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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Landscaping?

Last week (or was it two weeks ago?) just before the kids' bedtime we spontaneously decided to cut down all our bushes in front of the house. They had grown way over the sidewalk and were just big and bulky. So we went at it. One minute they were there as normal and one hour later they were all gone just needing to drag the branches away to our big to-burn pile. What a big and positive difference it made to reclaim all that space again! We still need to pull out the stumps, (and burn all the branches) but for now this is still much nicer. Landscaping is really not my area, so does anyone have any suggestions on what to plant here??

house before
house after, notice we've also taken down the screens since we've moved too

3 comments:

cryssi said...

I'm not much of a landscaper either, I like Irises and Roses and lilys and Tulips....and in the fall, I like Mums and in the winter, I like Holly bushes. But all of those are things that if you dont trim back they get out of control. Well, except the irises, they just multiply and every couple of years, you have to transplant some of them somewhere else or they stop blooming.

You could take the picture to a local nursery and have them suggest stuff for you. I always get stuff that comes back every year. I dont like replanting. The girls have a little spot where they plant stuff every year just to see what different will come up...but all of mine are there every year without fail...lol. I guess that is the easy cheap way.

Blessings and good luck..

Crystal

Rae Lynne said...

I don't know exactly what you're looking for, but Justin & I are planning on putting a few Hostas (sp?) around the house, they don't need much water or care and still look nice. If you know someone who has them, usually they can cut you a piece from their plant and you can plant it (instead of going and buying a plant). I have been told, though, to make sure not to give them tons of direct sunlight, because they don't flourish as well.

Hope this helps!
Rae Lynne

Bethany said...

You need to put some shrubs in the back of the spot (foundation planting) and I would suggest something that stays green all year or red so it isn't ugly in the winter. Examples are boxwood, rhododendron, barberry... there are tons (mix a few dif kinds). Then I would suggest some sort of flowers in front of those and that depends on your taste and how much care you want to put into it. Easy ones are daylilies and many of those bloom all summer long. Hostas are really nice for a lot of green - perfect filler. There are SO many kinds of plants - feel free to write me if you want more suggestions! :)
Another good suggestion might be to leave some open spots and then as the year progresses notice houses you drive past and see what is blooming that you like. You want to keep color coming through all the seasons.
Also - from your other comment - you can split many many perrenials so if you know someone with big gardens see if you can take some pieces (that is where almost all of our gardens have come from)!
Guess I didn't know I had picked up so much - there's got to be some perk from being married to a landscaper! :) Bethany