The house is placed far forward on the lot. The only lawn is from the edge of the "dry creek" to the sidewalk on the left. The stones are Montana Rainbow:

I am debating if the rock should come out entirely or just be softened by a flower bed. We did just plant an Evans Cherry in that bit of lawn, but I'm not sure if its going to live (we didn't prep our clay soil well enough).

The driveway was extended to the right by the previous owners. We may take the extension out to remove some of the hardness of the landscape. If we do, what should go there? Lawn? Evergreens? Pots?

This is Hubby's vision for our house (it needs tweaking, but its a start):

A friend did this for me and its a bit different:

Our front yard "view" is of the cul-de-sac street we live on. Neighbourhood kids play street hockey year 'round. We don't use that piece of lawn at all.

My questions are:

- Is there an evergreen that might survive the winter in a porch planter in my 3b zone?

- What evergreens would have a columnar (preferred) or globe shape and maximum height of 4 ft? (I want fewer than Hubby drew and shorter heights.)

- Does it matter that we don't have a front walkway? We just use the driveway.

- Any other ideas?

Thanks in advance!

...Pam

Just a quick thought and your winter may affect this, think about Grass Crete blocks to replace your concrete on the right of the photo. Then you can use it to park vehicles on but looks like a lawn. Aloha

Ideasshare, the scale of your drawing seems inaccurate. I don't have room for all of those trees.

...Pam

Add risers to the stairs, for sure, but I might also scale back the gingerbreading and architectural detailing - especially the flying buttress on the right. (I realize it's just a plan in the idea stage.)

Does the dry creek actually channel water? Purely decorative because previous owners didn't want much to mow? If it's purely for some kind of look, I'd take them up and use elsewhere - in the backyard, maybe. It's a nice color blend of rock.

Container gardening in cold climates is iffy. I've had spruce sprout up in pots and left exposed - they seem to survive quite well. I don't know if I'd want to try it with something I paid money for.

Replace the stairs. They are the least attractive thing right now. A nice house should have enclosed stairs.

You're in 3b. Keep evergreens in front, or more than half the year, the front will look naked. They don't have to be the same evergreens--in that little space, I'd go for bigger ones instead of the double layer there now.

I'd replace the whole gravel bed with a planting space. I'd make a minimum of 1/3 of the planting material evergreen. In 3b, I'd go more toward 1/2.

A small, pretty tree (not sure what does well in your climate) will add some weight to the left side of the house. Don't crowd it against the foundation, though.

deuluthinbloomz - I'm not sure what was intended with the rock. It didn't really look like jor function as a dry creek, but that's what I'm turning it into because we do have a water problem. Our neighbourhood was built on a series of underground springs and bogs that were filled in -- how sad -- and our sump pump runs constantly, draining to the front of the house. The upside is that we NEVER have to water that teeny patch of lawn, but sometimes it does get too wet. I have researched what a dry creek SHOULD look like and have already started on it. The sump pipe will spill into the dry creek and flow to the street.

tanowicki - We do not have a separate walkway, just the driveway. I think I'll remove the extension on the driveway (on the right) to soften the look, but that will not impact on anyone getting to our front door.

reyesuela - The stairs will get risers. There's lots of valuable space under them that I'd like to use for storage once its made invisible. I agree with your tip to go with 1/2 evergreens. The yard does look dead and naked most of the year. I guess that's why many folks use fake plants on their porches.

...Pam

...Pam