowering shrubs and colorful perenial flowers such as echinacea , daisies and purple salvia. To find out what is most reliable in your area I would contact your local plant extension. Allan Armitage, a professor at U.ofGeorgia is one of the leading authorities on perennial and native plants has a website www.allanarmitage.net which could be helpful in plant selection. Plant sales at universities and public gardens often offer great plants at good prices.
Just a suggestion I woul put up some railing on the right side of you porch to make it look more finished. You have a cute house and with the right landscaping it will be stunning .

I have read that a healthy lawn has about 20 to 30% white clover. Check with your County Extension office for plants that will thrive the best in your particular region.

Golf course lawns are definitely an American thing and it has become huge business for the turf care companies. The rest of the world has a much more sustainable approach to lawn care and embrace the beauty of a few violets, clover or chamomile popping up here and there in their lawns.

You house is adorable. I could retire there easily. I found this pix that might give you an idea or two. Simple house/simple landscaping. The stone is easy maintenance (lay a weed block first) and the grass area has been given a shape.


My experience with a trellis, attached to the siding, was not great. Vines get under your shingles. If you want to keep it, spray it white and use just as an architectural accent.

Don't till your yard if you want to improve the grass!!!! Ripping up a lawn like that destabilizes the soil and can create a huge problem that will take years to fix. Instead, overseed your lawn in the spring (rent a seed slicer if you want ) and do it that way. If you till your lawn, you will have to screen out rocks and debris by hand (extremely time consuming), properly grade the soil (using heavy equipment) and compact the soil (again with heavy equipment), and then seed, water, fertilize and pray that the crabgrass doesn't take over before the grass grows. It is much easier to slowly improve your grass by encouraging grass to crowd out the weeds than to start from scratch.

Thank you so much each and every one of you for your help. I really appreciate it.

libradesigneye: Thank you for your detailed post.

aniluap2: I am about to graduate from the University of Georgia, so I will definitely have to check out their plant sales!

judyg: thank you for the sweet comments. I was afraid that the vining plants may cause sone damage to the house . I though about doing something similar to these vertical planters, any thoughts?

laurae1967: thanks for the advice.

All suggestions are still welcome! The more the better.

If you enter phrases such as "sell your house faster," "curb appeal," and so on into your Internet browser, you will get LOTS of sites.

If you enter "curb appeal" into the search box for Houzz Ideabooks, you will find 210 of them.

thank you!

I like the planters, but anything in a small pot is going to need constant watering. I did come across this idea. I really like it. Using the trellis as the back drop, plant in a big pot.

thank you!

If u don't want to keep the trellis there, u could put an obelisk like one in pic...or find one at garden centers or on line, they come in metal, wood, etc...you can grow climbers on them and your house should not be affected. Also, some shrubs can fill in bare spots on house...Such as a spiral shrub.

great idea. Thanks.
what do you think about pots on the trellis?

@chanre 90..I think u could do that if u like that look..it looks good when u can't see the pots and the plants are full...you could get some "trailers"..they hang down. An I like to plant purple cabbages around my flowers/plants..Never fails..someone stops to ask what that "cool plant" is...Also Kale...last year my neighbor kept saying she was gonna high jack it and eat it!! LOL Those types of plants add color, texture and interest.

Hi, I agree - don't till the soil until you take care of the problems there with whatever you can use in your area. As for the plantings - you can always reuse all that is there by moving it forward or over to the fence and doing larger shrubs in the background close to the house. The existing shrubs need some work - clip them back to give a nice manicured look. Add in some colourful shrubs from your nursery and of course some annuals and perennials for colour. Use a hose laid on the ground to get the new shape of your planting area - a nice undulating curve because the house is so boxy - add lots of good top soil and aged manure to feed your plants and then some mulch and a few well placed rocks or boulders that you can find in the wild or at the nursery. I'd take the trellis down and move it possible to the side of the house. You can add to the garden over the years so that you don't blow your budget all this year. I would add a nice tree to the front as well - something that won't grow too tall and has good colour as well - again the nursery staff can give you some ideas as to what would grow well in your area. something with nice red leaves or even golden. Good luck and post some pictures as you work at this project! :)

thank you for the good ideas.

wrote alot for you and computer crashed so i'll just say:
growers outlet in loganville. small place, big fast moving inventory. absolute killer prices. worth the trip. ck website for inventory daily. don't expect much advice there but you'll load up your car!
walter reeves /georgia gardener= online great info and links and a Q&A radio show sat. earlyam on wsb.
find good gardening books at goodwill for $2.50. buy the ones for the south
send soil to uga to be tested so you'll know what you need to keep your plants happy
ga clay needs a great deal of amendment. it's expensive but don't skimp. amend amend amend that soil
cute cute cute cottage.do some homework, ask lots of questions. have a plan and a budget before buying anything.

jamie. in ga i plant ornamental cabbage and kale along with pansies,snapdragons and dusty miller over tulip,hyacinh and narcissus bulbs. they look beautiful til frost then cime back strong in early march and stay showy til the heat sets in. last fall i found some cool mums in a bright rasberry that worked well with the color sceme of blues, deep pink and pale yellow.

Trellises are not a problem as long as you trim back your vines each year. A climbing rose once established should be easy to keep in check and clematis also. You are fortunate to be at Uof GA. Allan Armitage has written several books on perennials and received some of the top horticultural awards in this country. He oversees test gardens at the university so you might try to visit them and I am sure the students there would be a wonderful resource for advice on plants in your area. The small pots will be a nightmare to irrigate in the hot Atlanta summers and vertical walls are great if you have a drip irrigation system, but if it were me, i would stick with the trellis and just keep the vines trimmed and thinned out as they mature and you will have a beautiful, easy to maintain focal point.