This month's topic for Garden Bloggers' Design Workshop at Gardening Gone Wild is front gardens. This is such a timely topic for me because I promised myself last year that this would be the year we got rid of the "Green Mustache." This Yew hedge came with the house, and I've made various efforts to shape and control it, but enough is enough.I have no problem gardening out front; I had my garden in the front yard at my last house instead of in the back, and my current house is on a quiet street. On the other side of the front door is my mini faux-prairie garden.
Here's the view from the driveway:
The simplest thing to do would be to plant a mirror image of this garden in place of the Mustache. That won't work, however, because the Mustache is much shadier than the garden. I think I would like to leave the upright Yew at the corner of the house (that is, if it evers recovers from being a deer snackbar this past winter). Otherwise, it's a clean slate. Any suggestions would be most welcome.
Here's the view from the driveway:
The simplest thing to do would be to plant a mirror image of this garden in place of the Mustache. That won't work, however, because the Mustache is much shadier than the garden. I think I would like to leave the upright Yew at the corner of the house (that is, if it evers recovers from being a deer snackbar this past winter). Otherwise, it's a clean slate. Any suggestions would be most welcome.
37 comments:
MMD - I can totally relate. I'd say rip those suckers out and ask Carolyn for suggestions. She's great at this. Mine is still sitting bare at this time and it looks horrible right now.
What an apt description of the one side of your front garden. Mustache, funny.
I am no good at front garden design. All I can offer you is good luck.
Yes, shave off that green moustache and then see what ideas come to you (which is another way of saying I'm not very good with design and have no suggetions). But, I covet shade, I don't have near enough, so you'll be planting my dream shade garden, no doubt.
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
In our shady back bed I went with native shade tolerant plants. Turks cap, bog sage, lycoris for fall blooms, passion vine, etc. It may be too wild for a front yard though.
As far as the moustache goes, "Take it off, take it all off."
The deer eat yew? i thought it was poisonoyus.
But yes, it certainly spoils the look of the house and garden. It's gotta go ...
The mustache blocks some of your light and doesn't do anything for the two lovely windows in front. Well, I'm not much of a grass person, so I'd be thinking of putting in some shady groundcovers and perennials with contrasting foliage (and hopefully ones the deer don't like). Your prairie garden is lovely.
I hate to say it, MMD, but that Moustache has to go. You'll be glad you did!
Robin at Bumblebee
Do deer go after Oakleaf Hydrangea? It might not be a good suggestion, Daughter* ...but it's a native and I think it's beautiful.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
*copying ChuckB ;-]
Your prairie garden is lovely -- I can see where you'd want to shave the mustache, perhaps. No great ideas here right now but I'm sure you'll come up with something wonderful.
I hate to rip out an established shrub. But that Yew needs more than a trim. Pull it out by the roots. Don't worry about what to do next - it will come to you. Almost anything will be better than that deer fodder.
Well, the consensus is that it's time for a shave!
Gina - it probably looks better bare than with what was there before.
Aunt Debbi - I think my soil is too dry for Turk's cap & bog sage, & I can't any of my Lycoris to bloom. :( I'm not worried about it looking too wild, the hardscaping will keep that feeling in check.
Sue Swift - I think the berries of the Yew are poisonous. The deer munched only the foliage.
Kate - one thing I've considered is window boxes on those windows, once they Yews are gone.
Annie - call me "Daughter" if you like. I don't know whether the deer would eat Oakleaf Hydrangea, as mine is in the back which the deer haven't figured out how to get into yet. I might try 'Little Honey' there, I do love Oakleaf Hydrangeas!
Wiseacre - you & my husband both! When I described the tasks/goals for this year, including ripping out the Yew hedge, he groaned & mumbled something about a lot of work. I wish I could magically move at least one of the Yews somewhere else, because a well-grown Yew is a magnificent sight. (And these are nothing like a well-grown Yew.)
Hmmm, nice 'stash! NOT. I like window boxes, they're so pretty. I'm not a great garden planner either, but I sure know what I like.
