I think your house is sooo nice. It looks amazing. I’d add two rows of boxwoods and some spring flowers. U don’t need much else

Where would the boxwood go? We have them by the front door area and have yews on the side of the house. I’m happy to add either or more. Thank you for your kind comment.

I’d do in front of the windows and wrapped around. It’s not a lot. It’s a small empty space

Sorry for the HORRIFIC mock up lolol!! 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️😳😳😳

Nothing out toward road and driveway etc?

No I’d keep it simple. Your house has a very neat modern flair to it. Doesn’t need much. The lighting to me makes a very big difference it brings he focus to the house and looks sooo great!

Thanks I appreciate the feedback. I would really love to add trees somehow. Something on either side or I just don’t even know.

I hear you. You know those evergreen ones. They almost look like this 🌲 ( sorry for he emoji but seriously looks like that) anyways. I’d do that along the side of the driveway

Just the right side

Your house is beautiful and has nice, clean lines. Whatever you do, please don't do the usual "foundation shrubs" that make the house look like it's wearing a green skirt. You can do LOW, groundcover-type shrubs (including roses) and perennials. Keep it simple -- the house is the star here.

Question- is there a path or access to back yard on left side of house behind that nicely planted circle section? Because you mention sitting in front yard in evenings, I’m wondering about a walkway from the entry sidewalk, widening to a small seating area / patio & continuing as pathway to back yard. i see a couple small shrubs lining front walk at entry so those would need moving. If you enjoy sitting there now with little ones, you’ll likely continue that as they age with just yourselves sitting, chatting up neighbors as they walk by on nice evenings. I would add a bed of foundation plantings next to house & perhaps more interesting to sit & look at than boxwood though there are many varieties of boxwood & its fairly easily maintained. The boxwood or something similar could be added at outside edge of path & patio to define the space & add yet another layer for depth, keeping the grass from that small hedge to street. It seems a natural spot for sitting being bordered by house, fence & existing circle plantings - it ‘s a bit tucked away. I can’t really tell how much space is there so you’d have to draw it out. A flagstone path & sitting area would add nice texture & definitely a layer between foundation plants & grass.

Question on utility box - are you allowed to plant as long as you stay within or outside the boundaries & with the understanding the Utility will rip out anything in the way if they need access? If yes, you might want to do that so you can have the control of choosing plants. Utility will likely not use a plant that enhances your yard. We dealt with that situation in my last neighborhood in Seattle. The huge boxes like yours straddled 2 yards & though the utility did finally plant something they didn’t maintain it so we had a neighborhood project to rip out & replace. We were mindful of boundaries & access & picked a low maintenance more pleasing plant.

So this is the view from the front area. We sit out here, in front of the posts, we normally have two Adirondack chairs, while kids scooter on the driveway and play on front lawn.

And the second picture is the side yard to the back. We have a suite down the stairs so the side yard is for their access primarily and for us going from front to back. We had the walkway done in the spring. This is on the right. There is no access from the left side. There is a path that leads to the side but it is more like for garden access to the back yard not a pathway really. The house on the left side of us is built right against the lot line so we purposefully don't use that side at all and it leads to a tiered garden in the back not yard access.

In regards to utility box we are scheduled to have it wrapped in a design. No idea how that will play out but it will be better than what we have. Up until recently I would have said plantings in front and around would go unnoticed but an entire three blocks down from us had the front 3m of their yards, not really theirs I suppose, torn out a few weeks ago by the city :(

We can put stuff around tie box that still gives them at least 1m on all sides to access it.

Didn’t you post before, maybe several years ago? Your house looks soooo familiar and I’m thinking there was a long discussion about the utility box.

“wrapped in a design...” - You mean literally wrapped as in a car or transit bus design wrap or a brick wall or some such? Is there a street widening project going on that the homes down the street lost 3m of their front yards? That sounds like an easement along that whole stretch. If you’re really wanting a tree, I’d put it on right side around where drive curves. I’d pick something for contrast with the evergreens. Again, I can’t determine space & you sure want to consider the mature size rather than just the 10 year size. Two that I’ve had & loved for their 4 season interest are Coral Bark Maple / Acer Palmatum ” Sango-Kaku”, beautiful lime green leaves in spring, golden yellow & orange in fall & branches turn red in winter cold; and, Paper Bark Maple, Acer Griseum, cinnamon color peeling bark, beautiful red leaf color in fall - one of the latest to leaf out in spring & drop leaves in fall. Since your kids play in the grass on entry side of your house & from your last picture it appears you have a nice spot to sit already with your lovely pavers, as well as path to the side & terraced back yard, I wouldn’t take any grass away from that side. It looks like the big circle has a nice mix of plants in it. I think I see Heath / heather, Nandina & pencil holly. That big Rhodie can be limbed up & will grow to be a smallish multi trunked tree if encouraged with limbing up.

