Should I remove the rhodies? Newbie.. first house. (flowers, growing, grass)

[aussie_rachel]

We are under contract to buy this house and I'm already excited about gardening. The front of the house is pretty drab so I'm looking for ideas to freshen it up. All suggestions will be appreciated.

Do you think I should move the rhododendrons to the back yard? I plan on adding flowers in the spring- not sure what kinds yet. Looking to add color. Not really a fan of the pampas grass either- it's a noxious weed in Australia, so I dislike it.

The pics were taken about 3pm last month and I'm in zone 6.

Thanks!!

[lifelongMOgal]

I wouldn't move rhododendrons to the backyard if you have pets that will be back there. They can be poisonous.

Congratulations on the cute house!

[azoria]

It is a cute house.

I'm not a fan of rhododendrons as a foundation plant next to the house. They're not a very attractive shrub when not in bloom and they get way to big. Move them if you want to and cut them back rather severely. They serve better as a backround shrub than a forefront specimen.

The one clump of pampas grass by the driveway looks totally out of place. Like someone just walked up, dug a hole, and randomly stuck it in the ground. Feel free to get rid of it.

With the flat linear left front of your house, construct a curved bed in front to give it some interest and dimension. Plant things of varying heights and colors, but nothing that will get very big.

The garden area and plants should be in keeping with the size of the house and the yard so they don't overwhelm the property five years down the line looking weedy and overgrown.

[aussie_rachel]

Thanks for your advice.

[Luvvarkansas]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Don't kill the grass!

I don't think that's pampas grass....looks like miscanthus to me, an absolutely beautiful grass. And I disagree that it looks out of place there....to me it is a large, lovely specimen plant. Plant some fall-blooming, low-growing black-eyed susans (rudbeckia) or asters around it and you will have a beautiful display every fall.

[andthentherewere3]

Is your house north-facing? If the rhododendrons are foundation plantings, it may be one of the only kinds of shrubs you can get to grow there. They don't mind the shade, unlike many other shrubs. You can keep them trimmed back each year.

As for the grass, it could be pretty, depending on what else is planted around it. I have always heard you shouldn't rip out any old plantings until you know for sure what you have---you might be pleasantly surprised come spring.

[aussie_rachel]

The house does face north.

Thanks for the info.

[Art123]

That's not pampas grass, and it's not invasive. It looks ready to be divided if you like. Grasses are greatly under-used, imho.

As far as the rhodies, they do look misplaced to me. Look into some otto luyken laurels for foundation plants.

Congrats on the house!

[cdelena]

I have a number of Rhodies on my property that were planted by the previous owner. I moved every one to the back of my property... IMO they are simply too course and large to have close to the house.

[Bunjee]

First I have to confess I'm more into veg gardens than ornamental, and I don't like moving plants that are thriving. So admitted...

While I agree they can be coarse, I don't think the rhododendrons look out of scale or out of place in your garden. Rather, I think the yard is just unbalanced. And you need to wait until Spring to discover how the shrub looks in bloom. You might be delighted.

There's a planting gap underneath the window between the shrubs. If the rhododendrons are foundation then that gap is a stage for another shrub or dwarf tree up to 4' or 5' that will look framed and highlighted among them. This depends on the color of your rhod blooms, but a vibrant, shocking dwarf Japanese maple would draw great attention if you get some sunlight there. Unfortunately, I suspect your blossoms might be in that purple/pink color range. Hope for white, to keep them neutral. Then you can better decide on a centerpiece shrub. Angel's trumpet would be perfect, but I don't think your zone is perfectly right. You might find something similar, that will stand as grandly amid those three shrubs.

I didn't notice that there was a concrete path or paving in front of those rhods either. If not, other perennials of descending height offer more opportunity to color-balance the rhod color to the rest of the garden. If you like the deep English garden effect you'll have several literal field days working out your front yard (in your NEW HOME, congratulations). Personally, I don't like it to look overabundant and wild, but thoughtful and manicured with only one or two other perennials and up to three annuals. That's flexible too depending on how everything coheres.

To the right you need to balance all this left-side work. I suspect that grass is trying to satisfy the requirement for symmetry all by its lonesome. Honestly, in itself I like it but if it's not doing the visual job it needs to--and it's not--and you have bad associations anyway, get rid of it. You can mirror some of the English garden plantings on that pathway. I'd consider building an arbor (white, and designed to match the window framing in scale and style) to match all the consideration given to the left side. Then mirror plantings to complement the other side will, I think, have more obvious, natural placement.