We just bought our first house about a month ago and we are loving it for the most part. But the outside makes me sad.
I have some ideas in mind to improve it, but I just don't know how to execute them or even how to start. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or tips on how to improve our space. Also, any tips on what we should do first is appreciated.
Some things I do know:
- Ohio, Zone 6a
- Front yard faces east, back yard faces west
- I am making a list of plants that I like, but I'm just not sure how to plant them design wise.
- There is no spot in the yard that receives full sun. It is mostly full shade or part shade. The sunniests spots are the mailbox area and the garden area. The front yard receives only dappled sun.
- I do not like the pavers in the entryway. I want to remove those eventually but not sure if I should replace with mulch or something else? What can I put in that space?
- What would look good in the mailbox area? This space gets a decent amount of morning sun.
- I plan on trying to plant grass in bare spots in the fall. The area with all the dirt gets virtually no sun so I'm a little worried about it growing there. I thought about river rocks here.
- We cut down invasive buckthorn trees that were in the garden area. We plan on treating the stumps in the fall. Ignore all the wood, we need to get a new rack. I plan on eventually putting in a walk-in raised bed in this spot.
- There is a bunch of buckthorn and Japanese honeysuckle on the south side, but it's from our neighbor's property so we are fucked. There was a bunch of it on our property in the dirt area but it was removed before the house went on the market.
- I want to evenutally get rid of the pavers and stepping stones in front of the shed and get something poured, but I'm not sure what would look good.
- I want to treat the weeds, but have absolutely no idea how or when to do this. Should I worry about planting grass first?
- Absolutely no idea what to do on the sides or behind the shed
Just looking for inspiration and tips. Thank you for reading!
by kaairo
4 Comments
Take a breath and stop trying to force grass to grow where it gets zero sun. Grass needs light and if you throw seed at deep shade you are just feeding the birds. Drop the river rock idea right now too. Putting loose rocks under a mature tree means you will spend the rest of your life picking dead leaves out of gravel. Just expand your mulched beds all the way out to where the grass naturally stops growing. Fill that new space with big sweeping masses of shade plants like hostas or native ferns. Massing them together creates structural calm and chokes out the weeds naturally instead of scattering random single plants everywhere like a polka dot mess.
For the entryway pull those pavers if you hate them but you absolutely need a solid walkway material for foot traffic not just mulch. Since you have a list of plants but no idea how to lay them out you should run a photo of the front through GardenDream. It is a web app that lets you test out different path materials and visualize those plant masses over your exact yard. It acts as a safety net so you can see how the textures flow together before you spend a dime at the nursery.
Do not stress about killing every weed right now just keep mowing them. Your immediate priority should be cutting sharp bed edges and putting down a thick layer of arborist wood chips over all that bare dirt. That stops the mud and improves your soil while you take your time figuring out the concrete pour by the shed. Keep chopping the neighbor invasive brush back at the property line and focus your energy on building structure in the spaces you actually walk through every day.
Full sun is 6+ hours, partial is 2-6 hours and full shade is less than 2. Use a sun tracking app to figure out how the sun moves through the property.
Need to forget about plants you want and switch to the shape and size of plant that fits the location. After that consider shade/sun/wet/dry/quality of drainage THEN slot in the plants you want. If you’ve always dreamed of peonies at your front door forget that and when you have a full sun, well drained spot for a 2-4′ tall and wide perennial hedge there’s where they belong.
Folks report that mail carriers often appreciate not having to worry about bees when they deliver the mail so a couple small bunch grasses would be nice there. Note the height and width of the mature clump and make sure the flowers don’t get in the way of the box too. Dig a vertical sided trench to lawn side and put in an edging of your choice so it looks tidy.
Leave the pavers in the entry way as a base for potted plants, a cafe set/bench and so on. The existing path is narrow and the pavers mean there’s space to step off so area is more gracious.
I’d steal a row or two of pavers from the pad in front of the shed IF you don’t use that very nice space and double up on the pavers so that path is less minimal.
The area between shed and fence is another woodland garden. Maybe it’s just right as a hideaway for a hammock but plant tough dry shade surviving native plants that aren’t too large in there too.
I’d develop the mailbox garden first. You’ve got a lovely property and none of these projects are urgent. Gardens take time to figure out, enjoy your new home this summer!
There is a saying, Rome was not built in a day. Focus one rehabing one space at a time. As for what plants, keep in mind annuals versus perrenisls. Hostas and ferns disappear in the winter. (Rabbits are eating our hostas!). Ferns, someone gave us ferns. I removed them or so I thought. Thode tubers are a force to be reckoned with! Plant in odd numbers. The entryway pavers, yes remove them. What about planting mondo grass in there? It is low, no mowing despite the name grass. Mailbox bed, use metal edging to thwart grass from trespassing. Something low, an evergreen so there is something there in the winter. If there is a good size nursery or botanical garden, it would be worthwhile walking through, taking note of what appeals to you. Check out hellebores is the grow in your zone. They are low plants with large leaves and they flower first in late winter here in zone 7. They like dappled light. Look also at the Japanese red twig dogwood, if it is suitable for your zone. Remember not to plant shrubs too close to the home or each other and don’t rely on nursery growth sizes on tags. They get larger and then there is a problem. For the shade areas that get some sun, a moss garden. Moss loves clay soil. It is the oldest plan but has no roots. When it rains, the spores explode out and up and where it lands new moss forms. Moss hunting in the woods but leave it on rocks and wood because it won’t relocate well. Looking at Pinterest pics helped when I went Asian inspired for the theme. Aim to create a focal point for the primary areas and then fill in but don’t overcrowd things because when it is time to prun, you need space in which to work. Hth.
Mulch at the entryway will lead to dirt in your house. Overall nothing I see is bad, so nothing to get overwhelmed about. I would do your research and make a plan what you want where.