Landscaping suggestions for front of house? (hydrangeas, hostas, planting, Hydrangea)

[gentlearts]

The bushes you had there were much too close to the house anyway. Its a cute house!
I would move the bed way out, don't plant anything closer than about 4 feet from the foundation, 3 azaleas or rhododendrons would be good, then some nice partial shade perennials in front of them. It could be tough digging with those maple tree roots.
I agree with another poster that you want to choose a shrub by its mature size, not one that will become too big for the space.

[no kudzu]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

I agree with another poster that you want to choose a shrub by its mature size, not one that will become too big for the space.

Well of course that is true for every situation. That is one of the aspects of design I had the hardest time getting clients to understand. It's called a NURSERY because everything is young and a baby and you MUST look at the tag or do some research to know how big -not just tall- everything will eventually grow.

[gentlearts]

Originally Posted by no kudzu

Well of course that is true for every situation. That is one of the aspects of design I had the hardest time getting clients to understand. It's called a NURSERY because everything is young and a baby and you MUST look at the tag or do some research to know how big -not just tall- everything will eventually grow.

Exactly, kudzu. This is why I unfortunately do not shop the mom and pop nurseries around here, because they are so poorly marked, I don't know anything about the plant.

[no kudzu]

I suggest you walk the nursery, make a list of what you like , then go home or use your smart phone to get more information. I doubt there will be a run on that particular plant in the time you need to better inform yourself. or better yet look through landscape books or sites, write down what you like and do the research before you go shopping. A good mom and Pop nursery will usually have someone on site (owners) who have all that info in their head. Still most get their plant material from national growers and those usually have information tags on them.

[mkarch]

Since the wall is all windows, I'd bring the bed out another 5-10 feet, add a berm at the outer edge, and landscape it for viewing from both inside and from outside. Since it's between the deck stairs and a walkway, you could even put a path or small patio area right next to the house since you really don't want to have plants growing right next to the home.

[Butterfly4u]

I agree with mkarch.
I love the idea of a small patio area, especially since there is shade there on a hot day.
You could put a beautiful pot with flowers right in front of the gas meter, you won't see it.
You could have a nice little seating area, and also a small above the ground water feature if you
want, which would look really inviting, since your main home entrance is right there.
Why not just make a nice path right to the deck area?
You can stand inside your living room and look out the window, and visualize a small patio
and water feature, but place it where you can see the view from in your living room too.
Large planters can be planted with evergreens, like arborvitae, which would look good in winter too.
They sell little platforms with wheels on them, you could put them under the large planters to move
them around if you want.
You don't need alot of bushes in that spot at all.
Or if you choose evergreens, using pots with wheels would make them portable.
The house is blue, or it looks blue on my computer anyway, not gray.
Have fun.

[SmartMoney]

Originally Posted by azoria

My god I hate 90% of the foundation shrub plantings I have seen in this world. Horrible. I'm just thinking, please god not one more.

I bought a home that was gutted and rehabbed, including some obligatory plantings. OMG - not only did they do the 2 nandinas with 2 boxwoods...........wait for it............they put down the weed barrier fabric, that does jack for weeds. So now I get to dig up these 3 shrubs and the barrier ( One boxwood dead I am 100% sure from being strangled by the fabric). I've already reworked my perrenials from my previous home into the back yard flower beds.......I've been carefully calculating what's going in front.

Right now the only clear winner is a tripod trellis for morning glories that scamper around my wrought iron railings. (If I could just figure out how to make vines work year round, lol......). But I suspect it will be a couple of interesting azaleas (maybe an Encor and one variegated), hostas, well behaved grass, etc. I don't do well with structure, prefer the Bohemian comes out to play.

(and spare me from spellcheck that wrecks havoc on anything gardening.....if I see "host as" in my posts one more time.......argggh.....okay, I'm lazy, time to update my dictionary).

[Bulldogdad]

Sheesh they couldn't have installed that meter closer to corner by the deck. Utility people can be such aholes.

Plenty of good suggestions up above. I won't offer anymore especially since its been 5 days since the OP responded.

No I wouldn't put red tips there.

[Meemur]

It might not work for your application, but I've been looking into landscaping with rocks as they do in AZ and other areas where water is at a premium. Any plants would then go in containers, maybe 2 - 3 of them.

The older I get, the less I like to weed or mow.

A rock garden could also be walked on by service people.

[DragonflyMom]

Azaleas would be really pretty, but don't trim them into little squares or balls. They should be left their natural shape, save some trimming of wild branches and to maintain size.

Hostas in front of the azaleas, also an evergreen loropetalum in the back for lovely red color.

Oak leave hydrangeas are wonderful, but they will drop their leaves in winter. Gardenias are evergreen and smell wonderful.