I was getting tired of these Juniper bushes at the front of my house. The house faces East, get's hot morning sun, a pain to remember to water, and they are prickly, brown and will scratch the crap out of your legs when cleaning the windows.

My before picture is older but gives you an idea (minus the chairs) to see what I pulled out today. See the tree on the left I am guessing this first pic is at least 6 years old as the car is a 2002 P5. That day I was painting the brick and the stucco.


The after pictures show a bare section of about 10 feet x 5 deep. I would like to hear some ideas as to what might look ok there.

A couple of requirements.

No dirt, unless I sink big pots in the ground.
Zero maintenance
A bit of depth, since the kitchen window is so high.

Everyone in the neighborhood has planters made out of allan block. I want something different. I will use blocks, but I don't want the standard rectangle planter.

The other project is to rip up the interlocking brick and level them out.

 

Kudos on your 8+ years here and helping so many of us get our S2000's sorted out.

I can't help you much with your plants, but I would suggest rethinking the idea of zero maintainence, and live plants. I would plant seasonal flowers in the planter of your choice to give your house some organic color and liven it up. In Louisiana, rain is often heavy but we have periods of drought, so I have to stay on top of watering my yard and plants. Remember, some nice flowers will give your house some needed color.

Regarding the bricks, I would rethink that and go with a less expensive solution. I would consider repainting with maybe the grey theme or possible more of a red/pink color. The wall to the right with grey/beige should probably match the bricks. The monochromatic theme will deemphasize the proud bricks.

I have been working with an interior decorator with my master bath remodel that is nearly done. I will post up some pics so you can comment on my choices as well. Whatever you choose, make it your own. Good luck!

Cheers!



Keith
Shreveport, Louisiana

 

I'd maybe look at an evergreen that will grow in Canada and is easy to maintain and trim to shape like box or half spheres, maybe Boxwood or Holly with a mulch bed? If you can grow it, plant three bushes and let them grow tall enough to mask all that brick, and shape them round to contrast the window and brick. The red berries will add visual interest as well, and maint is low.

 

Thanks for the ideas guys!

The cedars are popular here in the north. The Juniper (cedar) was old and woody and bit me everytime I walked by it

I should take a picture of my whole yard as maybe this would help. I have cedars in the yard, maybe tooo many.

I want no maintenance in this area, as the rest of my yard especially my back is high maintenance as it is.

 

Another picture of the front yard. Sorry I should have zoomed in better. You can see the front yard is full. That is partly why I don't want to much work in that empty space under the window.



A couple of the back yard so you can see that I do have high maintenance.

 

Rock garden with a water feature? Maybe a pot or two of colorful flowers,on the sides.. large pots so they would not need watering frequently. Not too much maintenance.....

 

My neighbours have suggest a water feature. I have a power issue, but that is not a major issue. I have gone shopping for ideas and found a nice large vase style pot. It is only $105 dollars . I will be putting in some sort of brick border and maybe some rock. I have a lot of river rock (you can really see it) but it is in the front of the house and down the left side of the driveway, plus on the right side corner. Maybe some fancy color rock.

 

You have a trellis built into your stair rail and a brick accent on the other side. I'd consider running a trellis on the brick accent side paralleling the bricks to frame it. I don't know what your boulder supply is but a couple or big boulders or rocks done as a takeoff on a Japanese rock garden there would look good there. I'd probably add some faux shutters to that window too or look for a wall piece to go below the window.

I think the secret to making it a striking entrance however is on the bare wall to the right of the stairs. Do you have any plans for that?

fltsfshr

 

^ I like the idea of large rocks. That is something I hadn't thought of.

I have no plans for the the stucco/siding side. The stucco is the original stucco, which was painted 3 years ago with an elastomeric paint. The siding colour is new the last few years. It is called x90 siding.

My thoughts when painting was to make things look clean. The windows are new windows all around. It is interesting, but the house/old windows used to have metal shutters. I wasn't into shutters, so when the new windows came, I opted not to put an shutters back on. The area is older - 1965, and most people's yards are just basic. Many folks are putting new siding, and new windows. The goal in my area is to modernize the houses a little bit.

I am liking the idea of larger rocks and maybe a large size flower pot for some anuals.

I am not in a rush, as we are nearing fall and not much time to establish any bushes until spring.

 

After you get your garden done, google exterior wall sculpture or wall art.

You'll probably find a cool piece or two that accentuates what you do with the window garden and will tie it all together.

fltsfshr