That's Lemon Beauty! Can't wait for it to grow up like yours! I like the shape of the long branches on my Edmee Gold and haven't sheared them. I do have to prune it to open it up though. I replanted a rooted section of it this spring. In the photo I posted here two weeks ago, you can see it--it's that big yellow shrub. I see there's also a variegated one called Silver Beauty. I'd like one if I didn't have three already.

I didn't know that nandina berries are toxic. I only get one stem of flowers so I'll be sure to prune it off. It doesn't add anything to the shrub anyway.

Hello! I haven’t forgotten I owe some Houzz friends an update! We did receive a concept proposal from designer after her visit. We had email discussion about concept vision & now are accepting her proposal. She did tell us it’ll be @ 4 weeks before she can work on our design. We expected that. She also outlined the steps & process clearly. So, after acceptance of her proposal, we wait! For installation, we’ll ask for bids from her preferred contractors as well as from the company that installed our back yard pavers & water feature years ago and just did the remodel of that water feature. The owner of that company told us he’d installed several of this designer’s plans, some of which involved extensive hardscapes on slopes. He spoke highly of her designs, measurements & layouts. For installation it might come down to earliest availability - if costs from installers are comparable. I like to spend my $$ with local business so we’ll see.

Thanks for the update. Exciting!

Very exciting. Please post after photos!

Hi all, My great front yard project started last Thursday! Some things lined up & the installer we wanted had another customer reschedule their project so he had an opening before his next scheduled. We had assumed Sept / Oct for ours but this timing helps with plant availability & we’re currently in more normal summer temp ranges - both huge pluses for doing it now. So, no time like the present!

The landscape designer did a good job with our design by incorporating elements already in place in our landscape & building on them. 10 of my dwarf & mini conifers are being relocated - I’m accepting risk of losing & replacing later. The installer assures me of his great success even in heat waves in moving plants & seeing them survive with proper hole prep & large enough root balls dug. We’ll keep fingers crossed!

The design process was interesting. The designer did a site visit when we discussed my general vision. I gave her a written list of plants I wanted to stay put & general thoughts about points important to me - low maintenance, not formal but not country or cottage garden etc. She did note that I was very specific with my wants. My reply - Well, isn’t that helpful & more productive? 😁 Next steps were the still pics & video taken of the yard & house, exact measurements taken with all utilities marked & the house, driveway etc. measured out. That process took a couple hours with two people working. Next, I received an emailed PDF of the design & plant list for review. I had design printed in 2’x 3’ size to be able to really study it! This process happened 2 more times to get to the final. The changes made between designs were reducing number of plants & changes to flow of path as well as some changes in plant types. We also had an hour long phone meeting to iron out & clarify some points. Designer strongly pushed for adding a tree which I was resisting. I did come around to see the value but then the choice was hard. I rejected the first - a black tulip magnolia, & wound up rejecting the second, a small crape myrtle - which is represented on this plan at lower right of the larger yard on left of house. Some of you may have seen my other post soliciting advice on the CM. I made the change to a Fire Glow Japanese Maple after this plan was final. This tree was suggested by another Houzzer, a retired garden PRO here in my PNW.

The design doesn’t include a dry creek bed which I thought it would to fill space & reduce # of plants if nothing else. Designer said there’s not enough room to create a proper one. Ok! Large landscape boulders added instead. We asked the installer about creating berms & mounds to prevent a flat scape filled with plants. Yes! Stay tuned & I’ll post some pics here next. The design shown here represents mature plants. The 2 trees will be 15 gal size, the shrubs a combo of 5 gal, 3 gal. The ground covers, grasses, lavendars etc are 1 gal. There’s a good mix of evergreen & perennial. The yellow dotted lines are existing plants / trees staying in place. The blue dotted lines are existing & transplanted. The granite pagoda & 1 chimney pot are relocated.

So exciting! Thanks for the continued updates!

