Do something larger for your home.

Whoa, not sure I could manage that many plants! There is a very large tree just out of sight that sits in the middle of our yard. I wouldn’t want to bring the bed out quite as far as the drawing but I think you are right, it needs to be much larger than my inspiration pic.

Love the walkway picture!

Thanks Doug! Makes such a difference to see a visual like that. It looks like you made the walkway and seating area all one material which is something we considered.

Love the extra planter by the garage, EXACTLY what I planned to put in that spot :-)

If you are replacing a walk and making a small patio abutting it, to make it out of one material makes sense.

Why do you think you need a bed opposite the seating area?

Why a retaining wall at the right side? You could level the earth for an improved look but a retaining wall is not needed.

I don’t necessarily think I need something opposite if the seating but there were plants there before so wasn’t sure if it would look unfinished without something there.

I think the right side of the house is very blah. I think it needs interest. the yard naturally drops down that way and I prefer a level bed so the raised bed made sense to me. I am open to other ideas but do think it needs something.

That seems open minded and reasonable.

if you want a beautiful landscaping you need to do something BIG like Dig Doug told.

Dyliane-I agree. thats why I love this forum because I would have defaulted to something like my inspiration pic and would have been disappointed with the lackluster result.

Lots to think about. We have put a ton of energy and time into the siding and trim updates and though I’m happy with the progress I know the landscape decisions can make or break this transformation.

So here we are a year later and finally getting around to completing our landscape project!! We are sticking with a design similar to what @Dig Doug's Designs suggested. The question right now is how far out from the house should we go for the landscape bed? Is there a standard depth from house that we should go so as to allow adequate room for larger shrubs in the back with smaller plants in the front?

I am using a string line to play around with the design outside and my husband keeps saying it needs to go out further, which I agree visually, but at the same time I’m worried about having too much space to fill that it turns into a mess of plants that will be a beast to maintain.