Bright flowers against the house to hide imperfections. Also, grow some more grass to hide dirt. A tree would look very nice in the front

What a cute house! It's unfortunate that there isn't more between the homes to allow for off street parking. What a difficult task to block your neighbor's vehicle & driveway while still allowing them to use it and get in and out of their car. I'm sure preventing that would cause quite a rukus. I'd suggest talking with your neighbors once you've come up with some ideas to see how they'd feel about blocking any portion of it off.

I'd plant some flowering shrubs in the planters out front paint the house a soothing color, a muted olive green or perhaps muted golden tone. Then I'd make the door something a bit more elegant. Perhaps a nice dark wood with some texturing to accent the panels. I'd make the walkway strait out of some stone pieces and a meandering single path off to where you access your own car. You might even want to leave grass or moss growing between the stones if you live in a warmer climate.

Window boxes with flowers would be a nice touch. I think i'd try to put a lower boarder around the entire endge of boxwood with a couple of larger shrubs in the front corners near the road and the driveways to block off some of the driveway. Perhaps add a birdbath on one side or taller larger pot filled with flowers.

I would convert your driveway to two pathways and strip of grass down the middle. perhaps made out of that concrete you can add colored stone two and then seal in so that there's texture but no moving pebbles, coordinating with the walkway. Or do the walkways that way as well.

Hey Stacy, I don't know what your budget is but I am usually on a low budget, so what I would do to make it look really tidy is paint the ashfault with that flat black driveway paint. get deck stain, a nice rich cedar colour and paint the flowerboxes, put up wood railing also paint that with the cedar colour. put three round ever green bushes on each side of the garden. Posible consider planting a tree in the middle of the yard. Last thing, instead of having the rocks run all the way to the sidewalk, only have that at the end of the stairs and replace the rest with grass!

First thing you should do is tell what direction the front of the house faces. How many hours of sunlight it gets and what state you live in. Without this what plants you should put in is a waste.

Caroline's design #2 is brilliant and perfect. I would just tweak one detail. To prevent people from walking a straight path to the door through the landscaping, make sure that the obvious cut-through path is raised or somehow discouraging with a rock, shrub etc. so people are "forced" to stay on walk. May not look great but better than trodden path through flowers, lawn etc.

Or soberg, put up a sign for garden path :-)

Looks very homey - pathway adds interest :)

In keeping with the neighborhood, I would go with very bold and fun colors. Paint is easy to change. Perhaps a bright burgandy purple with a muted sunshine yellow trim. I like the path but would add some more pebbles it looks like it may be a little muddy when it rains. I would add a row of large planters that go from largest to smallest from the steps out in cheerful green next to the walkway and plant herbs, maybe a tomato plant and a large bunch of annuals, perhaps petunias closest to the road. I would get rid of all of the grass and create a small paver stone patio with a narrow raised bed on the long side between your neighbor and you and the road and the house. The I would plant 3 of those tall narrow ceder trees in the corner closest to the neighbors drive and street and fill in the rest of the bed with Lantana and butterfly bushes to draw in the humming birds and butterflies. I would gut the beds against the house and completely remove them. DIrt and siding is not a good mix. I would trade it for a decorative bench on the side where the patio was. Maybe one of those with the planter on each side... maybe not...

Thanks everyone for the great advise. Jillian, I never thought of leaving the raised bed out and putting a bench flanked by planters, I really like that idea.

Great suggestions. Painting the house yellow with a contrasting trim of your choice and a blue, lilac, sage green or any color of your choice door. Add a winding organic stone path and cottage garden flowers such as Roses, daisies, lavender,lilies and a couple of small green shrubs and your little garden will be transformed.

With a yard as small as yours I would not put a tree in because when it reaches its full growth, it would block the view of your home from the street. Too many people put in trees not realizing that they will block the front of the house and also if you plant one too close to the house, the roots can cause problems with the foundation of the house. Just remember whatever plants you select you have to think about the future and how large they are going to get. If you plant tall narrow cedar trees as suggested above, they will grow so tall that they will overwhelm your house.

Amen, finnsmom.

umm... is it just the picture, or do you have some foundation issues?

I like Sweet Carolines's second design the best and her suggestions of sage and tan for house colours. I prefer an asymetrical design for your tiny lot...makes better use of space and the house colours would make it look like a lovely Muskoka cottage. The second design also allows for better snow shovelling in the winter...leaves a place to shovel that Toronto snow to! (I'm from Ontario too but much farther to the southwest near Sarnia).
Pavers would look cottagey for your path and be less maintainance than flagstones. Flagstones tend to get weeds between them and get heaved by our Ontario frost. A mixture of limestone and concrete mix can be swept into the spaces between the pavers that hardens up and prevents weed germination for quite a while.