Little Bug yes’ we e been at this for over a year trying to get them to deal with it. We now are confirmed for the wrap but don’t know timing.

Locally they generally put a picture on it like green leaves or plants. Sometimes it’s more like an art print. But it’s not advertising,

As I said in the first post the front stretch belongs to the city, it always has. Many people plant to the street but I don’t want to risk it!

Hello again A S.

I will second the idea of an upright tree form Japanese maple. The Chamaecyparis obtusa cultivars are a good evergreen to look at should you prefer that option. One can go behind the Green Giant utility box on the right. The second can be used to hide the telephone pole with the meter on the left that I am not supposed to comment on.

It would be nice if you could make the left side bed bigger and put the meter pole I am not supposed to mention in the bed and not on the edge of it. The Japanese maple or Chamaecyparis needs to go in front of it to hide the thing. I do see three round green utility or irrigation lids in your lawn. Is this another infrastructure problem to deal with?

The plants in the left side bed are fine. The arrangement of them is poor. The grouping of the Sky Pencil holly is the theme you want to repeat with the rest pf the plants. Group the nandina together in a drift. Group other like kind plants together and layer them by height. That has more visual impact than a hodge podge of the one of this and one of that of the current arrangement.

Thank you!

Yes I’m not opposed to making the garden bed larger. The three irrigation lids in lawn won’t be moving and are standard in most lawns here. One is our water hook up to city.

The grouping was planned by a landscaped designer. So interesting you don’t like it. She planned out and chose them all so they would stay green year round and require little maintenance.

I had wanted a tree on the left side to help with the pole but am concerned about how deep the roots would go and what issues it would create etc.

Is that a utility meter that needs to be clear for reading on the pole? The chamaecyparis obtusa that Christopher mentions would be a nice choice it’s commonly called “hinoki cypress” and there are many choices of shapes and colors & they do have a sculptural or interesting shape. There are likely many in your area as it’s a high use plant in the PNW. Of course, I have one! It’s a ‘nana lutea’, a dwarf form with yellow new growth in good sun exposure and it lives in my front yard next to a street residential lamp post sited between my yard & neighbor house. The post is decorative so don’t need to hide but it does move the eye from the post to the plants at the base.

The private side pole is not related to the utility box at all. Pole is our hyrdo connection. Utility box is services the entire neighbourhood for internet/tv from one service provider.

The cypress is interesting but so much of our house is green or grey. I was wondering if we needed to add more colour in our tree choices?

Electric utility meters can be relocated. Most are attached to the structure itself rather than a very conspicuous and unattractive post stuck in the middle of your front yard!! You will need to pay for this service but it is done routinely here.

I don't see any way to landscape around that post successfully enough to disguise it. Instead, any landscaping is more likely to emphasize rather than disguise. It would be at the very top of my list of necessary landscape improvements!!

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) this is a two year old house. The pole is not moving at all. It is where it is and extremely common on new builds in our area for them to be located similarly. I really could careless about the pole to be honest. We are not paying for it to be moved and it isn't even a consideration for us.

As I said the pole is staying as is the utility box. I was just looking for ideas on adding more plants/trees and curb appeal to other areas that we do have the capacity to change.

Really was looking ideas on where to put trees and if/how to expand garden while still keeping substantial grass areas for kids

It is also very common on new builds here. But only during the construction process. Once the construction is complete, the utility box is relocated on the structure.

But it is your garden and if you don't mind its glaring presence, great :)

We had to pay $1100 for the private side pole. This was the only location hydro gave us for the pole. There was no option of anything being on the house. The pole really doesn’t bother me. The green box does.

Circling back to the tree question - Christopher suggested 2 types - Japanese Maple & Chamaecyparis Obtusa, both of which have many, many shapes, sizes & colors & because of size choices can be used on either side of your driveway yard. I suggested 2 specific trees - Coral Bark Maple & Paper Bark Maple, both for the right or Utility box side of driveway because of size.

Great! Thank you. I’m going to look them up and see what might work and then consult with a landscaper we have used.

I love the maple suggestions as I know their leaves turn which is beautiful.

AS, just looked at your ideas & if that’s your actual house under “home” the picture gives a much more informative view of how spacious your entry paver area really is. I’d been trying to decide from your posted pictures, if you have planters at front entry & see that you do. My unsolicited suggestion is that you jazz up the planters with color. My vote would be for dwarf form Nandina to flow with what’s in the circle planting. Perhaps you might invest in larger planters to add to the ones I see at either side of entry door. i think this would add to the patio like ambiance of your front entry as well as soften & add texture.

