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wendy_white51

How to improve the curb appeal in my house?

2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago

Hello!We have a house that has a large front yard, therefore the house sits pretty far off of the road. We also have several trees which shades some of the flower beds and causes the other beds to have full afternoon sun. I've been trying to add flowering plants in front of our holly bushes to add color but I'm always having problems with things growing well in these areas. I also have had a vole problem in recent years that we are trying to fix.My husband has always hated the Holly bushes and would love to dig them up. However, that would leave the house looking quite bare since they are covering about 90% of the front of the house. So we never got rid of them. But now that we've had a really hard cold snap in December that is not normal for our area (below zero temperatures in middle TN), most of the bushes on the front of the house look freezer burnt and are possibly dead. I'm not sure if they will come back or not but we will see soon. In the meantime, I would love some ideas on what I can do to improve the curb appeal on our house. Should we look into other evergreen type bushes? What kinds of plants would look best?Thank you for reading!
I will add a picture once I figure out how

Comments (12)

  • 2 years ago



  • PRO
    2 years ago

    Beautiful front yard! Here are some design ideas for inspiration.







  • 2 years ago

    Well, you certainly do have a few hollies! What's the tall shrub that's reaching the gutters?


    Does removal of the hollies need to be an all or nothing choice? I expect they will green up in spring. How about you keep every fifth holly and add white azaleas, dwarf boxwoods and white drift roses for more interest.

  • 2 years ago

    The tall bush is also a holly. Honestly I didn't considered possibly just taking out a few vs all. That's a good idea.

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Is the front door used? If so, how do people reach it? I don't see a walkway. And I assume the house faces west, if this area gets afternoon sun?

  • 2 years ago

    We use the back door to enter the house since the driveway wraps around to the back. We plan to add a sidewalk someday when budget allows. It would be 80 feet long to connect the front door to the driveway.

  • 2 years ago

    Add some color and texture in place of the hedges which do nothing to compliment your house. I don’t know what grows in TN but I would go to the local nursery for some ideas of good candidates. It would be good to have a plan to work toward so you can do a zone at a time. Beautiful lawn! I’m quite envious living in CA.

  • PRO
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Here are a few suggestions:




  • 2 years ago

    You can move the hollies. Or keep them. In shade, you can find a lot of rhodos and azaleas that should be fine and, in some cases, even native.

  • 2 years ago

    Wow, Akhilesh Joshi! This one is fantastic and looks achievable.

  • 2 years ago

    If you have deer in your area, that will greatly reduce your options. I'm guessing you do and could explain why you have just a few evergreens in the front.

  • 2 years ago

    I figured their landscaping is minimal because they're working parents. Or they're just not into gardening which is also cool. The basic issues I have with the hollies are a lack of interest because only one type of plant is used, the dense planting which creates a heavy "eyebrow" look and the height of the shrubs reaching the window sills.

    For an easy DIY update, I'd remove the hollies on the far left (shady) side and replace with azaleas. Space the azaleas five feet apart and five feet out from the foundation. Yes, you'll be able to see the foundation between them. Your house is lovely and you've got nothing to hide;)

    Next, remove the hollies between the front door and the tall guy. Choose a smaller flowering shrub like Drift roses or spirea to plant there. Again, plant the new shrubs five feet off the foundation and five feet apart. Add liriope and flowering annuals in front of the roses.

    Shorten the tall guy by two feet and prune it into a denser cone.

    When you plant the new shrubs, don't spread bark mulch around them. Wood mulches may attract termites. Use river rock along the foundation and compost (like the bagged Black Kow brand sold at Home Depot) around the shrubs.

    Leave the remaining span of hollies in place until you install the sidewalk.