Had a look at your ideabook and the blue shingle cottage with crisp white trim would be great inspiration for your home too! That would be a lovely backdrop for some small easycare evergreen shrubs like Mugo Pine, Blue Globe Spruce, Golden Threadleaf Cypress, boxwoods and some flowering shrubs like viburnam, spireas, Burning Bush for fall colour. Yellow Stella D'Oro daylilies, purple coneflower and sedum "Autumn Joy" are other easy, hardy perennials for full sun.

I thought the same thing, hazeldazel. It's no fun at all to spend money on unseen benefits like foundation work, plumbing, sewer lines...but I think you'll have a much more charming cottage if the sagging is fixed.

Okay - thought about it some more and offer the following:

could you sacrifice some driveway to get more yard? As it is, there's no sense of "entering" the home - no path to follow from the driveway to the front door, no visual cue that a transition has been made. I don't know how practical it is in terms of clearing snow from the driveway in winter, but here in MN I have seen driveways that are just two strips of cement separated by water permeable pavers to help with drainage. Maybe that's something you could utilize to promote green space and buy yourself someplace to build a path. I think flagstone is traditionally a cottage material, but I'm sure you could make many things work.

Other thoughts: I think window boxes would do alot for the dead space between the bottom of the windows and the ground. I also think you should consider widening the stairs to your front door - they'll offer a wider "embrace" for those entering the house.

I put the eyebrow window in just for fun; at some point perhaps you'll want to change the existing dormer to something more graceful.

I like the yellow/sage/cream/tan color palette too - a great backdrop for some wonderfully colorful plants in your window boxes and garden beds.

If you paint the numbers on your door, there's room for a small hanging lantern - fun!

Looks great but too much grass in the above design. Typically cottages have gardens jamm packed with flowers and shrubs with a meandering path, maybe an arbor at the path entrance....love everything else

Yes - agreed about the grass. I forgot to say that the garden schemes above could be put in place in the expanded lawn:)

Anniebird, I love the design. Everyone is giving such great design ideas thanks so much. I like the window boxes and maybe adding some plants the will hang down will help fill that space between the windows and the ground as it is pretty high up.

I agree with Finnsmom about the tree. As much as I would love one the yard is very small and the tree will quickly overwhelm the house. But I will definitely put in some larger flowering shrubs to give the garden some varying heights.

The only thing I am still stuck on is what to do with the stairs. I am tossing between natural slab stone steps or wooden steps.. I personally think the wooden steps can be really cute with a jute runner up the centre but my husband is leaning toward the stone steps.

As for the "sagging roof" I appreciate your concern and I couldn't agree more that structure, water, and electrical issues need to be corrected before anything cosmetic. The house is 101 years old but thankfully it is not foundation. When the previous owners added the dormer in the top bonus room they did not do a good job of framing the centre of the roof. It looks pretty exaggerated in the photo, much more then it is in person. On the inside none of the walls in the upstairs bonus room are straight either. But the ceiling is so low up there we only really use it for storage. Also the eaves trough is at a pretty extreme slope which doesn't help visually. We will be switching the eaves trough to empty into the garden side and not the driveway but the roof line is something we will do down the line as the roof was just redone right before we bought the house last year and it would be a waste to do it now as it is water tight and all the structure is fine.

Again thanks for all the suggestion so far! We finally have some nice weather here so I am chomping at the bit to get this project started!

Can you stand one more, Stacy? You can actually have a tree if you wish -as long as it's a small one . Japanese maples are good choices as well as the dogwoods or redbuds. Plant it closer to the front and then layer with rose shrubs, boxwood, and other blooming shrubs . Instead of the planter boxes a row of small clipped boxwood would look good with the cottage theme.

actually the roof what wasn't made me comment (well it's off but it's not the biggie for me). The wall on the picture's left side is REALLY leaning weird in the front-on picture. I suspect it's a combination of foundation and some bowing in wall. But I seriously thought you had a little porch in front of your house with a half wall before I clicked on the other picture, and that maybe you should take down or rebuild that half wall. Hence the concern. I know these old house get some settling on the foundation, usually it's pretty minor and the walls are never totally straight. But check it out.