This is so awesome! I love the winding path, and I think it will be beautiful to have the Japanese maple. It’s definitely good that you were very specific with your wants. It’s probably good that you don’t have room for the dry creek bed. We had one at our last house, and it was really difficult to keep up with the weeds around the rocks. I’m so excited to see the progress!

The plan looks nice!

I have Fire Glow. To be honest, I only like it in spring when it's very red, but it's not much different than the common Bloodgood. Maybe it stays redder in full shade but mine gets full sun except for midday. It turns a dull red and green with the first hot weather and stays like that until the leaves fall. I would prefer a JM with fall color too.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you that we don't have a heat wave in August!

Hi Eileen. Can you send me a pic of your FG? It is compared to the Bloodgood which I had at last home. The one I saw at nursery had much more deeply cut leaves. What I’m told is siting of tree is important to show its best attribute that is described by its name. It’s best to be back lit by light. That sounds perfect since my home faces west & I’ll see it backlit in afternoon until sunset. What I hope is that the combo of the white flowered Bobos around the tree along with the varigated yellow Osmanthus will set off the tree color. There’s a definite color theme in this plan - yellow/red/purple - blue/white. I already had that going on & designer used it. The existing maple I have in border is a Crimson Queen so I think the red at opposite sides of front yard will be pretty.

Yes - please no heat wave! I was sorry the crew wasn’t working the past 2 days. They seem to take weekends off!

Ours is on the north side but gets morning and afternoon sun, only shaded by the house midday. It does get backlit but the PM sun can also burn it. When we had that terrible June heatwave a few years ago, the top leaves burned to a crisp so I am careful to water it well when the forecast is over 90.

You can see it in the first photo I posted here. That must be mid-July judging by what's blooming and it was either last year or 2022. Right now the leaves are fully green.

Eileen - I think I found your pic of maple - 3 months ago & it’s surrounded by hosta & Japanese forrest grass - looks like. So the bed is shade & top where tree is - sun? I like the openess of your tree. My Bloodgood was very dense. The site for my tree is full sun from south & west. It will be interesting to see how mine does. I’m so wanting a JM that I’m willing to try this one. I just couldn’t get excited about either the tulip magnolia or the crape myrtle. I’m looking forward to seeing how this tree does. I will coddle it for a year or two if necessary.

I bought it as a bonsai tree 10-12 years ago. It was only a foot tall. I repotted it and planted it after a few years. It's now 12' tall.

The bed is mostly sun but it's moist near the house so I can grow some shade plants there.

Front yard project complete - a few details to work out on the zones for irrigation. Some of the plants weren’t available in the 1 gal size requested but nursery sent 4” pots of the plants. That’s the lavender, Gold Strike juniper ground cover. I’m on a wait list for an order of the 1 gal size gold strike. It’s slow growing so I’d like to upsize it soon. It’s the tiny yellow dots along sidewalk

It looks beautiful!

Looks wonderful, enjoy!

Wow! What a treat it will be to get to walk through that gorgeous garden on the way to the backyard!

Gorgeous was the first word that came to my mind!

Lovely!! I hope you post some progression photos over the next few years. Congratulations!!! Looks wonderful!

Thank you all for your kind words. It sure does change the look of our home! There are more than a handful of no lawn front yards in my small neighborhood. Ours doesn’t look like any of the others. It looks a bit empty but I didn’t want it to be overplanted & crowded in 2 years. I see lots of mulch being spread in our future! I’ll gladly pay to have that done - the new mulch smell is too much for me. We’ve received lots of positive comments from immediate neighbors & all those walking by. Our neighborhood is very flat & only has one entrance so it’s a great walking area - barely any street traffic. I do take seasonal pics of my yard because it’s interesting to look back. 10 of my dwarf & mini conifers were transplanted - my fingers are crossed they all survive!

