What are your ideas for Curb Appeal?

[Secret_Squirrel]

The 1960's rambler DH and I bought needs new landscaping. What are some curb-appeal ideas that you use or that you really love? I need pictures!

Here's what I have to work with (taken out of the window of my car):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/ms_anthropy/housepic.jpg

I really hate the square pom-pom hedge on the left side of the porch. I'm thinking of replacing it with something like this:
http://www.wellsnurseryllc.com/images/spiral.jpg

But I'm worried that will be too cutesy or hard to maintain.

Maybe a weeping Norway Spruce would be better?
http://www.kengrove.com/images/weeping-norway-spruce.jpg

Along the porch rail, how would a row of heather look?

http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/cheshire/IMAGES/heath-heather.jpg

I'm also looking for nice short shrubs to line the yard-side of the brick walkway. In the pic, there's a rhody there, but I already moved that to a spot underneath a bedroom window.

What do you think of these little round ones? Anyone know what they're called?
http://www.fine-gardens.com/gfx/estate4.jpg

Even if a cool landscaping pic doesn't apply to my situation, post it anyway and maybe it will be good for someone else :)

[Asha]

personally, i think all the hedges in the front detract from the look of the house. also, moving the location of the hose would help too.

cute house!

[Secret_Squirrel]

cute house!
You are sweet. :) It's okay, nothing like some other ones I see on this board, but we're happy here.

I do not like the overgrown rhodies in front of the house, either. But DH feels otherwise (seriously, he was unhappy I moved the rhody last night. He said he liked it greeting him on the walkway).

There's no way I can convince him to get rid of those, unless I have a full replacement plan... which I'm working on. ;)

Do you think it's a bad idea to replace the square pom-pom with a smaller, thinner tree? I thought it might be nice to break up the exterior.

Hmm... maybe instead of the tree there, should we put plant something underneath the far left window? The driveway pavement goes straight up to the wall, but we could do a box of some type...

Like this:
http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:vb--BmRCNc0J:http://www.country-classic.co.uk/Custom%2520Made%2520Planter%2520Box%2520in%2520Dar k%2520Oak%2520Varnish.JPG

[2kCougar]

The little round shrubs may be boxwood. They take well to pruning.
The spiral tree requires pruning at least twice a year. My parents are one of the few in their 300 house subdivision that have kept them looking the right way. Most people have pulled them out or let them get over grown.

I would suggest a sandcherry or maybe a japanese maple between the two windows. You could put boxwood or holly under the windows.
For all season colour, I'd recommend some shrub roses (fairy roses for example). They could line the walk, but remember that they have thorns and you would need to trim them once a year.

[Daisy]

Congrats on your new house!

My ideas (I watch waaaay to much Curb Appeal!) -

If your budget allows, spruce up the drive way - maybe repave it or do that stamped concrete thing along the edges, or use decorative pavers along the edges instead. It's hard to tell what the walkway looks like, but you may want to repeat the same idea there.

I LOVE Japanese Maples, so I second that idea. It'll add nice color too. I like the plant ideas you have as well.

I also suggest sprucing up the big front planter box. Maybe with some rock or even slate on the sides and a variety of plants and flowers in the actual planter.

Have fun and good luck!

[Lizard]

Boxwood are great for front hedges... there are a ton of different varieties, but they all shape well and are easy to care for. We have some in front of our house, and we only prune them once a year to keep them rounded.

I think I would definitely do something big under that far left window... I like your idea of the box, especially if you decide to keep the wood around the front tree. If you change that to retaining bricks, you could do a couple big stone pots under that left window too. That would look pretty neat and you could switch the plants out for the seasons.

I'm with you, I don't like the overgrown rhodies either. You have a nice porch and it's masked by them. I know your DH wants to keep them, but if it were me I'll pull them, plant them in another area, and put some lower-profile plants in. Another option might be a butterfly bush, it is fairly see-through and you'd have all kinds of fluttery friends. :)

Is there anything planted on the right side, where the hose is? You could do a nice assortment of flowers along that wall. I like the idea of a Japanese Maple there, but those can be expensive. A lower cost alternative would be a trellis - that would add a neat accent to the front.

By the way, what direction does your house face and what zone are you in?

[KarenS]

Hm. My first thing is that the driveway tends to take over the view from the curb. How about edging the driveway in something - hostas work well and stay low. I would also remove or at the very least cut way way way down the tall hedges around the house.

