I think expanding your landscape into your huge yard would help visually lower the roofline integrating your home into its surroundings. Does this ex-farm girl spot corn growing behind your house? Feels like home.

I think the mushroom shrubs are kind of making it all look like a big brown mushroom. Go for more airy open plantings and get some trees out front. Poplars are fast growing and can make a nice windbreak for those open plains.

Rancho Santa Fe, Pool, Bluestone, Estate Driveway, Pool house · More Info

Yardvaark gives great advice. Develop an overall landscape plan that's done as funds allow. Install trees first as they are the slowest growing. Plant nursery will give you a better price if trees are ordered in the Fall...for Spring delivery.

IMO the landscaping needs to take your eye away from that roof and I certainly don’t think making that black will help.Keep most of the landscaping further back from the house to make the entry visible .

I think the roof color is fine. I prefer it to black. Just needs some landscaping going on in the yard so all of roof is not seen unbroken.

Thanks everyone for the comments! Yes lizziesma, lots of corn! On all three sides. This summer, we added shutters, and some flower boxes, and took out the huge bush in front of the garage windows. We are planning on purchasing a decent amount of trees in two weeks at our local nursery's tree auction. We are planning a windbreak behind and to the side of the home. But would love any suggestions of plantings in the front. Yardvaark, I love the idea of the tree lined driveway. Any suggestions on particular trees? It is a huge space. The grass area is roughly 4.5 acres. Here is a view of the home now.

The new picture (from the center position) is the correct point of view, but the camera is still much too far away, and you are trying to show everything in a single, panoramic picture, which eradicates detail. Move the camera closer such that the top of the roof just shows in the viewfinder. We don't need to see a lot of extra sky. About 20' to 25' of lawn showing in front of the house (between house face and bottom of camera viewfinder) is enough. At that point take a series of slightly overlapping photos that pan a full 180,* such as this:

Thanks, That was done with pano on my phone. Unfortunately I couldn't rotate the view so it was taken in vertical mode, and appeared further than taken. Here is another try. The garage on the left side of the house, juts out 24' from the front of house. I've taken a series of photos, and overlapped in photoshop. The first photo is measured out 30 feet from the front of the garage. The second is 25 feet from the front of the garage, and the third photo is roughly 30 feet from the front of the porch. Hopefully this is better. Would also love opinions on tree landscaping for our huge yard.

The first scene is the most promising overall, but I wonder why you used the pano mode instead of just taking individual shots that pan the exact same scene ...?? (The pano mode shrinks the information to 1/4 of original size.) If you would, also take a single shot of the entrance area from not too far away (closer than any of those above) so we can see what it looks like as we approach it.

Will try to do something for you later, but on my way out the door now.

Do you use the window boxes and are they successful?

I took a pano because I assumed that is what you meant, and didn't know how to combine the individual photos into one, other than using pano mode. So then I took individual photos, which I combined in photoshop but pano was the only option I could figure out. If you have ideas, I'd be happy to try again. Or just send each picture individually?

Yes we currently have a few mums in them now, and they work well.

"I took a pano because I assumed that is what you meant, and didn't know how to combine the individual photos into one..."

That's why I said in my initial instructions: "A computer or camera generated panoramic photo does not work on account of the picture being too small." I didn't want you to combine the pictures into one, which shrinks them all. Just upload them individually. But this is just for future reference as we're past that point now.

The information in the following picture is about simplification and organization, not specific plants. You could subdivide areas and add things if you want more variety, but go too far and the effect will be busy. It's going to take trees around the house to get rid of the box-in-a-field look.

I was asking about the window boxes because they seem impractical. If you arrange shrubs with windows, it is an effect along the lines of a window box ... but a lot less trouble. Of course, one must pick shrubs that do not become large.

For my taste, the existing entrance is congested and seems unwelcoming. I'd remove the plants within the entrance opening width, expand the landing and widen the walk (probably for its entire length.)

If you want to look at plant organization for the larger front yard, back way up and take a picture (or two from the SAME CAMERA VIEWPOINT) that shows the whole front yard from a distance. And probably include a capture of the aerial view (zoomed in as much as possible) from Google Earth.

Oh, Yardvasrk, hope springs ever eternal. Your patience is commendable as I have seen you give the same directions over and over. You should just have a template that you post.

I like the entrance you designed.

Yardvaark first sketch with large trees looks great. Although it will take years for them to development, it'd be such a gift to plant native trees in all that lawn. What zone are you in? Oaks, cherries, tulip trees... they come to mind.

Ah got it. Yes, Yardvaark thank you for your patience. I suppose my overactive brain was trying to make it easier for you, and complicated it more. I was also focusing on the large land, around the house specifically for trees. These sketches look great, I love the walkway. I really, really appreciate your input, and again your patience for my tired mama brain.

Kanerm, I'm in zone 6a. We are planning on putting in some oaks, and are considering crabapples, for lining the 250' driveway, or possibly a larger tree variety. We have very dense clay, so are somewhat limited to certain varieties.

This is kind of generic approach you might want to alter with windbreaks or other special interest plantings. It serves as an overall idea about how many trees your yard could stand to have. For trees for lining the drive, they'd be spaciously set back from the drive and not the type of tree that is low branches. Better to have something capable of forming a tall arch. Fall color would be great. The outlying trees would be large. A different fall color would be nice for some of them. (If Gingkos grow there, they'd be on my list. As would Maclura. Possibly some nut trees.) There is still room to squeeze in more trees. For example, the road frontage could be a double staggered row if you want a greater sense of boundary.

This is a tremendous help, thank you so much.

It's a start. There's plenty of room for tweaking based on actual knowledge of the site. In general ... smaller trees near the house and larger trees away from it. With such a large yard, plenty of room for very large trees that most people have no hope of growing.

In the distance pictures your house reminds me of the pyramids in Mexico.

When the time comes I would make more contrast between brick color and shingle color.

We'll, sigh. I think my long post didn't go up...

I'll try to recap in case it's not showing.

Lots of trees would be great! definitely plenty of room for them. You may check your local native plant society webpage or at extension office for tree suggestions. A benefit of natives is being able to find a plant that can handle the conditions, like clay. May check willows, cherries, and red buds. Red buds would make a great understory tree around the larger trees

Also, as Yardvaark suggested, at least one Gingko would be a great choice (as grows well in zone 6). https://www.thespruce.com/twelve-trees-for-zone-six-3269699