A couple more pics up close. We seem to have created a bit of a Japanese or Zen garden up close - peaceful! I’m hoping the patches of elfin thyme spread in the space inside the path. The flagstone path that was there was pulled up & some thyme left in place where it didn’t need to be dug up for any purpose. We replanted a few patches here & there. We used some pieces of the old path flagstone for the granite pagoda house to sit on & the small bird bath I added as well as the chimney pot that’s now in a new spot as seen in 2nd pic. The flagstone bases look so much nicer than the aggregate squares those things were sitting on. A neighbor asked what was going to be done with all the rest of the flagstone & the aggregate brick border around the lawn. Nothing. They took it all to use in their back yard! Saved that material from being dumped! How great is that!?

Congratulations. I always call this the hair transplant stage where everything looks too small and ‘plunked’. It will fill in soon. My first two years we had to do tons of mulching (we started with a DUMP TRUCK LOAD of arborist mulch!). Now three years in the plants have filled in and we just have to mulch the edges. The rest takes care of itself. We now have amazing soil from all the rotting organic matter where we just had compacted clay before.

HALLETT & Co. - Thanks! I remember the pics you shared of your yard & the progression of it. I do see lots of mulching in our future! Some of the plants will stay smaller & my hope is they survive. Those are the 10 mini & dwarf conifers that were relocated. We’ll see next spring I guess. The large balls on each side of the small bird bath are the largest of them - 2 ”Little Gem” dwarf Norway Spruce. The largest one is at max size for it - supposedly. The 4 Osmanthus Goshiki false holly - 1 is in foreground of 3rd pic - will be the largest shrubs out there - maybe 3’x3’ - they can be larger but that’s about size I’ll keep them at. The hydrangea Bobo’s are about the only thing that will need annual pruning, the pennisetum grasses - 2 kinds, Hameln & Little Bunny will need annual cleanup. Hopefully the total maintenance need of this new scape will be much less intensive than the lawn was. We’re still seeing people strolling by who stop, look, point & take pics! If we’re outside they ask questions and always make positive remarks. My little doggie is being well entertained from her window seat perch so all is good.

The deciduous plants are the maples, Bobo Hydrangeas, Concord barberry. I don’t cut the dead blossoms from Hydrangeas until early spring

The red Crimson queen on far right at back of truck is in my yard

KW, your garden is really beautiful! The colors are gorgeous, and you can see that there’s a strong structure and plenty of room for the garden to mature. You did an amazing job!

It's gorgeous in fall! Imagine in a few years when everything is bigger.

I'm glad you posted because I've been wanting to find this post to tell you that my Fire Glow JM has incredible color this year. I'm not sure it's ever been this red. A few leaves are curled up though and I don't know what that means. My laceleaf JM is also a brilliant orange and gold this year.

Hi @Eileen - thanks so much for posting back here! Good news on your FG. I just posted pics of most of my JM’s on bill’s 2024 fall color thread - link here:

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/6469444/fall-color-thread-2024#29292483

I am already anticipating next spring when another growth spurt should occur. It’s interesting that the 4 Goshinki false holly /Osmanthus that looked the same size when planted now have very obvious differences. The one on left in 1st pic has a solid 4” new top growth & the other 3 just have a few branches that sprouted up. I’m betting those plants start taking up more space pretty fast! Glad we gave them room. We do plan to have fresh mulch laid with the hose blower method company early next spring. It has been so easy to spot errant weeds & pop them right out. We’re loving the path that bisects the yard - makes it so easy to walk through it. I am especially enjoying the nice view from my front door & office that’s at front of house. Instead of gazing at grass, street & side fence across the street, my eye stops at my yard. Recently, a person walking through my neighborhood from a nearby hood, came to our door asking permission to take pics & for info about who designed plan. What she remarked on the most is the obvious color plan of plantings & she was noting that it was aging from spectacular when Bobos in bloom to really pretty with all the plants that are providing color shows. She also remarked how different our home looks without its standard large green turf front. Her words - it went from ”nice house” to ”wow - look at that pretty home”. I’m only sorry we didn’t make the decision to remove turf sooner.

Just took a look at the link. Looking good in the back yard! Your Harp String is beautiful! My Fire Glow doesn't have any purple, just all bright red.