Yup, I'd rip those out too. We had a somewhat similar mustache in front of the house for about five years til I finally wore down my LSS enough that he helped me remove them. Now that spot, one of the best-drained in the place, is festooned with echinaceas, lavender, deciduous azaleas, and other things that want good drainage (plus wind shelter, in our case). It's all good. You'll have great fun once you start the ripping!
mmd,
I agree it has to go! Why not a seating area with a small canopy tree that flowers and has lovely fall color, and many shade tolerant perennials...what fun to see it gone and have ideas blossom!
Gail
Yep I'd rip them out too! I like the window box idea, that would look great there and you could change it as often as you like.
Cinj - I guess I'll have to float the windowbox idea past DH now.
Jodi - thanks for the encouragement. I'm not sure how much fun it will be. I guess it depends on how annoyed at the kids I am. (Theraputic shrub removal?)
Gail - we've been putting the motel chairs on the patioish area of the front walk, but maybe between the windows might be better. Thanks for the idea. Now for a small flowering tree...
I would never have seen the moustache, but now that's ALL I see. And one of the eyes above is closed. Really funny!
I have to say, though, that from the driveway, I love the solid dark green background the yew provides. That's no help, I know.
If you left the small upright yew that would presumably grow a little larger, what about also planting a mountain laurel and then filling in around with some big-leaved shade-loving plants, like astilboides or cimicifuga, and maybe some variegated hostas?
Of course, I would love a witch hazel, and they like shade, I think. And you'd have winter blossoms. Hmm.
Good luck!
Got a big surprise for you--but it will take me a few hours.....stay tuned and keep watching my site-----it's raining and this is going to be loads of fun..............do you hear my wheels turning and see my hard drive smoking?
Ahhh ha! Ha! Hee, hee, hee, ahh haa haa ha! Oh, oh, your house has a mustache! Ha ha! Ahh hee hee! Wait a minute, I'm crying here . . Ah haa haa!
MMD, Oh my, how I can relate! DH has agreed to let me rip out our 40-year old, overgrown oddly-shaped yew, burning bush, and ugly mystery shrub foundation plantings. His best friend has been trying to talk him into this for years, is cheering me on, and has even offered to come from Indiana with his pickup truck and the strap he uses to pull out old ugly landscaping like ours. DH is still a bit skittish about the whole business.
I have similar full-sun, part-sun issues in the front landscape. The living room side is under the canopy of our 40-year-old Bradford Pear, and the dining room side is hot, blazing sun.
I've already taken the pictures of our mustache, and have been planning a similar post (It might push DH over the edge, one way or the other ;)
I'm very interested to see what you come up with, and I'm heading over to see Anna's surprise. I'm dying to see what she came up with!
I have somewhat of a green moustache, too, which my husband refused to tear out, so I planted in front of them. But if I knew how to work a chainsaw, I'd do it myself!
Everyone's given you good ideas here; I'm looking forward to seeing what you might do with this space.
MMD, you don't look good with a green mustache. I say rip it out and go with Anna's second option on her site. It will be lovely.
I'm a big fan of 'Annabelle' Hyrdrangeas.~~Dee
I would take out the yews too. It might take some thinking and planning but I think you could duplicate the look of your other side but just use shade tolerant plants that have a similar growth habit as the ones on the prairie side. Someone mentioned a sitting area and I like that ideal. Maybe a bench situated at the far left corner, placed diagonal with maybe a bird bath or water feature as well.
Hi
Thanks a lot for the tip to go to the grwoing place its wonderful the ladies there are so helpful , they took me over and explained all she asked me to prepare my soil and come back next week so that we can go ahe ad and pick up some starter plants i got some sprouts and chard from them tooo .. thank you thank you
siri
J - your comment about liking the view of solid green from the driveway actually does help. It suggests that some small but dense green shrub would look good backing the patio-type area of the front walk. I like the Witchhazel idea - maybe one that's scented. I've got gads of shade plants out back that could be divided & moved to the front also.
Anna - ? I don't have much time these days to keep up on things, but I'll get over to you soon.
Garden Girl - how fun, we can compare projects as they go along. I bet yours will be done first.