We actually have lots more there now. That’s the picture the builder had done when we moved in. We have two large planters out front, two smaller ones and I put seasonally colourful stuff out too. We also have two chairs that sit out there other than in winter.

Spring view

AS, love the primroses. I just do need to say this - it would’ve been helpful to see these close up photos initially to offer better informed suggestions. Just saying in some instances, more info is not TMI 😉. Looking at the one fence panel space between the planted circle & walkway in front of house, that might be a logical spot to extend planting area into and place a small, narrow tree. It would soften view to next door house, & be a nice background for seating area around entry. Be very judicious with your plant choices there as you wouldn’t want it crowding or overshadowing path or house in 5 years.

I guess I didn’t include it because it wasn’t the area I wanted help with. We are looking at street view more than our view, so wanting to add depth or layers or something toward the street not by the house.

Neither the Japanese maple or the Chamaecyparis have root systems that will cause any real problems. You don't want to plant them right next to the water meter or irrigation boxes of course. There looks to be plenty of room away from the in ground boxes to plant a small tree up towards the street side in front of the meter pole I am not supposed to comment on and want to hide. I would just make the bed bigger so the new tree is in the bed not the lawn.

I don't dislike the plants the landscape designer used in the half circle bed. I actually do like the sky pencil holly grouping. I just don't like how the rest of them are lined out like soldiers in a row of one of this one of that. I prefer to group like kind plants in drifts and groups. That is a personal preference so you can take it with a grain of salt.

If you are wanting more changing through the season color, a Japanese maple would be your best choice. Many have different color in the leaves for spring, summer and fall.

People can comment on the pole or just isn’t going anywhere so comments suggesting we move it are useless. Same with the box. They exist on the lot. We will work with them.

I remember that from your last visit here.

People can comment on the pole or just isn’t going anywhere so comments suggesting we move it are useless. Same with the box. They exist on the lot. We will work with them.

On the pic attached where were you thinking the garden would expand and tree go?

Using the meter pole I am not supposed to comment on and the larger green water system cover as a guide to the back side of the bed (they can be in the bed), make an L shape out of the existing bed. Leave a grass strip along the road and an ample lawn/path behind the bed.

Guessing: this may be an 8' extension on the back, 12' extension across the front and maybe 8' wide. Plant your new tree wisely (Hide the meter pole. It is in the exact right line for a nice tree to frame the house.) and use the bed extension for short low growing evergreen shrubs or perennials that won't hide your house.

I’m having a hard time picturing what you are suggesting. Am I close in pic below or completely off lol?!

Yes that is what I had in mind, but not that far across the front. Extend it out to about the line of the short wall/lawn edging and column of the front patio on the left side. Don't extend it across the front door view.

Awesome thank you!!!

Your house is lovely. To my eye, the biggest problem in your landscape is the huge evergreen to the right of the garage. It dwarfs your home and the rest of the landscape surrounding. And it appears to be covering part of the garage roof.

^ and to me, that magnificent, mature tree is a delight!

"To my eye, the biggest problem in your landscape is the huge evergreen to the right of the garage."

This is the PNW. Very large conifers - mostly native species - are commonplace in area gardens. It would be unusual to find one without at least one similarly sized conifer present and often what most folks not native to this area consider to be too close to a house or other structure. Rarely ever are they a concern.

My own garden has multiples of these, most in the 60'+ height range. The closest is only 20' from the house but has been there since long before the house was built.

But this one is too close and dwarfs the house IMO. Roof damage is the same everywhere,

Photo is not nearly detailed or clear enough to see exactly how close it may be. And conifers really do not contribute much to roof damage....otherwise every other house in this region would require a new roof!!

And the "dwarfing" is really a nonissue. If you look closer at the background you will see many other giant conifers present. That's just the way things roll here :-) This is the land of the big trees and they are everywhere!! Existing trees are seldom removed (and often are prohibited from being removed) unless the are directly in the way of construction. They are part of the genius loci.

Garden gal is bang on. We will never remove a tree unless it is deemed unsafe. We love our hog trees and wish we had more. What you also can’t tell from the picture is that the tree is on district property and not ours to make a call on anyway.

Here is a picture of our backyard with many more small and big trees

Pic from awhile ago and yes I know we have moss and grass issues. 😬

Moss?? What moss? 😂. That is one of the reasons the state of Washington, just over the border from A S, is called “The Emerald State”.

Just be happy I solved the dog pee problem with the rock in her water.

I have moss. I like it. It's kind of like the meter pole, you can comment on it, but it's not going anywhere.

We can do better than we did this year with it though. I don’t mind it either but we let the lawn go a bit this year, not sure why, lots of time at home! Spring we will do a big clean up and start off right. Our lawn is loved by kids and dog so serves its purpose very well.