What would you do with this yard?

Annie · Post by **Annie** » Feb 04, 2005 2:03 pm

This is my itty bitty front yard. I am wanting to do something else with it. I was thinking kind of a cottage garden look. But I want to attract lots of butterflies.
I also like a lot of green. Oh whats a girl to do?
What kind of plants would be good for zone 5 butterflies?
I am going to order some of my plants from Hallsons.
I just can't make up my mind!!
I'm NOT a good planner. Thought of putting in a small pond.
So what you any of you do to make it nicer? And flowery??
AND green

I want it all. It gets sun about 5 hours a day.

Deb118 · Post by **Deb118** » Feb 07, 2005 10:21 pm

Annie,
I'm sure others have better ideas, but for butterflies, I love Liatris. The butterflies swarm to mine. The Liatris gives you color and green

kHT · Post by **kHT** » Feb 07, 2005 10:37 pm

Annie could you supply more photos please? I can vision less grass and more flowers but need to see the whole front area.

As you can see I'm a believer in less grass.

Annie · Post by **Annie** » Feb 08, 2005 11:37 am

OK Here are a couple of shots. I like the less grass Idea as I can't use the riding mower in this part of the yard anyway LOL.
The tree you see in the front yard is going to perish from some unkown problem

. I have to get it to die and not let my hubby know as he likes this tree. But it's a cypress and they get HUGE!! Way to big for my little front yard. Any my little house.

To the right side just where my weeping cherry is, ends my yard on that side. And I really hate the mailboxes but I can't do anything about those.

kHT · Post by **kHT** » Feb 10, 2005 11:35 pm

Oh Annie, those cypresses are hard to get rid of. We have 3 in our yard as they too are my DH favorites and they are a mess. We have a HUGE one and I do wish they weren't as messy when they drop their leaves in the fall. I would do beds on the outside edges and leave little grass in the center area. You might have problems with the neighbors grass if you don't put an edging in of some sort.

wild4flowers · Post by **wild4flowers** » Feb 11, 2005 10:11 am

You can always put some type of a tierred wall or edging around your mailboxes and use it as a planter too. CHAR

hostaaddict · Post by **hostaaddict** » Feb 11, 2005 10:23 pm

I think your idea of a butterfly garden is beautiful. I'm not so sure about a pond in the front yard due to liability reasons. Maybe a beautiful fountain would do the trick and then later a pond in back yard or somewhere that children can't get to it. I envy you your sunny spot. I have almost entirely shade. Good luck on whatever you choose! You have a gorgeous yard to begin with.

........Jackie

Mary Ann · Post by **Mary Ann** » Feb 12, 2005 2:56 am

HGTV's Curb Appeal crew would add a stone patio in front of the steps, an inviting bench, a winding path to the street, limb up the cypress, add flowering trees to soften each corner of the house, paint the trim to emphasize architectural lines and the front door in a bright companion color, place large showy pots on the stairs, realign any straight bed lines into wide sweeping curves. OK, so I've been watching a lot of TV.

wild4flowers · Post by **wild4flowers** » Feb 12, 2005 8:43 am

but Mary Ann, your ideas are right on. Since the yard is so small, it needs some definition. And a definite edge next to the driveway would help. Any yard benefits from non-straight lines, and the flagstone pathway would allow accesss and beauty. CHAR

patsue53 · Post by **patsue53** » Feb 12, 2005 12:55 pm

WOW! You guys are great! I'm a total loser when it comes to landscape design. No matter how much I plan it curvy it always comes out boxy and straight.

Annie...can your husband move that cypress tree to the back yard? They're GREAT for growing hostas under! All those needles fall off every winter and make a nice acidic soil. My hostas LOVE it under the cypress.

Annie · Post by **Annie** » Feb 12, 2005 1:13 pm

Thanks all.
MaryAnn I do think your right!!
My house is so plain. I want to put shutters around the windows and yes I will paint the trim and mybe the door!! But it's a metal door so is there paint you can use on it?

I also watch Curb Appeal LOL. I have it on tv as I type this.

But for some reason I just can not plan my yard, DUH ME.
I also like the water fountain idea. I told my husband I needed something like a path to the mailbox.
Oh I can see it now my husband is gonna kill me

I can do the tree thing on either side of the house also. I just want small trees however. mmm Now I gotta look online to see what I can get out there.
OH OH now I'm getting all excited about the planning

And it's only Feb

Thanks again ya all

Mary Ann · Post by **Mary Ann** » Feb 12, 2005 9:50 pm

More rambling:

Annie, I like the idea of shutters on both the front door and window. Clematis should do well with all that sun at the house corners. They would provide lots of green faster than trees, and flowers too. Mine are supported by wire trellises simply attached to the overhang with hooks and chain.

Debbie Travis paints everything: metal, linoleum, concrete, glass, paneling, and even oak furniture

It's the quickest way to a different look and easy to change. I often wonder what those homes look like a year or two later after the designers are gone. There is a paint for every purpose. Kilz is good as a primer.

Could you stain the mailbox posts and coordinate the colors on the boxes? Perhaps attach your wagon wheel there to give it special effect?

Placing plants in layers according to height usually works best. Study pictures of landscaped yards and see what pleases you and go from there.

JaneG · Post by **JaneG** » Feb 12, 2005 11:46 pm

MaryAnn, when you're finished designing Annies house and yard, stop by my place. I could use a little advice!!

It's so funny how we each have our own ideas . . . I just love the mature cypress and am waiting impatiently for mine to grow up. Annie, can you take MaryAnn's advice and just limb it up? I hate to see trees go.