Rose - my husband won't let me near the chainsaw because, as he says, I hurt myself on common household items.
Wicked Gardener - glad you found it amusing. Too bad you're so far away, you could come & laugh at our attempts to get rid of it. :^)
Dee - I've got to get over to Anna's! I've never grown 'Annabelle' but they are very popular around here, so I know I probably wouldn't kill it.
Phillip -ooh, ooh, ooh, a water feature!! If I could just talk DH into it. The only problem is that there's no electrical outlet on the front of the house.
Siri - I'm so glad you had a good experience there! You are welcome.
Some good ideas... the mountain laurel and oakleaf hydrangea were all on my list.
But how shady is "shadier," really? Are there some huge trees I don't see around there? I'm asking because I have some grasses in shadier spots (East-facing) in my yard--panicums, sorghastrum nutens 'Sioux Blue' and even a few little bluestems. And they seem to do just fine. The sorghum grass seems to be the most shade tolerant of the three, FYI.
By the way, I think that the moustache didn't look *so* bad... until I scrolled down to see the beautiful garden on the other side. :)
Hi MMD,
Late to the design forum here 'cause I've been busy, of all things, designing gardens now that Spring has sprung!
My vote is for removal of the overgrown yews ( you knew that didn't ya , Yewless, Gina ? ) R.I. P !
I know that you like natural or native plants so why not replace them with a mixture of shade tolerant, deer-resistant viburnums, a dogwood or witch hazel then form a bed on the left to balance out the right? In front of this back drop you could plant an assortment of native long blooming perennials.
What is that deciduous tree in the bed on the right side that appears to be too big and too close to your house ? Would it be possible to remove that and plant something more in scale ?
Another observation is the perennials in the right bed all look very tall and aren't layered according to height. Arranging them according to height : tall, medium and low would create a more balanced and interesting design.
Some native prairie grasses would also be lovely.
A word of caution on the native Annabelle Hydrangeas : It is very invasive. If you decide to go with it put a barrier around it's roots so that it can't travel more than 6 feet in diameter.
Are you over or under-whelmed by all this free advice ?
Blackswamp Girl - I don't think Mountain Laurels do well around here. None of the nurseries carry them. If you look at the first photo, you'll notice some branches hanging down: that's a Norway Maple. 'Nuff said.
Carolyn Gail - thanks for the warning about Annabelle Hydrangea. I'm very leery of invasive plants. I like the idea of a Viburnum. I have been needing one. (Doesn't everyone?) That overgrown, misplaced tree is my beloved Magnolia, about which I will post soon. I love lots of ideas - then I can mix & match to find what works best. Thanks for the advice!
I didn't get to leave a post the other day... I followed your links and got "swept away" with creating a post of my front yard. Thanks for visiting and leaving nice comments! (Now, if only I were closer... I'd hop right over to see what you're doing in your front yard!) ;-)
Shady - It's so easy to get swept away by interesting garden design ideas. Right now I'm not doing anything in my front yard because my allergies have kicked into high gear. If you do see me, I'll be wearing a kerchief on my head to keep the pollen off my hair. (My husband has started calling me "Aunt Jemima."
My sweet next-door neighbor has terrible allergy problems. They seem to be worse this year than I ever remember noticing before. The "Aunt Jemima" look could be quite stylish if you ask me! ;-)
Shady - I think the pollens might be worse because they're all coming out at the same time this year. Yuck!
Out, out, out. I'm sure you will be able to find many nice plants or shrubs when you start looking. Anything would be better than a monotonous giant green pound cake.
You know, Ki, giant green pound cake sounds kind of yummy. (Like a pound cake recipe that uses lime Jello in the mix - fruity good.)
The praire garden is beautiful. Maybe in place of the yews, you could plant with the same effect, but use plants that tolerate more shade: rudbeckia lancinata, autumn monkshood, veronicastrum, various bugbanes, lobelia, and bellflowers to name a few.
Heirloom Gardener
Thanks for the suggestions, Heirloom Gardener! I have admired Veronicastrum from afar for years, but didn't have room for it. Maybe in the new garden it might fit.
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