Unfortunately, Toronto is a little too far north for redbuds and I suspect dogwood trees and japanese maples too. Sarnia/London is about as far north as redbuds will successfully grow and prosper. But you could visit your local nursery to find out what small ornamental trees ARE hardy in your zone.

ohio here and redbuds are a favorite

I do like Sweet Caroline's 2nd rendition with the paver/cobble stone drive. if it were in the budget, I would bring the porch back to an open porch and widen the steps. I would also build a nice little pergola over the drive. I found a couple of pictures...

Gizmo 61151, did you know Redbuds were George Washingtons favorite tree? He would dig them out of the woods for his garden.

from what i understand the garden club in my city planted them all over lol. i have a few and lots of seedlings that are hard to transplant. hmm makes them more important since now i know George liked them. thanks for the info

Plant an emerald green cypress hedge on both sides of the house. These grow dense and fast and need little care.They are evergreen and add year round privacy. This will soften the house and add a great deal of privacy without much upkeep. They can grow 20 feet tall. I would pay extra and go ahead and get large plants. In front of the house I would place a picket fence with a gate. I would plant knock out red climbing roses on the fence. You may even add an arbor over the gate if the home is on a busy street. The landscaping up against the home should be simple and deep deep evergreen (boxwoods or holly) The sidewalk and driveway needs new paving. I would pave the area with old brick. The steps to the home are too narrow and should be wider (also old brick) I would remove the storm door and add a new solid door. I would paint the door red to match the brick steps and red roses on your fence. Because the neighborhood has such colorful homes I would paint your home simply white. The home will look larger and cleaner and not clash with the neighbor homes. Adding new window grills to the windows would really add class. I think the front is too small for a tree except for the trees lining the edge of your property. Add new exterior carriage lights, house numbers and possibly a pot of flowers beside the door. What a wonderful cottage... I love it.

Go for sweet caroline's #2 design ...its simply gorgeous! Sweet Caroline wanna do my yard? :-)

Looks like you have a great website for plants in Toronto with a lot of good links:

http://www.toronto.ca/trees/pdfs/Fact_2_How_to_Select_and_Buy_Native_Plants.pdf

Sustainable plants are the way to go, you don't want to try to grow things that aren't meant to be there... Good Luck with your gardens... I do love the cottage garden look!

I think sweet caroline's #2 design cannot be improved upon...it's perfect! Look for native evergreens or plants that are Toronto-friendly.

I haven't read ALL comments, but needed to vote for the curved path, either one of the drawings for that, just curve it rather than keep everything boxy... and you'll find out by filling your yard with more things, at various heights, textures, it will actually feel and look larger. I need to come back and read more when I have time!!
Love sage green, but I do think a yellow cottage with white trim, is really cute and classic

I owned a house like this in Iowa a few years ago and found choosing a color was difficult because the neighbors house color was so extremely bold. In your case not only do you have a very bright blue house on one side, but on the right side it almost looks like a commercial building. Rather than clashing with your neighbor I would suggest a neutral gray with charcoal trim and even darker charcoal to black door which would actually compliment his bright blue color and make it less bright looking. Keep your foundation planting simple and elegant like the boxwood hedge photo I’ve uploaded. Make sure to ask your nursery man to get the size you need. There are some that grow quite tall but the ones you want are B. microphylla var. koreana X B. sempervirens 'Green Gem'. They requires very little trimming / pruning to maintain a perfect little round ball of tight, dark green foliage. They hold excellent green color through the winter with excellent hardiness for Toronto area. They reach a mature size of about 2' x 2' so would make a great choice for that small planting area under your front windows and easy to take care of. I quickly “colored” over your photo on my photo program. Forgive the messy attempt but you can get an idea of what I mean.

Hope these help

@ Adisler -I'd be happy to give you advice on your garden or landscape if you'll post some pictures on your site.

What zone is Toronto in, plant zone? and which direction does the front yard face?

Be sure to plan out the entire front yard , even if you need to do it in phases so that you don't waste money by getting stuck in the middle and needing to redo something you all ready paid good money to do.
Such a cute home! Be sure to keep us update on progress and photos too

I would not replace the gardenbeds, but make the stairs wider. Maybe a nicer frontdoor in a colour that is a bit more interesting. Leave the garden nice and open so it feels bigger, but screen out the neihbours car with a fence or hedge.

My uncle has Redbud, Flowering dogwood and Japanese maple in his Toronto area yard near bluffers park, so I guess it depends on how close to the lake you live on whether they are hardy.