Cute place, and I'm sure it will be even more pretty when you're done!!

Annie · Post by **Annie** » Feb 13, 2005 1:01 am

Ok I'm thinking I'm going to leave the tree. I'll trim it up so light can get to the bottom if I can.

I think some of you out there are really landscape designers and not telling us!!!

patsue53
Most of my flower beds comes out boxy too

I'm liking the clematis idea
Ok so now what kind of planters or what for the yard itself?
Do I make more beds?
Maybe enlarge them?
I am going put some kind of edging between the yard and the driveway. And maybe the mail boxes, but 2 of them aren't ours and I'm afraid someone might not really care for that.

I want to use maybe flagstone for the stepping stones out to the mailbox. Maybe leave a grassy path with those in it,
and enlarging the flowerbeds themselves?
Or maybe making the flowerbeds bigger and put the flagstone steps through it???
I'll leave the grass by the neighbors and plant some kind of shrubs between them and me.
I like the idea of a private and cozy lil yard.

Will make a little patio at the bottom of the steps. (I am pretty handy that way!) That takes care of that part of the yard.

I just love all you guy's ideas!! I'm gonna save this so I can keep referring back to it LOL.
I will look into every thing that was mentioned here!!! I wish I had that kind of planning in me

patsue53 · Post by **patsue53** » Feb 13, 2005 1:11 am

I like that idea of putting a little patio at the bottom of the steps. I might have to steal it.

The area at the bottom of my steps can never seem to maintain any grass and is always a mud hole. A little sitting area would be much nicer!

Linda P · Post by **Linda P** » Feb 13, 2005 9:11 am

Hi, Annie
I think the first thing I would do is take out all the various edging materials you now have. Then get some powdered lime or baby powder or a can of that paint they use to mark lines in the baseball fields, and walk around and mark your grass, connecting as many of the beds as you can. If you don't like the way it looks, draw a new line, until it feels right. You can also use garden hose to do this, but it's easier to see if if you use something light colored. I have also taken my lawn mower and just mowed the outline in the grass. Then take out the grass you're not going to keep, and start planting! Layers are always good. I like to put a tall plant or two towards the front, sort of like an exclamation point here and there. Tall skinny evergreens are good for some winter interest, and you might even be able to fit one somewhere. You wouldn't want to overdo that in your small yard. I use stone to unify the edges of the beds in my front yard, and the other edge I use is just a spaded edge to keep the grass from creeping in. I like the idea of the flagstone patio and walk to the mailbox. Could you install some trellis on the overhang over the front door to give it a more 'attached' look? In the picture, it sort of looks to me like it would like to become more of a 'porch', instead of just a floating roof. You could grow clematis on that, and still have a nice flowering tree on the corner of the house. Shutters would be good, or maybe a window box? You could very easily do the 'charming little cottage' look with your house. Maybe on the corner, instead of a flowering tree, you could have a repeat-blooming climbing rose?
You have a great start already!
Linda P

wild4flowers · Post by **wild4flowers** » Feb 13, 2005 10:16 am

I like porches too, instead of just an overhanging roof.

The path that leads out to your mailbox might look good if you sent it on an angle or a slight curve, from your front steps to midway in the yard, made a large circle of pavers/stones and put your birdbath/or fountain in the center. Then continue on with another angle of the path to the mailboxes. Since your front yard isn't symetrical, don't just make a path straight to the mailbox. CHAR

Denise_in_MI · Post by **Denise_in_MI** » Feb 28, 2005 4:46 am

Sorry I'm late to post here. But Annie, are you sure that is a Cypress? I am able to tell you how my neighbor killed an old Walnut, but I've not seen a Cypress tree here in the smidgeon of Zone 6 that I live in, or at my Zone 4 cabin. ...LOL, could just be my city roots. If it truly is a Cypress, I'd try the George Washington approach and whack it with an axe....or more. A nice local midwest deciduous tree or conifer would be perfect in that spot. Maybe wishiwere or Wanda will chime in.

As far as design...I can't help you there.

thy · Post by **thy** » Mar 01, 2005 7:49 pm

When I saw your first pic, I thought it is love ly, why do you want to change it ... but at the 3 pic I understood.
I agree fix the roof with a trellie and clems and or roses. Do you need grass ????
Not in my mind, make it one big cottage bed with the tree n the middle, lots of flowering plants, a few smalll evergreens... you dig them up fpr someone when they are 5 or 6 years old and plant new tiny ones, lots of spring bulbs... a sitting area, a bench and flagstone paches
Plant a evergreen behind the mailboxes and cut them hard when they grow too much let a clematis climb ower them ( one of the cut down in spring types

) add a fountain or a birth bath,,, and when you plann, think in 1 or 3 or 5 or 7, use the numbers ordinary or use them Japanese... 2 in a row and one a bit a way... please look at the Japanese forum

do not know how to explain it in my language either

but the Japanese split up the triangles...
Plant a few roses, not in a row to hide your driveway

Go play

you can allways change it a bit

Pia

Love your centerpeice tree... don't it need a climbing clem ?

Annie · Post by **Annie** » Mar 02, 2005 8:46 am

yeah it's a cypress alright. And I do like the tree it's so pretty and soft looking.

I have decided to keep it and trim up the branches on it. I bought it a few years ago, cause my husband really liked it. At the same time I got a sassafras and put it in the back yard.
I also like the full porch, and even went so far as have my brother help me figure out how to put one on there LOL.
But I think a small patio would be much easier for me that is

So that is the route I'm going to take, that and the stone path to the mailbox.
Want to thank all of you who give me some ideas!!

Ahhh spring is getting closer and closer!!!