How pretty! Yes I think you need to remove the blacktop in front of the porch area and give yourself a good sized garden space--maybe six feet in depth? Probably best to talk to a landscaping company so the soil is prepared and amended properly and suitable plants selected. I would stop the garden by the side steps, so you still have a hard surface to access both ends of the porch.

Thank you so much for your comment - I think you are right... I was merely thinking of a 3 foot deep garden area but I think it will be overwhelmed by the house. Thanks for the advice on making it deeper! :)

Definitely need to dig out and create depth to make this work (but will you lose all your parking?)

Yes, a three-foot strip would look too insubstantial and out of proportion with the house. I think you're on the right track and your home will no longer look like a commercial establishment with the parking in front. Those painted lines are really problematic!

Rip out all blacktop that you don't need for parking. Then decide how much lawn you want and how much garden. How far is it from the house to the street? Is it a busy street? You may want to landscape nearer to the street to use as a sound barrier.

Is that your driveway by the mailbox or the street?

Thank you AVSInteriors - what a stunning picture (and an inspiration!).
For Judyg: we do have an acre of land and the mailbox is in our driveway (which is a lollypop shape, with an island of garden in the middle.) We should be ok with parking still - as there are 8 spots currently from when it was an office. Any ideas of how to take off those paint lines? Perhaps some sort of acid?

Try just coating with a black asphalt sealer to get rid of paint marks.

I think the driveway would look lovely with some pavers or even stamped cement. It would really bring up the level of the curb appeal of the house, of course along with a 6ft deep garden area. If you really wanted to go crazy I would do some multi level flower beds to add some extra depth to it all.

If you ended up keeping the driveway just jackhammering out what you didnt want anymore you might want to talk to an asphalt company about just resurfacing the driveway itself or even that area. I dont think it would hurt to ask if they could just remove the lines either. I feel like you can do great things with this space and you have a lovely canvas to start with :)

I think whoever did the paving should pay to have it taken out :) it's awful!!!! your home will be so beautiful without it.

I wish you the best...It is such a lovely house; it has much character.

I would have a professional remove the blacktop you don't need. It is not a do it yourself project. Beneath the asphalt should be hard packed stone. You must arrange for all of that material to be removed. Make sure that you are clear with the contractor, what goes and what stays. Then you'll have to fill the excavated area with soil, which you can do, if you have a wheel barrow and tools and you have the right amount of soil delivered. But again, you might be better off (and avoid injuring your back) if you have a professional crew do the work. Make sure that the soil is not up against any wood structure and drains away from the house.

I would carve out an area to accommodate cars entering, parking and exiting. Use some movable objects to try out different configurations. Once you are satisfied, you can spray paint a line to outline what stays and what is removed.

If you have professionals do the removal, they will probably call for "locates" themselves...but make sure they do it! If you do the work yourself, call the utility companies to mark out "locate lines" or flags that tell you where your gas, water, cable, telephone lines run. You don't want to shovel into them and some of them may run beneath your pavement.

I would remove most of the parking spaces, approximately back to the angle in the cement sidewalk (probably about 16' or so, it looks like). Give this some nice curves - not a straight shot across the front. If you are not familiar with landscaping, it would probably be wise to enlist the help of a landscaper or at least a good garden center with knowledgeable people. You will want a planned variation in height, bloom date, etc. You might want to include some heirloom varieties of plants to go with your vintage home, perennials as well as annuals. How lovely it will be to sit on your porch and enjoy the flowers :-) It's a charming house - congraulations!

I would suggest to paint porch first. Are you done with interiors ??? Why do you ask for advise instead of using Houzz as a listing of professionals ??? I agree with Kathryn. Ask knowledgeable people, do not ask for advise at open forum unless you are searching for a free service. Myself I ended up decorating for free more than once.

Kristina, I second shelleyuk's comment. Your's stunned me. Before hiring a professional or attempt a DIY project, getting ideas from folks who enjoy giving them enhances the person posting the question's knowledge base and helps them brainstorm ideas. And I've never had the sense that those posting expect payment for their advice, whether professional or amatuer. (Although some professionals probably do get a flow of business especially if the company is in the area of the person asking the question.)

a raised planter, as big as you want it, covering as much asphalt as you want it to cover....use curves to soften design....use plants that are good in container gardening..good luck!

An alternative to ripping up the black top is to install EasyTurf on top of it - or tear it out and install EasyTurf - either way, you'll have a year-round, lush green lawn :) Our artificial turf looks and feels like the real thing, without all the hassle of maintaining a grass lawn .... the watering, mowing, weeding, fertilizing ....