Remarkable transformation KW PNW Z8!!

Thank you Bill! I’m already really looking forward to spring when the first thing we’ll do is a big refresh of mulch & then sit on our porch & watch the spring wake up and growth spurt. I’m happy we didn’t over plant for an immediate really full look.

A fresh layer of dark fine Hemlock mulch will be added in a week or two by installers.

This is from February. An old plant I had & transplanted 4 2’ wide pieces of it. It’s a polygala, spreads very slowly by runners. I love the little flowers at end of winter.

So beautiful! I am excited to see how it develops in the next few years…

It’s filling in well and looks like it was always supposed to be this way. Enjoy!

Stunning. Love it. Great job of utilizing various lanterns, and other pieces to keep the eye exploring. Just my cup of tea! Love and envy the Japanese Maples. Too hot for them here and I have tried several varieties. Boohoo. But this is a magazine worthy yard. I suspect it will require less water than grass too? Do you have weepers installed? How are you handling different water requirements? Beautiful job! Be proud!!

Beautifully done!

@Flo Mangan - I really appreciate your postive comments on the result of my big project Flo! I did worry about having too many different ornament pieces scattered around. I do like yard art that’s different & wanted to use my treasures but not create clutter. The larger Asian lantern house is 3 pieces & granite - heavy! The 2 columns with shiny balls in them are vintage chimney pots from UK. We brought these with us from our last home. Yes, this landscape definitely needs less water, also fewer chemicals than turf to maintain. That was one goal. There is in ground irrigation. Existing system was converted to drips & 3 zones. Different sized emitters used for the various water needs with larger plants having multiple emitters. I don’t think I’ve ever said here that I found my landscape designer here on Houzz! She did a great job creating a cohesive color scheme using the predominately yellow & red I already had. She also did well with creating a plan that used all 10 of my existing mini & dwarf conifers. Many were moved to new locations & they survived. It was fun working with a designer. Although I have a good base of plant knowledge, I didn’t have the confidence to plan a layout. She taught me about landscapes needing ”exclamation points” so I have 3 pencil hollies on inside of path. She also convinced me a tree was needed. So I have that lovely Fire Glow maple which gardengal, a poster here in PNW suggested. I owe my pretty new landscape to Houzzers!

That’s such a wonderful story. It’s perfect. And every time you look or wander through, it will evoke so many positive memories! Makes me so happy to hear how you enjoyed the process too!!

The side yard - pink flowered shrubs are Bobo Hydrangeas that bloom white. The yellow conifer is a Verdoni Hinoki Cypress. The grasses are in bloom too! They are pennisetum Hamelin & Burgundy Bunny. The 2 oranges ones are Carex sedges.

Same plants on the main front yard, plus some! The yellow flat along sidewalk is a Mother Lode juniper & there are 3 pencil holly in the center on inside of path.

Stunning KW, you certainly have developed an outstanding landscape! Can’t wait to see this as it develops next year. It already looks terrific!

debra

Very nice KW.

When I saw the golden spreaders in your second picture, it reminded me of Star Fish on the beach. haha!

Bill, thanks for kind words. I totally see your Star Fish description - I have had that same vision! I think the small slope they are planted in adds to that. This Mother Lode is a slow grower but should eventually provide a nice cover along that edge & it stays really flat which I like.. I saw a mature planting of it & thought it was stunning with its bright yellow color which it retains through spring & summer. It turns a bit green with rosy highlights in winter.

KW, you’re garden looks gorgeous! I love the variety of textures, colors and shapes. But the garden as a whole is also very cohesive, and the entire space feels like one beautiful swath of life. Can’t wait to see it next year!

Your house was pretty before but the new front landscaping is really stunning! Your upkeep on it is great. Thanks for posting new photos so we can enjoy it along with you.

Are you adding any late winter/early spring bulbs/hellebores? I enjoy looking out my front door and windows to see them when it is otherwise to cold to be outdoors!

