landscaping front of house - clean slate!

Hi, I’m a newbie here and am looking for some advice on landscape design for the front of our first house (which we recently bought). When we bought the house the yard was a total disaster. We have since had a collapsing retaining wall rebuilt, and had a scraggly hedge that was at the front of the house pulled out, so now the whole front of the house looks “naked”. We have a clean slate. I am looking for some ideas for what to plant at the front of the house and continuing along the top of the retaining wall.

Ideally, we’d like plants with winter interest that are deer-resistant and easy to care for. Preferably nothing that’s poisonous or has sharp thorns (as we have small kids). We’re not crazy about azaleas/rhododendrons, but are open to anything else (especially native plants).

We are in zone 6b and the area we need to plant is east facing, and gets the morning sun.

Any ideas much appreciated!

second photo - this one along the top of the retaining wall

Ooh! I love blank canvases!! My yard was the same way and it's so much fun figuring out what to put where. Course DH just saw dollar signs!!

So the first thing you need to determine is what kind of sun does the front yard get. Were these pics taken in the afternoon? If so, then you definitely need to go with plants that can with stand the heat. Second, what kind of garden/landscape do you want? Easy - no maintenance; "middle of the road" or "love to get your hands dirty all the time". Also, do you want a theme - like a cottage garden or something more formal; a garden that attracks butterflies and birds?? No matter which, perennials are your best bet. On the slope to your retaining wall, you could create a terraced garden where some of your plants can cascade down.

This is the perfect time of year to start too. You could add a decorative tree or two. Japanese Maples are beautiful and most won't grow too big - but they do grow slow.

The big thing is - do a section at a time. You can draw out your entire area and take one section, like in front of the porch, and look through magazines and books or even walk around your neighborhood and get ideas that way - what you like and what you don't like. An easy start for you is hanging baskets on the front porch and a bunch of containers too.

If you get a chance, go down to the National Arboretum in DC and look at all of their areas. It will be beautiful this time of year! - and it's free!

Feel free to dmail with any questions. I'm taking a landscaping course right now and although we're just on the plants currently, some of the students are already into the graphics part so they may have some ideas too.

You are so lucky to have this beautiful blank canvas to work with!!

Best of luck!
Jeannine

I have lived in two different places in the Bethesda/Chevy Chase area and have had success with Laurels in both places. And I'm told that Cherry Laurel is deer resistant. I currently have two types of Cherry Laurel. ‘Schipka laurel’ (Schipkaensis), which "is a spreading shrub, 4 to 5 feet tall and 5 to 8 feet wide with dark green foliage, white flowers and black fruit. This shrub has a refined appearance and is hardy and vigorous in habit of growth" and 'Carolina cherry laurel' which "often it is used as a clipped hedge or tall screen to 20 feet high. The densely leaved plant has glossy green leaves, which are 2 to 4 inches long. Small, white flowers appear in late winter or spring, followed by black fruit almost the size of blueberries. This shrub is tolerant of heat and drought." http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/hgic1069.htm Both have done well for me.


Are you sure you are in Zone 6? I ask because I know much of Silver Spring is in Zone 7. Here is a link to a helpful tool if you want to double check. http://www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_finder.htm

Good Luck -- this is a great time to plant new shrubs.

Baxter

Hi esadungada,

I, too, bought a house with nothing growing on the property and can relate to your predicament.

I'd also like to hear more about your gardening "style" before tossing out ideas -- do you like a more formal look, eccentric, cottagey, etc.? Do you want to plant for birds/butterflies? I would assume that deer-resistance + East-facing might translate to a more evergreen look, though I may be wrong.

Hi everyone,

Thanks SO much for your comments and ideas! About my gardening "style", I was thinking of something informal/natural/wild looking, nothing too manicured or formal. As we have woods at the back of the house it would be nice to go with something more natural looking I think.

I really like the idea of mountain laurel (but is it really poisonous?). What do you all think about inkberry or some sort of dwarf hygrangea??? And maybe some ferns, evergreen ones if those exist. We had some hanging ferns on the front porch last summer and they looked really nice. Also maybe something that will cascade over the retaining wall.

Any ideas for plants that I could plant in front of the shrubs - smaller than shrubs but bigger than ferns?

Ideally I'd like a mix of evergreens and perennials, easy-maintenace plants (I'm a beginner gardener). I'm not focusing too much on the flowers. More interested in interesting foliage etc., so we won't just have sticks in the winter!

The photos were taken at noon. When I type my zipcode in, I usually get zone 6b. With the link that Baxter sent, it was zone 6/7.

Thanks everybody for your ideas, please continue sending me your suggestions! I really appreciate it!

See esadungada, I told you these were some great people. Dont forget, as they give you names of plants, click on Guides and Information tab at the top of the page, click on Plantfiles ,type in the plant name and you will be able to see photos and check all the info out on the plant(s).



Debbie

Thanks Debbie!

I've been meaning to do a search on Joel Lerner's column in the Washington Post for some ideas for you, esadungada, but I've been buried and haven't got round to it. I do not have a deer problem here in College Park, so I'm hesitant to steer you down the wrong path.

I suspect that Happy_Macomb might have a very similar micro-climate and wildlife situation as you(?).

Anyhoo, Joel writes the Green Scene column in the Post every Saturday and he has landscaped your part of the county quite a bit over the years, if I'm not mistaken. I am *certain* that he has archived columns that focus on deer and natives. He does lovely work.

