Do you ever get American Bungalow magazine? I'd give my eye teeth to live in one, but the best I do is occasionally buy the magazine. They tend to focus on interiors, but there are often exterior shots, especially in the section "Family Album," where readers send in photos of their homes.

I just typed "bungalow" into google and the first site was ambungalow.com. There they have photos of all Family Album sections since 1998 - well several pages didn't come up. I just looked through all of them. Most people haven't done much at all with the landscape, having clearly concentrated on the architecture. But there are all sorts of treatments.

In your specific case, my preference would be to let several of the shrubs grow tall enough to come a foot or so under the windows - to break up the great expanse of white.

Have you had your house long?

Thank you! I LOOOVE my house! We've had it five years, and you should see the inside! Gorgeous woodwork, fireplace, even original wavy windows. We got it from a single lady that lived in it for 40 years. It had the old knob & tube electrical wiring and needed lots of other behind the scenes work, but the "bones" are perfect. Eventualy, I plan to open the porch back up to its previous glory. If you like these kind of houses, move to the midwest. About half of our town is craftsman. They are so common that they are viewed as "just an old house, not worth much". I grew up on the east coast, and to me they are a treasure. The round bushes came with the house, the spiral bush and flowers I put in. So far, my main gardening has been in the back. My husband has a love for neatly cut squares of lawn, so I let him have the front "square" and I have the foundation beds. Someday he may give in and let me carve some of the front up, but at the same time, the craftsman era had a thing for square shapes, so I may just decide to accent it more. Grin.

Hey, great house!
It has great bones as you know, but it also has good foundation plantings. The spiral looks great as a focal point. If I moved in I would put a red flowering rose bush behind the low mounding hedges and trim it to a fan shape, but without the trellis. I would also add 5 similar looking small single plant terracotta containers on each step to border the garden and add color. Some upright plant like geraniums would look great this time of year. (Not too much cost either!)
---Keith

I just love your house it is so sweet and charming hope this might help

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:57880}}

how did u do that dingmansgreenfairy? very nice

Maureen thank you I use custom 3d landscapers design software its really neat I love it

Hey thanks for mentioning that magazine = )

I found their site & they have the Family Album pix online - wow! Lotsa neat photos & oodles of ideas....

http://www.ambungalow.com/AmBungalow/family.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: AmBungalow Family Album page

Having lived in the Midwest my whole life, that picture just screams "picket fence" to me. Gates off the drive and the front walk, trellis arbor over each covered with glowing red roses, and the inside simply stuffed with flowers.

Probably wouldn't meet your DH's needs, though....

I really wanted the picket fence thing too, but your right about DH. Sigh. The trials and troubles of being married to a golf lover, to them it's the green, green, green. I try to console myself that the lot is almost too narrow for a fence, it would probably accentuate that aspect. Double sigh....