Karen

[Secret_Squirrel]

If your budget allows, spruce up the drive way - maybe repave it or do that stamped concrete thing along the edges, or use decorative pavers along the edges instead. It's hard to tell what the walkway looks like, but you may want to repeat the same idea there.

ITA, but I think it is too cold to do it now - daytime highs are mid-60s, but it dips below 45 at night. Next Spring, we have to (but I'm afraid to find ou how much that's going to cost). The path is brick and it's ok for now.

Is there anything planted on the right side, where the hose is? You could do a nice assortment of flowers along that wall. I like the idea of a Japanese Maple there, but those can be expensive. A lower cost alternative would be a trellis - that would add a neat accent to the front.

Right now, nothing permanent. There was some Cosmos over the summer, but it didn't take well. I would love to put a raised bed along that side of the house.

This is really nice, and I think it would work with the slope of our yard:

http://www.austinsmarthomeservices.com/images/retainwall/retainwall2a.jpg

By the way, what direction does your house face and what zone are you in?

The front faces north. The walkway area gets morning and late afternoon sun, but the area under the windows is mostly shade.

I'm in the wet side of Washington state. Is that zone 4? Thanks for the tips about the boxwood, too. I see a lot if it in the developments around here.

Hm. My first thing is that the driveway tends to take over the view from the curb. How about edging the driveway in something - hostas work well and stay low. I would also remove or at the very least cut way way way down the tall hedges around the house.

Like a simpiler version of something like this:

http://www.physics.umd.edu/lecdem/staffbios/berg/landscape/PIC1.JPG

I love the idea of edging the driveway! Hostas are mostly shade loving, arent' they? That part gets a good deal of sun. But I think hostas would be perfect in the area under the two windows. They love our wet climate.

Off to a meeting, back later. Your ideas are so great!

[Lizard]

Hostas are great... we have them all across the north side of our house. There are a bajillion varieties to choose from too. I also planted some Lily of the Valley there last year on the north side, and am anxious to see them come up. They LOVE the shade and multiply like rabbits.

Forgive me for being ignorant, but is the wet side of Washington state the west side? If so it appears to be zone 8? Here's (http://www.prairiefrontier.com/pages/hardiness/zone.html) a map.

[Janey]

The West side of Washington (which is also the wet side of Washington ;)) is Sunset Zone 4-5 & USDA Zone 7.

Subscribing to get ideas for my own curb appeal. ;) S_S, I totally have empathy with your Rhody problem. We have a freaking humongous Camelia that blocks the entire house that B will not even Think of getting rid of. "Do you know how long people wait to get their Camelias to look like that??" he tells me. "But it's blocking the whole house," I respond, arms waving out in big circles. It hasn't done much good yet.

[ivansbabe]

Cute house! I'm in the middle of trying to decide what to do outside our house. We just moved in a couple months ago...I swear your house could be in our neighborhood. We're in Bothell. Anyway, I'd take out the rhododendrons, and that hedge too. They seem unbalanced where they're located. I don't have a ton of ideas but here are a few pictures of homes for sale in our area...

http://cache.windermere.com/pics6/ImageStore.dll?id=FD9E0FD98B31F561&w=400&h=298&bg=ffffff

DH and I are hoping to do something similar with our exterior in the future
http://cache.windermere.com/pics6/ImageStore.dll?id=2D68C5005BC5351A&w=400&h=298&bg=ffffff

I like the cute little patio they created here
http://cache.windermere.com/pics5/ImageStore.dll?id=1642DF39C8ED25FC&w=400&h=298&bg=ffffff

[mobox]

Thought I would bump this one up.

[HeatherFL]

We're going to be redoing the facade/elevation of the house, but in the meantime we have a lot of foliage, a pergola and a lighting artist who came and did our lighting. We don't have regular grass, but jasmine instead. We also have a tiki statue which sort of fits our personalities. LOL

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g230/HeatherJWFL76/IMGP0764.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g230/HeatherJWFL76/IMGP0763.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g230/HeatherJWFL76/IMGP0765.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g230/HeatherJWFL76/IMGP0760.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g230/HeatherJWFL76/MISC/IMGP5114.jpg

As you can see, the shale is completely covered up by leaves right now. The yardmen don't come until tomorrow, sorry! LOL
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g230/HeatherJWFL76/MISC/IMGP5112.jpg

[mobox]

Heather, it's gorgeous! We are getting ready to redo the front of our house which is CRAP right now but will be a beautiful slope and Spanish patio one day. I love your pergola!!

[HeatherFL]

Thanks, mobox. I love Spanish patios! It will be beautiful. :) Make sure to post pictures for us to see!

~H.