You're certainly welcome to come see my little mess of a yard (we are on the Silver Spring end of Chevy Chase) but I think your yard is much sunnier than mine. I have a lot of slopes, and so I look for relatively low plants (tall ones fall over); and I have no sun. And did I mention the weeds? Where did you live before buying this house?

Thanks wrightie, for the tip - I will try searching Joel Lerner's columns. And thank you happy_macomb for your offer too. Do you have a lot of deer around? That's my primary concern - don't want to attract them by anything I plant. Do any of you have experience with mountain laurel - is this a plant that is going to become deer food?

This is our first house (rented apartments before this) so it's all new to me.

Esadungada: We do have a lot of deer in the neighboorhood but seldom in our back yard. We have a lot of ditch lilies in our front yard, and our neighbors have hosta, and they seem to do ok, so I don't think we have a big problem. We are right next to Rock Creek Park, so I think the deer are not super hungry.

If you want cuttings of anything in my yard, you are more than welcome. And anything that is division-ready you are welcome to as well.


This message was edited Mar 22, 2008 11:51 AM

I thought that you might find this thread interesting: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/697351/

Hi, esadungada- So exciting! almost wish I could go back to blank slate instead of having to acknowledge some mistakes I've made, or the previous owner, and correct them with sweat and tears!
My two cents and semi random thoughts-
Do have some evergreens- otherwise it'll be too bare in winter.
Equilibrium on the Natice plants forum has tons of advice and knows about deer resistance too.
Try not to get 'one of everything you like'.
Be sure to water what you plant. Looks dry and well drained.
Cherry Laurel sounds good (Baxter?) I don't think it's the same as mountain laurel, which I've heard was difficult to transplant. Maybe on at the end of the porch.
I 'see ' a small tree out there somewhere on the wall side but not right back against it. Well, maybe toward the corner with steps? Jap Maple, Cherry...Redbud (but I have disease on mine could make that shortlived)
Not too much invested right in front of the porch until you determine if the kids will overflow it and step on them. I'd put some annuals there for quick color and they could help plant.
If you plan and mulch your beds and have semi-sparse plantings for now, it will still 'look pretty nice'-(its just the obsessed like us that want every inch to be green now!)
Save the ferns for Behind the wall- that looks like a great place for shade and moisture.
Good luck and show us updates please!

Hi everyone, thank you so much for your continued input, and thank you happy_Macomb for your kind offer too. I’ve been away from the computer for a few days – kids have been sick.

Thanks especially for your suggestions of focusing on evergreen shrubs for the time beings, and for approaching the project a bit at a time. I’m realizing that I don’t have to plan everything all at once. I think I am going to start by planting a few evergreen shrubs first, so it won’t look so bare – that will make me happier. I really like the flowers on mountain laurel, but it seems that plant has issues…so maybe cherry laurel, schipka laurel, Nandina domestica, Pieris japonica? I’m planning to go out to Behnke’s this weekend or next to check out the evergreen shrubs.

Any ideas for smaller plants which are deer-resistant and low-maintenance? Lenten rose and (the ubiquitous) lilyturf have been recommended. I guess the area is too sunny for ferns?

Also am wondering what I should plant along the top of the retaining wall, hopefully to deter the kids from falling over (it’s over 6 feet tall at the highest point). Does anyone have experience with crimson pygmy barberry – I’m thinking its thorns might keep the kids away? Or else Euonymus emerald ‘n’ gold – which I think is a lovely plant.

I guess I’m veering away from my initial idea of using natives…

Ferns- I really don't think would be happy there, BUT back below the wall- bet they would
A lot of barberry are invasive- how about thinking holly instead? juniper also not too barefoot friendly.
Do you plan to have garden all along the top of the wall in front? Mulch it all and tell them NO playing there. Or do some kind off fence. By the time they can be trusted in the front yard alone, they are old enough to stay away from the top of the wall!~~
if they want to. LOL

Don't say lilyturf around wrightie--There are clumping kinds that don't spread readily- if the nursery is being honest.

liriope muscari is the good (clumping) kind.

I agree that barberry is probably not a great choice, especially if you have any leanings toward non-invasives. Euonymous can also be naughty, if I'm not mistaken. It's not easy to balance everything out, is it?!

I would agree with the others and recommend that your first stage in planning be to think about the "bones" of the project and decide which evergreen shrubs and trees you want to use as well as their placement. From there, it will become easier to figure out perennial and annuals to compliment your backdrop.

Thanks for setting me straight re: lilyturf - I do remember hearing that some spread, others don't - good to know which is which!

I guess barberry and Euonymous are out - thanks for the warning.

I'll look into juniper or holly for along the top of the retaining wall. I do plan to put some sort of bed there, but not sure my younger son is old enough to really understand about keeping out yet (he's a toddler). It scares me to find the boys walking close to the top of the retaining wall when I turn away for even a minute (e.g. unloading groceries from the car, etc.). But a fence would be so unattractive...

I like the idea of ferns at the bottom of the wall - I love ferns and would like to incorporate them somehow.

Thanks again everyone for your help. I'll update once I've made progress on the shrubs. Meanwhile any/all advice is still much appreciated!

I don't really have an eye for design but a fence might not be out of the question. Here is a picture of my 3 ft high vinyl picket I had installed last year. Makes a nice back drop for plants.

This message was edited Mar 29, 2008 9:32 AM