Front garden beds and improving street appeal.
Dell123
8 years ago
I recently purchased my first house :) There are two garden beds at the front of the house, but other than a Fuchsia and a Hydrangea they are a blank canvas. I would also like to remove both of these if I can.
The garden beds get good sun for pretty much all day. They start to be in shadow from about 5pm at this time of the year.
Ultimately I'd like a garden with year round interest - some shrubs and flowers. I don't really want anything that is going to grow taller than the fences - 3ft to the front, 4ft to the sides. Some scent would be nice too. I'm probably asking the impossible! I'm on the west coast of Ireland and I'm not familiar with what grows here and gardening doesn't seem as popular as it in Australia (where I am from)- a lot of houses don't even have front gardens. Suggestions and layout ideas would be fantastic.
The garden beds currently have pebbles which you can see. I think I'd like to remove these and ultimately have bark. There is a layer of plastic underneath the pebbles. What sort of preparation will I need to do the soil before starting?
Finally, I'd like to improve the street appeal - my house is the only one with a fence out the front. On the agenda for the summer is painting the house and I'm thinking about getting some big window planter boxes made up for the windows. What about something that I could grow on the front side of the fence - I don't want ivy or anything like that. Also the front side of the fence really only gets the morning sun.
Sorry for the long post. Any suggestions would be great :)
The garden beds get good sun for pretty much all day. They start to be in shadow from about 5pm at this time of the year.
Ultimately I'd like a garden with year round interest - some shrubs and flowers. I don't really want anything that is going to grow taller than the fences - 3ft to the front, 4ft to the sides. Some scent would be nice too. I'm probably asking the impossible! I'm on the west coast of Ireland and I'm not familiar with what grows here and gardening doesn't seem as popular as it in Australia (where I am from)- a lot of houses don't even have front gardens. Suggestions and layout ideas would be fantastic.
The garden beds currently have pebbles which you can see. I think I'd like to remove these and ultimately have bark. There is a layer of plastic underneath the pebbles. What sort of preparation will I need to do the soil before starting?
Finally, I'd like to improve the street appeal - my house is the only one with a fence out the front. On the agenda for the summer is painting the house and I'm thinking about getting some big window planter boxes made up for the windows. What about something that I could grow on the front side of the fence - I don't want ivy or anything like that. Also the front side of the fence really only gets the morning sun.
Sorry for the long post. Any suggestions would be great :)
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hatetoshop
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoDell123
8 years agoRelated Discussions
How can I improve the curb appeal here.
Comments (5)Flowers in those flower boxes would be a good start, and then I'd tear out the conctrete or whatever the surface is next to the house and extend the driveway further out, closer to the camera, to make up for lost driveway space. The down spout must be removed from he driveway. The steps up to the house seem to be a confused assembly of different materials and should be reformed into a cohesive entry stairway, with plantings flanking it, or pots of greenery/flowers on it. The garage seems to be a different color from the house and if that is the came, I would change it echo the colors of the house. In the foreground of the photo is an opportunity for some beautiful landscaping. You have your work cut out for you, but nothing that you couldn't do over the next 3 months!...See MoreNew kitchen, but just not working.
Comments (448)fragle0 ... congratulations on the new addition to your family. Have been following your lovely changes. You probably won't have time to work on the decor for a while. Just wanted to suggest that you try pulling the nesting tables forward to be more in line with front of the chairs & placing your floor lamp to the back of them. This will give a bit more light at night for reading in that area.Also switching the plant by the fireplace & the one on the corner by the sofa....See MoreHow to improve this exterior?
Comments (22)What about 6 massive pots? Two one either side of the bay windows and one on either side of the front door. (I too have a massive gray gravel drive way. Trying to plant through the gravel brings on a whole other set of challenges. Pots are just more practical, for me anyway.) I love those trees in the lawn area.:) And the green trim. Also, how would that bright area around the front door look painted a shade a bit closer to the color of the brick and stone areas?...See MoreDormer exterior lacks kerb appeal
Comments (25)Hello egreevy, Okay, yes I see, it's a difficulty but maybe not impossible... Just whether you want to try to find out more about this.. Taking windows out to paint is a bigger job but it may still be possible.. ... So for the immediate.. Paint the front door (just the door) it might give a nice finish to have the side windows white.. Then you have a bit of contrast like your image above.. and add window boxes with lovely foliage or buxus.. it will work with the green you already have... I couldn't see as my screen was dimmed.. I think leaving all the ivy colour you have at present would be really nice.. (hence my suggestion of more green!! Also I wouldn't paint the pebble dash, to me it looks absolutely fine on the house itself.. Maybe the small boundary wall at the front and a bit of the garage.. Also a flat box hedge coming over the top of the boundary wall could be nice too.. It will be lovely and green.. : ) )...See More
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoDell123
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