Landscape

Reply to: Don't limit yourself to Endless Summer hydrangeas. They are some of the most boring and insipid selections of bigleaf hydrangea available and in your mild climate, you can grow any of them! In addition to rhodies, azaleas and hydrangeas, I'd consider dwarf pieris and if more sun, abelia or dwarf conifers. And there is a Japanese maple that will fit every size garden and planting area!! Just keep the overall scale of the plants reduced, using dwarf or compact forms. Not a big house and not a big yard so you don't want anything that will overwhelm it.

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Reply to: Yeah ... like that. This is a basic arrangement. The shrubs are centered with the windows (same as steps are centered with door.) 2 perennials fill in between. An annual flanks the front of the steps. 2 small trees have groundcover below.

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Reply to: Atmoscat, that is a great question and I'm glad you asked it. I promote the "windowbox" solution a lot, because it is easy to grasp, easy to implement, less expensive, doesn't smother the building with vegetation (and a lot of trimming work), looks goods, etc., and people get it. However, it is NOT the only pat solution. Hedges can work (but have potential disadvantages I just mentioned) and framing with shrubs can work (exactly as you describe ... shrubs at the ends/corners with lower plants -- often a groundcover below windows. The latter works well when windows are very low to the ground. One must make the call based on the particular circumstances.

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Reply to: This is the organization for a BASIC layout: trees that frame and shelter the house; shrubs that extend architectural features; groundcover that provides a base and ties together; annuals for attention and cheerfulness at the entrance. The bedline works, as much as possible, to funnel vision toward the entrance.

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