Hi There,

I suggest that you open up the front entry to the house by using steps that are wider at the bottom where they meet the ground. This makes a more inviting entry. Another option would be to add a landing level, 18" below the finish floor, with a bench or planter built across the front with steps down towards the driveway. This gets you away from the shotgun approach to the entry and makes the steps less of a hazzard. You may consider a vertical/horizontal lattice screen to pick up the siding of the house, along the neighbors side about 6' tall. that wraps across the front for about 6' to make more of an outdoor room in the front yard. I do not suggest step stones to the house. Unless they are flat and smooth, (typically can be done with flagstone set on concrete with mortar, but can be expensive), you end up with a rough walkway that can be a tripping hazard to the elderly. Because of this I don't encourage planting between step stone at the entry. I suggest saw cutting the existing driveway and adding a frame of pavers that become the walkway to the entry. This gives the look of a courtyard and helps define the space while offering visual interest to the drive pad. Unless the driveway concrete is too far gone. It looks like this may be the case in your photo. Removing the grass and using simple plantings of clump grasses, evergreen perennials and some small evergreen bones will help the space. It is so small that the cost of this should be minimal. Adding low foundation plantings will help set the house in the landscape. Lavender or low boxwood hedges can work for this. Painting the house will help and you should start by looking at paint schemes that you like in your area. This helps with the scale and colors you see that you like.

Good Luck

Great ideas - however for walkway material, flagstone and straight edge pavers seem too contemporary for the charm/traditional feel of your home. Consider using cobblestone material at least for a portion of it. In Canada you should have local suppliers that can provide the small amount you would need. We don't have a pic with the same front perspective as your home, but here is one of our clients using rectangle cobbles for a walkway and porch.

Sorry, the picture did not upload...here you go

I agree with Monarch flagstone and straight edge pavers are too contemporary for a cottage garden

Thanks Monarch Stone That's a beautiful stone option.

One of the techniques we use is to lay the paver or stone on a structural geotextile fabric, such as Mirifi 140nl-15. It is laid directly over a compacted crushed gravel base and the paver is set over the fabric. This keeps the pavers or stone in plane and prevents any shifting with heavy traffic. The fabric can run past the paver by 6" or so where a fillet of grout is set over the fabric along the edge and binds the edge of the paver to the fabric. This way you can have a staggered edge and avoid a lot of straight edges and saw cuts, giving a more 'cottage' look. The fabric also holds the sand that is swept over the surface to help bind the pavers and keeps it from moving into the gravel base. A polymeric sand will also help keep weeds out and forms a solid mix between stone. You might also look into a tumbled paver, like Roman paver, 7"x9"x 2 1/4', from Mutual Materials. It is important to use a thick paver or stone to provide the stability necessary for this type of installation. Good luck.

Hire a pro! A pro will give you a blueprint using your likes/dislikes coupled with his suggestions. Even if you only do one thing from this blueprint, the blueprint is yours...you can then do a "project" every year; it's not like you have to do it all at once. Well worth the cost of a consultation and the blueprint is also well worth the cost.

The way things are now, all that asphalt and that much sidewalk seems just too harsh, and detract from your adorable house. The house should be the focus, but the way it is now, the driveway/sidewalk seem to be the focus. Because of it's soft look, I like anniebird's rendition (copied below) with the curved sidewalk that only goes to the driveway instead of clear to the curb.

Maybe a checkerboard type driveway (below)...if you can, make the driveway narrower so you have a little more lawn space. You would just mow over the driveway when you mow your lawn to keep it neat. I also like the sidewalk curved over to the driveway like anniebird. Everything looks so much softer with the curved sidewalk, window boxes, a healthy lawn and some plantings up by the house. I love the bright door that says WELCOME! I'd add a cottage-style porch light. And something interesting for your house numbers:
As time goes on, and you live there and get a feel for what works for how you "live" in your yard, THEN you could start working towards a "jam-packed" cottage garden as some have suggested. Your yard is fairly small for a "meandering path" suggested by some, but if you take your time and do some research, you can work out a lovely cottage garden over time. Doing everything at once is expensive, and in my opinion, often leads us to make mistakes because we're in a hurry to have everything finished RIGHT NOW.

Some great design ideas here. I would only add the driveway and path would look splendid, finished in a resin surface. Not sure if you have this in Canada but I have just had mine laid. Unlike blocks, bricks and flagstones the weeds cannot grow through and

it looks great.

Be still my heart....

I also agree 100% with opening the porch back up & getting rid of that godawful siding.

That house is a classic Craftsman Bungalow, but the novice would never know since it's covered in vinyl & aluminum!

Just one example...can you see your house transformed into this?

If anything...maybe the siding protected the exterior for you to be able to show it off. Might be brick...might be wood! It's a surprise!