Hi again Little Bird! Thank you for the kudos on my yard scape. That’s high praise for me after seeing pics of your landscape!

skmom - Thank you for your kind words. I’m sure that we’d have lovely plant chats. Though this yard isn’t high maintenance we do spend a fair amount of time walking around in it because of the curved path in it & I’m always ’fluffing’ something as my DH says. Our neighborhood is flat so there are many walkers from nearby hoods too - great for making new friends.

Design Fan - Thank you for visiting my post & telling me you are enjoying my many before / after progress pics. My front yard is orientation is West so no hellebores - too sunny & hot. But I have 2 in back yard in shady spots & they do very well. They’re in places I pass by often so I do enjoy them in winter / early spring flowering.

Bulbs- hmm. I have a bulb story. I enjoy my across street neighbor’s daffs & tulip display so a few years back I bought a 40 bulb bag of various alliums. I wanted something different & later blooming than the neighbor has & I like Globemaster allium so I thought I was good to go. It took me so long to get the 40 planted that I stopped with my planned placements of the various types & started sticking them in wherever I could make a hole. It was a disaster look come late spring. Some bloomed, some just had lots of green leaves which spread like crazy. The Globemasters declined in size each year. Took me several years to get rid of all of the green leaves that kept sprouting. No more bulbs for me except a purchased pot to sit on my porch. 😁

Wow! What an accomplishment!! Absolutely stunning. And they placements are truly excellent. Well done! How do you remember all those names!!

Flo - Thank you for your high praise! To answer your question about the names - well, it’s a gift I have for remembering plant names 🤣 … truth - I do save my plant tags & have them bagged by section of yard. Seriously! Bags are named ”North front etc. I also annotate planting date & number of plants if I put in multiples. Gardening is something that interests me so doing all this doesn’t seem odd. I bet you do the same thing with your design projects - all those mood boards & the like! People who like to work in the kitchen do this kind of thing too - all those notes on their recipies. I was a project manager in another life & my desire for organization & order is something that seems to have always felt comforting to me. I seem to remember you have a PM background too - am I correct? I like interior home design too. I think the eye for design many have is a very useful and transferrable life skill.

You are a woman of my own heart! Yes, PM in my background and design work requires same. But you have more discipline i suspect than i do! Lol. I know this will “evolve” as all landscaping does!! Enjoy!!

Haha! I used to have a gift for remembering plant names, but lately things have been slipping my mind more easily. We are in our 4th home and our 3rd landscape from scratch home and THIS time I got smart and started a “note” on my phone and have catalogued every plant on my property, including the few natives that stayed after all of the earth moving and new construction. I also have it categorized by sections of the property. I have a bag that contains all of the plant tags that I purchased, and a separate bag for the plants that become a failure for whatever reason. (The bag of shame, lol!) I am not the project manager type, and never have been, so it feels very organized to me and I’m quite proud of having it. Hahahaha! Now, every time I forget a plant name I’m able to whip out my phone and check my lists. I also have another list of plants I still want to obtain with notes of where I think I’d like to put them. I never had such organization with my flower gardening before, but we are in what we hope is our forever home, and the landscape our home sits on is NOT very practical for a forever home as it’s quite steep. We are in our early 50’s and we decided that we need to have the major aspects of our landscaping projects solidly in place within the first five years of being here, and we are about to hit year two. We’ve made great progress, but still more to do. I’ve aimed to plant natives in the most difficult to access areas, and natives and non-invasive plants in the easier to access portions. We’ve completed one major outdoor staircase, but we have another two staircases planned in other parts of the yard. Hubby built a beautiful outdoor garden shed last year as well, so now my tools aren’t in the garage. We’ve been working on a 2nd story deck (already had a 3rd story deck) this summer, and it’s almost completed now, and then I’ll be able to add another part to my plants list because I hope to have an abundance of potted hostas and ferns, as well as other shade plants, on that shaded deck. Anyways, sorry to ramble, I’m just excited that I took the time to make lists because I’m finding them incredibly helpful!

Skmom, please post photos!