Let me know if you have any questions ...
take care,
George
http://www.houzz.com/projects/82914/Beautiful-Front-Yard

I would say you should start with a quote on removal so you know if its in the cards. Not really diy project unless u can use a skid steer pretty easily and know how to grade a property correctly. In the end you probably wont come out to far ahead after costs and man hours a company might be able to do the demo and grading more easily and cheaper than diy. When getting your quote ask for a couple prices incase you only want a section removed. After you have a quote try and figure out how much you can afford to have removed and then start your design from there. Once you know how much open space you have you can decide what will be beds and what will be turf. And just fill in plants from there

If tearing up is too expensive look into large troughs as raised beds and you could use a fake turf in between or even look into just laying down a rubber mulch on the blacktop

Tearing up all the blacktop and replacing with topsoil and plants is much greener in the long run reducing water runoff so id bite the bullet and tear it up

Have you thought of painting it a neutral tone , and using 3 large planters by staircase....

Create a pattern in the surface. Then you can arrange bricks or something like that in edges of this driveway for border to make a smooth transition into the garage.

Might be kind of fun, once you have a bed in place, to research Victorian-appropriate plantings of the era. Their current day, improved cousins, could add some special flair.

Also, can't tell what time of day your photo was taken, but if you get afternoon sun on this side, you should include a tree that will provide shade. Maybe something tall and not too broad; get the opinion of a couple of nurseries since staff abilities and knowledge can vary.

I think you should call a landscape architect !!! This is an arduous course of study, and one can be an asset in incorporating both hard and soft aspects of the exterior, appropriate to the style of the house, and your climate and siting. The mistakes outdoors, not just on plantings, can be very expensive and time and money spent on a good plan ......? This is far different than calling the local garden store who also installs patios, and it is more complicated than a garden bed and ripping up a driveway!.

I'd build a wide planter box on top of the blacktop all across the front of the porch instead of taking out the blacktop. This will help you have a weed and grass free planting space. Strategically placed Victorian themed lighting, planter boxes, and large pots can finish off the job. Softening the lines and keeping adequate parking and paths will make for a very livable space. I also like the idea of putting a brick veneer on the blacktop. Your house has a tall crawl space and adding foundation plantings will help anchor it. Beware of using anything that is not truly dwarf though to avoid remorse in coming years.

Unless your pockets are bottomless, I'd take George's suggestion and go with an Easy Turf cover. Then soften the ground edge at the front porch with planters (which could be as large or as small as the plants you choose require.) Fill with flowering plants appropriate for your climate. I'm thinking azaleas for greenery & colour...but whatever works best where you live. Scatter some round pots in and amongst them. Sounds way easier than digging down 6 feet and removing all that asphalt. Instant impact, too! Good luck; your house is gorgeous. Post pictures of "after" for us!

I would definitely remove the blacktop which gives it a commercial feel. Could you post pictures from other angles so we understand your parking options if the blacktop is removed? Beautiful house and great curb appeal but the asphalt surface really detracts.

Running with Jan Moyer's idea above...I was recently at a nice nursery and was explaining my son has just bought a house that will need landscaping aid and the staff person suggested using their on-staff landscape designer...the fee was $500 for the design portion but then you get that back as a $500 credit to use at the nursery. You might check with your better nurseries and see if they off any similar services. Thought the $500 credit was a great idea!

I just rented a jackhammer last weekend and three friends and I took 4 backbreaking hours to remove a concrete patio probably a quarter of the size you have to deal with. We're not out of shape, but we're a teacher, lawyer, insurance adjuster, and engineer so back breaking is not our thing. We had also spent the morning tearing down a patio overhang. All this to say it was a lot of work for 4 guys and be prepared.

If you are going to remove it, I would hire a guy and a backhoe!!!

Thank you so much for the hint "1Savoy"... I am going to try with my local landscaping company. And yes... I think we might end up doing the work ourselves - so thank you so Jeremy Long for the heads up on what to expect. Thank you to everyone for your ideas as well - I think we are going to break up the asphalt after all and go with the plantings to soften the driveway/porch barrier. It will be a summer long project I am sure - but we have more time than money at the moment so we are up for the challenge! I will post pictures later in the summer if all goes well! Best wishes to all on their own summer projects! Femia ~

Do you have room to keep parking to the far side of the house? then you could swing the walk through a planting bed to the parking area and create a soft look

Instead of removing all of the asphalt have you considered getting it reheated and stamped into a flagstone pattern. You could then stain it to whatever colour you desire. It would make for an interesting patio/ garden area and save a lot of back breaking work!

here's a pdf of a possible image, but I have to say...you have received a lot of great advice above. I am not sure what zone you are in, but this may give you a few visual ideas.

I say tear it out and put in dirt and lawn and garden. My ex and I used rented jackhammers on our concrete drive way and the concrete walkway. We removed everything ourselves. It is hard work and if I had it to do over again I would still break it up myself but have someone else haul the debris away, moving that concrete was backbreaking.

oops I see the pdf didn't post...here's a link instead http://www.bloomingrails.com/home-garden-design.shtml

If your budget is low you could make it look gone/better where you want a garden w/stone block raised bed look on top of black top use beautiful pots and a water feature. Fill in w/mulch to cover the black top. Then stain or skim coat the rest to make a patio area.

JUST HAVE THE CONCRETE STAMPED. PATTERN WOULD BE YOUR DECISION. TOO MUCH WHITE

4 1/2 year old post....