looking left, from same position

This post was edited by megs1082 on Tue, Oct 7, 14 at 18:28

looking right, from same position

front without shadows

closer look from left side - excuse the open garage and things on the driveway...we were doing some outdoor cleanup

The crudely obscured figure is my daughter!

looking right

Here are some generalized suggestions in picture form. The bed wraps around the left corner where there would be a larger shrub(s) along the side wall. Plants should be tall enough to cover the space below the cantilevered bump-out.

Though you can't do it now, I would definitely reconfigure and widen the walk. While at it, eliminate the single step where it adjoins the slab.

Yardvaark - Thanks so much for taking the time to do that! I really want to learn, so is it possible to explain the reasoning behind adding the grass in front of the porch? I'm not challenging the suggestion, just if I hired you as a designer, I would assume as we were looking over the property, you would say you think I should remove the bed area in front of the porch because it ______. I realize I'm asking you to explain and not paying! I'm not a person who is able to visualize very well....when I arrange something I need to set things up a million different ways, so I can see the differences - would it be possible to show me how it would look planted, if I left the porch beds?

Also, I can't tell from the picture, how you treated the right bed, as it runs into the driveway?

Yes the step is not ideal, we actually added the step as a temporary measure; the walk was crumbling right by the porch. It would also be great if the walk actually led you to the front door...

I'm including a picture of when we first bought the house. There was a rotten fence around the porch. Obviously we removed the fence. Would adding another fence detract from any of the porch issues, and make it seem more like it is appropriate to plant in front of it? We will be having new windows put in and they will be white trimmed from the outside, so the white fence might 'go' more at that point. Sorry if that is an obviously stupid question!

This post was edited by megs1082 on Wed, Oct 8, 14 at 16:19

As the bed on the right runs to the driveway, in my prior illustration it's groundcover.

To clarify, what I meant by removing the step where the walk joined the porch slab was that the area should be graded such that no step was needed and a new walk would join the slab with no level change.

It might be the existing walk that confuses the issue about the planting bed configuration in front of the house. The walk is not THE path to the entrance, but is merely part of it. The primary path to the entrance is a visual "path" as one would view the house from the street. You're conveying to those who pass by where the entrance is and how one gets to it. The lawn -- which is green wall-to-wall "carpeting" -- is the primary path to the front door. The walk that is inserted into the "carpeted" path is as significant as its configuration, dimensions, placement and materials make it. No matter how it's configured, it's going to seem strange to divide a hard floor area from a "carpeted" floor area, with a barricade, and have it still seem inviting (which is generally an important quality of an entrance.) I'll answer the question, "... you think I should remove the bed area in front of the porch [primarily] because it makes the visual path to the home entrance area seem pinched and uninviting." I realize that the minimal amount of opening required for a person to access the porch slab area could be pinched down to 3' width. But making it this small undermines the goal that one usually has to make their house appear more luxurious instead of as minimally utilitarian as it otherwise could. For the sake of making it easier to understand, I'm removing the concrete walk in the illustration so that its configuration and size is not a factor. I hope this helps to make it easier to understand.

Yaardvark - thank you for the explanation and additional pictures! I get it :). In your pictures without the walk, I totally get it and removing the beds seems like the obvious choice. BUT, when I walk out my front door, imagining the change, it feels disjointed...as the space between beds feels so large. For me, front porches tend to add a cozy, intimate feel and that feels lost to me with the beds so wide spread. It feels even more disjointed (to me) as you approach the house. If there was another natural place to stop the beds, that wouldn't leave SUCH as large space (the porch is 20' across) I think it would feel better to me. I can see though, that where you have the beds stopping by the porch corners, is the only place that makes sense.

Do you think there is a way to a happy medium? To my untrained eye, the visual "path" seems LESS pinched when the beds by the porch are just mulch like they are now, than in your example where they are densely planted. Starting from beyond the porch corners, would a gradual fade in both height and density of planting as you approach the walk, accomplish anything in terms of making the visual path look less blocked and more open? Maybe planting the beds in front of the porch in very low sedums?

Thanks so much again for being willing to explain what you did. I never even really noticed how narrow the "path" between the beds was before. Thanks for bearing with me through my questions. Hopefully my last thought on the space between beds isn't too frustrating!

"...the visual "path" seems LESS pinched when the beds by the porch are just mulch like they are now..." Being just mulch is roughly equivalent to being just lawn. But mulch is generally not as attractive as a smooth, green, velvet upholstered lawn. I don't think it's a sin to encroach the opening to some degree but would just keep the invasion minimal. You could do it with container plantings or a small extension of the beds.

Thanks once again for your time! I like the picture with the beds "encroaching"! I think that is probably what I will try.

Would you make the left bed deeper than the right bed? Since design is not my thing, keeping things even ends up feeling safer, but probably is not correct. Right now they are both about 9' deep.

This post was edited by megs1082 on Fri, Oct 10, 14 at 12:17

The left bed will be a little deeper because of the bump-out and the fact that the area is not confined by a too-closely-placed walk. Strive for balance over perfect symmetry. When you (or next owner) re-does walk, it could be reconfigured to allow for optimum bed depth at right side.

I didn't see the picture with the picket fence until now. Making the area into an enclosed courtyard would change planting arrangement. If it were to be court, I think would be better with wide, un-gated opening and taller fence.

Unless you think making it a courtyard is the best solution, we will probably skip the fence. It would be simpler all around.

Does anyone have thoughts on whether red knockout roses (I know they lean toward pink tones) would clash with the warmth of the roof?

Being as I have never made a personal site visit, I'm not in the position to make the BEST solution. I'm limited to offering general ideas. From afar, I see the "fence" arrangement not as necessary, but only as another possibility ... one that depends much on your endeavors. BTW, I'm in agreement with you about liking the solution with the partial encroachment the best of those shown.

I don't think your roof will clash with any flower color.

Late follow-up on my part - I was at a garden center and someone suggested a weeping Japanese maple for the far left corner. Bad idea? I don't know very much about them.

Because of the big tree, I don't think I would put such a maple off the front corner. Maybe better farther down along the side. 8' from house wall. And incorporate it in the bed that wraps around the house.