Setting up my front landscaping - new build

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Hi all! I'm trying to create my initial landscape design for the large front yard on our new home. We are on a curve so our lot is wedge shaped, with the bigger piece in the front. The front faces roughly southeast and gets lots of hot summer sun. Nearer to the house gets shade from mid-afternoon on. We are Zone 5/6.

We will have a thick planting bed border along all walkways and above and below the cement retaining wall, which will eventually have a facing of stacked stone to match the columns on our porch. All areas above the retaining wall (you can see these better in the second and third photo) will be planting beds. The only area of lawn will be below the retaining wall to the left and right of the cement walkway in the foreground of the first picture. The side yard is my next project but I'm not there yet, lol.

I'm very invested in using xeric/native trees, shrubs and perennials which are good for birds and pollinators. There aren't a lot of those in our neighborhood so we want to provide what we can. I am specifically looking for some kind of low-growing shrub or plant to border the walkways and retaining wall. Maybe like a dwarf boxwood (if there is such a thing) or something else that will stay nice and mounded as a backdrop to perhaps some lavender or other type of flowering perennial. I like the look of mounded blue fescue but can't decide if that will be too messy and not the more "traditional" look I'm going for.

I LOVE the inspiration photo at the bottom but can't figure out how to reproduce that in my super sunny location.

At any rate, suggestions on trees and shrubs and their placement as well as plants to use in the border areas are much appreciated!

Featured Answer

hbfn

9 years ago

You would be better served by hiring a landscape designer, well worth the money, especially when starting from scratch.

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K. Cooper
9 years ago
Anna's Magic Ball Arborvitae; Variegated Lilyturf; Berberis Concorde; Heucherella 'Leapfrog'
melheartflowers thanked K. Cooper
Carla H
9 years ago
Hostas and Boxwoods won't do much for pollinators.... In our sunny front yard (where I have a Monarch Waystation), we focused on perennials that provide a constant source of both food and habitat (e.g., Monarchs and Swallowtails) -- so I spent our first year in the house adding plants every 2-3 weeks, ensuring 3-season blooms.... Round 1 is the Forsythia hedge with flowering trees (Redbuds and a double-blossom cherry) with spring bulbs -- like Hyacinth, Daffodil, and PaperWhite. Round 2 is Iris, Tickseed (it's like a small yellow coneflower), Salvia, and Azalea. Round 3 is Butterfly Bush, English Laurel, and a variety of Lily. ... you get the idea, just be sure to throw in some Pink Coneflowers and Black-Eyed Susans for finches to nibble on in the winter. It was a lot of work in Year 1, but I put a soaker hose on a timer to minimize the time I spent supporting them. By Year 2, they were on their own and have continued to do wonderfully (with minimal assistance from me, aside from occasional weeding and annual mulching).
melheartflowers thanked Carla H
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emmarene9
9 years ago
We can't suggest Native plants because we do not know your location. Nepeta will grow in zone 6. You should maybe ask on the Gardenweb side of Houzz.
melheartflowers thanked emmarene9
mramsey
9 years ago
Regardless of what you plant, you need to rebuild the soil. The beds are not deep enough to sustain any serious plantings. The key to any successful garden is a healthy, vibrant soil with plants chosen for the specific site.

The photo you have chosen for an inspiration shows a mature landscape with plants that are at home in a cool moist climate- a landscape designer can translate that to your specific site and climate zone. But if they try to convince you to plant in a scan few inches of imported soil- look for someone who knows what they are talking about.
melheartflowers thanked mramsey
melheartflowers
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks everyone!

Carla - love your plant suggestions as well as being cognizant of the different "rounds" of flowering. The majority of the yard will be planted with perennials, I'm only looking to have something perhaps a bit more consistent - like the boxwood - along the edges of the walk to provide some symmetry.

mramsey - I agree that we need to build up the beds with soil. My husband thinks we only need a few inches of topsoil above the fill dirt they put in the yard but I think that topsoil needs to be worked in more deeply and then even more put on.

I don't disagree about the landscape designer, we are trying to save money of course, so I keep thinking if I educate myself enough we can manage it ourselves. Plus we live in a small community where good landscaping is not the norm so I'm nervous about hiring anyone from around here. I'll keep reading and learning.
mramsey
9 years ago
a great resource for understanding the role of soil and choosing trees, shrubs etc for a small lot is Anne Lovejoy. While her focus is the PNW, the general information is transferable to other regions and then you can get local information about region specific plant selection. Most subdivisions do well for a year or two with a mere skim of topsoil onto the impermeable clay subsoil, but when it becomes nutritionally drained, you are hooked into a cycle of constant fertilizing and plant loss...

Check her out at https://www.loghouseplants.com/blogs/greengardening/
melheartflowers thanked mramsey