help with front yard landscaping

7 years ago

As we are planning and beginning to plant our courtyard that is closed in from the front yard we figured we better plan out the front yard so that the courtyard is cohesive with the front yard.

So can I please get some ideas or recommendations on what we should do with the front? I know the landscaping is so wrong for this architecture, but there is a few issues. 1)there is concrete border edging that we prefer not to have to rip out. Can we plant beds in front of the concrete border? 2) The off balance feel of the front. On one side we have the beautiful breeze brick (a main draw for me on the front, love the throwback) but the other side only has a small section of breeze brick that encloses the courtyard and then it's a boring blank wall on the other side of the house with an ugly window centered in that wall. We are stuck.

We are in Zone 10a, south florida. We could go a few ways. We could do a more formal landscape design with topiaries, hedges, and flowers OR we could go a more tropical with agave and bromeliad type feel with some flowers thrown in. The inside is more casual formal as far as our style.

What style is more fitting outside considering the architecture? Can we plant beds in front of the concrete border to extend the landscaping since we have a HUGE front yard and side yard? How do we balance the pretty side of the house vs the ugly plain side?

any help would be appreciated!

What

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PRO

Yardvaark

7 years ago

These pictures are piecemeal, too small, or too distant. Could you take another good set? Stand ON the front walk lined up with the center of the house. Aim camera to far left (toward neighbor's yard) to take first photo. Pivot camera rightward, taking slightly overlapping photos (without relocating the camera ... only pivot) until you have captured the right neighbor's yard in the background. Then we can see the whole front as if we were standing there, and from not too far away. Post them all. Don't substitute a computer generated panorama as it will b too small for us to c detail.

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Comments (13)

ana474
Original Author
7 years ago
pics would help. Here is the front yard
ana474
Original Author
7 years ago
another photo of the entire yard
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ana474
Original Author
7 years ago
is this better? I was cutting the crappy hedges because I am having the house painted next week.
PRO
Yardvaark
7 years ago
Your pictures are much better.

Weird ... I replied to this awhile ago but it seems to have evaporated. Here we go again. These are suggestions for a direction, not a hard and fast plan. The plants aren't anything specific, but are suggestions for general sizes, placements and organization.

A nice walk is needed in order to make the home look finished and of a decent caliber.
ana474
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks. That just gave me a hige visual on what it would look like with larger beds. The look feels much more balanced and I like that you let the breeze brick shine. This feature was my favorite part of the outside of the house. The breeze brick is super unique and a plus if the landscaping let it be a positive and intentional
Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
7 years ago
I have no suggestions except to say GOOD LORD, you have a beautiful home! : ) I also love the iron gates into the courtyard.
ana474
Original Author
7 years ago
vaporvac thanks! I love the iron gates to the enclosed courtyard. The courtyard and breeze block for me were the outside selling point. The courtyard is 23' by 17'. Someone told me at one point to cover up the lacy 50's looking brick haha. The breeze block is making a comeback. I would never cover it.
Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
7 years ago
You know what plants you have growing there now? Perhaps you could relocate some of them to another area of the yard. Are you posting elsewhere about your courtyard as I'd love to see that?
ana474
Original Author
7 years ago
I am now bare land with the courtyard. Here it is before I took everything out. I am now down to dirt and planting confederate jasmine in a diamond shaped grid to grow up the plain walls, shade loving low hedges of some kind under the windows with window boxes for flowers over the hedge. also, putting a fountain centered on one side and a bench on the other. planting gardenia bushes, one in each corner, then some flowers as well.
Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
7 years ago
OMG, that sounds dreamy!!! The only thing that could make it better are roses! ; ) But I'm a rose nut. Your pots are really nice as well and look fabulous with that plant. Can you grow agapanthus? The paving is also so unusual. The outside doesn't need much to be WOW and I think you might be able to reuse the red brick edging when you expand the beds on the other side. Seeing the interior courtyard shows how well yardvaark's choice of brick coloured concrete complements what is already there. I have a very old house with that coloured concrete.... it was widely used until maybe the 70s? Using the brick edging will help keep everything looking cohesive and intentional. I hope you'll post pics when all is done.
ana474
Original Author
7 years ago
I will post pics for sure. I am having the house painted in the next 2 weeks which is why I haven't planted yet. The house is going white, red front door, gray sidewalk and driveway ala palm springs

similar to this
Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
7 years ago
That is going to look hot!