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homebuyer23

Newbie needs help with Shady front yard landscaping, please :)

homebuyer23
9 years ago

Hi! This is my first gardening forum posts. Just finished our kitchen, now turning our attention outside.

We just had 2 huge overgrown shrubs ripped out from in front of our house. They were in front of the window and I hated how they blocked the window. They were same type as the one that is on the far right. That one we kept bc it was not as big as the other 2.

Now...we are stuck with a barren front. The right side of house is where we ripped out & really need to replace them with something. On the left are 3 azalea bushes that have seen better days, but I think they are Ok.

We live in zone 7 I believe (near Philadelphia) Our house faces East /northeast. This side of the house gets sun in the morning until about 11/12:00, then it is in shade for the rest of the day, especially the area under the large cherry tree.

We plan to go to the nursery tomorrow and can/will ask the knowledgable staff there questions. But I just don't even know where to start.
I have no idea what to look for or what I want. Just checking if anyone here has any advice of what would look nice and in particular, what would actually grow, here.

We have planted some little shrubs and small plants (hostas) in years past & they all die. Admittedly, other than watering it & putting miracle grow on them once in a while, not sure what else I should've been doing.

Feeling so clueless, any help or advice where to start is appreciated!

Thanks!

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Comments (6)

  • designoline6
    9 years ago

    Depend on your budget,you could add a porch,a fence,replace the walkway,add bed.,plant hosta,hydrangea,azalea,forthia,boxwood,j-maple,cedar,...I design a part.

  • sc77 (6b MA)
    9 years ago

    Maybe a Japanese maple, something narrow like (Acer palmatum 'Twombly's Red Sentinel' ). Then surround with low Hosta and under the window something like Endless Summer Hydrangea.

  • PRO
    Yardvaark
    9 years ago

    First, it would be good to enlarge the landing at the entrance so that it was more in scale with the house size and didn't force a low-rent looking single-file approach to the porch. Then, incorporate a simple, low maintenance planting that includes seasonal color, groundcover and a couple of shrubs below the windows. (There would probably be additional interest incorporated at each side, but the picture does not allow to show it.) It doesn't look like any of the existing shrubs that remain are usable. Their existence doesn't enhance; it detracts.

    (Thanks SC77 for the hydrangea.)

  • mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
    9 years ago

    This isn't a 'shady' area. It is an area that gets decent sun. Shade plants can often handle an eastern exposure, but not always.

    Start by deciding what you would like it to look like *in the winter*. Deciduous shrubs look like dead sticks. So it is usual to plant shrubs that have some sort of color during the winter. Instead of the hydrangea, a blue colored conifer like a blue juniper would provide that color all year, then a shorter, flowering shrub could be planted in front. There are also gold conifers.

    BTW, the shrubs on the left are probably some sort of flowering shrub. I'd get them ID'ed before yanking them out. A lot of things are looking unusually ratty after this winter, and they may just need a bit of time and some pruning to look decent.

  • lazy_gardens
    9 years ago

    "We plan to go to the nursery tomorrow " .... Please don't.

    Take the time to sit down with a site plan, figure out exactly what you want to do out front, and what plants will do them. Then call nurseries until you find the plants you want. Not just species, but what variety by name gets you what you want.

    Those "knowledgeable people" have one goal, which is to sell you something they have in stock. Your ideal plant may be one nursery further sown the road.

    =============
    I'd go farther than Yardvark ... make a nice entrance terrace out there across the front porch area between porch and sidewalk.

  • stolenidentity
    9 years ago

    I would just make the whole area lawn. Seems grass grows just fine. Do it on the other side too, those azaleas are done! You don't have to go all flowery, I like the idea of extending the porch area as lazygardens suggested. A garden bench, a pot or two of colorful flowers and a simple table are lovely and no watering necessary :)

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