Front garden help please?

I've been encouraged to post pictures of the garden plot I'd like to cultivate in my new house in Nashville Tennessee, so here goes.

The following are several images of my small front garden. It gets sun from just before lunchtime onwards. Under the tree on the left are some hostas, and there are a couple small patches of some kind of bulbed plants just starting to emerge. There's a rose bush on the right front corner. The hedge (boxwood?) is ugly and I intend to have it removed and to plant something else.

I have so many questions I don't even know where to start! I have no clue what to do with this space, other than knowing that the hedge needs to go, and that the soil needs some kind of conditioning? before anything else is planted. And also that I want to save the existing plants if I can.

I want the garden to be colorful. I want perennials as well as annuals. I think I want another hedge, just not boxwood. Other than that, I don't have a clue I'm afraid, and I don't even know where to begin to start GETTING a clue. :-?

Two views of the front from either side:




A closeup of the hedge so you can see how woody it's become, and how hard it's trying be a tree instead of a hedge.


A closer view of the area to the right of the house in the first couple of pics, which is where the several hostas are, around the base of that tree.


Are there any landscaping tools online I can use to sort of plan out the garden? Suggestions for another hedge selection? Layout?

As much as I want to get rolling on that area, I also feel completely overwhelmed because I know so little!

Where do I even start? :'(

 

Ronni, you have a great area there, and now is the perfect time to whip it into shape !
First, get rid of the hedge, and rethink if you want another one. Hedges have to be maintained, and you'll be walking through your flowers to get to it. Also, if one plant in the hedge grows more slowly, or even dies out, you have a gap that is very hard to fill.
Add as much compost as you can to the soil, and dig it in well. Don't fertilize until you know what plants you are going to use and their feeding requirements.
May I suggest that you have a small flowering shrub near the downspout (perfect place for a reblooming rose, scented to greet guests coming to the door). Then plant taller (maybe 3' tall at maturity) mixed shrubs spaced separately where the hedge is now, and shorter perennial bushes and annual flowers in front of the mixed shrubs.
I'm not familiar with your zone, or soil, so I'll wait to see what others suggest and perhaps get a handle on what grows well in your area.

 

I'd go ahead and get rid of those shrubs and those scalloped concrete edging (don't throw them away.... I just think rocks would make a nicer border). That way you will be inspired by a "blank canvas".
And as far as what to plant, look around your neighborhood and see what others are growing.
Take a look through some of the gardens here to see what other's have done... especially if there's a member near you.
Take a day or two to just visit the nurseries to see what they carry and what you like. Then I'd do a little research on the plants to make sure they will thrive in your climate.
And then GO SHOPPING! :-D
And don't forget... there's always someone here to answer any questions.
I can't wait to see how pretty this is going to be!

 

You've got a very nice area to plant up. I don't know your zone so I won't suggest anything besides what others have already suggested.

Please post updates as work progresses. I love to see a rather boring area being turned into a colourful garden spot.

 

Agree, Agree!

Ditch the hedge (and it will STINK to high heaven as you are doing so, it is boxwood...) Advertise it on craigslist for free if someone wants to come dig it up, that way you can get rid of it and not go to the hard work of it, but I suspect they will want you to dig it AND plant it for them at their house so, maybe that won't work. Just get started with a pair of pruners(loppers will be better) and start hacking away. then you will need to dig ferociously to get the roots out. Do you have a good strong son, husband, nephew, (neighbor kid willing to wok for a few bucks?) that would help, huh?

If you think you need a "hedge" try something like bronze fennel (not bulb fennel). It is herbaceous and tall in the summer. dies back in the winter and comes to life again in the spring. hosts swallowtail caterpillars and beneficial insects which are good for your garden. It is a nice airy backdrop for the flowerbed.

Delphinium might do okay for you, but am not 100% positive, it may be a bit too warm for them or not, just try them. Great pops of blue, purples and white.

I would not suggest any type of grass for the area, it will over take is in a heartbeat and it is hard to dig out.

Japanese anemones are a nice mid tall flowering plant, dies back in the winter, too. comes right back in the Spring.

Petunias, marigolds, zinnias, dusty miller, begonias, herbs, even will do okay in a flowerbed.

Try edibles in the bed if you want, chards are great for color, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant.

 

I would strongly suggest azaleas! I also live in Brentwood which is right outside Nashville and they love it here, plus their flowers are very colorful and i think that those would make an excellent addition to your space.

 

Thank you all for your suggestions. We have a guy coming today to give us a quote to remove the boxwood hedge. Once that's done, and I've worked on the soil, I'll have the mostly-blank canvas I need to begin the planting process.

I'm in a real quandry about what to replace that boxwood with. I don't want another hedge...as one of your so sagely pointed out, I'll have to keep it trimmed and will be walking through the other flower to do so. No thanks! But I would like something else back there....a line of shrubs or other bushes to give some height and as a backdrop for the other flowers I plan to plant in front.

A friend suggested a line of yew bushes. Someone else mentioned gardenias. Several people pointed out that having some flowering bushes that are fragrant, right there by the front walkway, would be a good thing. I agree. But I wonder if bees would be an issue?

Also, does anyone have an opinion about the pre-planned garden packages that you can buy from some online nurseries? One of my friends absolutely swears by them, and planted most of her entire garden with them.

 

Ronni, I have a real problem with those "pre-planned" garden packages. No one knows your yard, preferences, color likes and dislikes like you do, and certainly not someone working in a warehouse assembling "gardens".
Believe me, once you start to look at plants, think about what you like, and sniff a few fragrant roses, you will not only want to plan and plant your own garden, you will enjoy it, too!
You have a wealth of experts here, and all of us were beginners at some point (for some of us, that point was back in the Dark Ages ) so tap into the vein of knowledge and we'll help you design and grow a great garden!

 

Understood. But see, I am so completely overwhelmed with choices that I just don't even know where to begin! I've never done well with too many choices under any circumstances. To give you an example.....if I have to shop for something special, I'll take my daughter with me and she will point out a number of things and I'll choose between them rather than trying to figure out a specific choice from an entire department...I'm THAT sort of person!

So I'm sure you can understand how the literally THOUSANDS of choices for any given shrub, plant, bush, annual, perennial is so difficult for me.

I just don't know where to start!

Oh, and by the way, if it's important.....I'm in zone 6b - 7, depending on which Hardiness zone map I've consulted.

 

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No, no, no on those yews. UGLY! Too cold there for gardenias, isn't it? I think they will die out in the winter time, but I am not sure on that, you would know better by asking people from your area. Go check a few nurseries for plants that catch your eye and ask or, look at the tags, how big they get. Go back home and measure the space you have and then decide if that is a suitable mature size for the space. Often we are quite surprised at how much space a mature plant really needs to grow and are slightly disappointed that the plant didn't fit there for very long. Look for contrasting textures and colors, too. flowering shrubs are nice, but be aware they will take maintenance. picking up dropped fruit, pruning or shearing, picking up leaves in the fall etc. Do NOT look for any forsythias, either. They will spread like weeds and over grow the space in no time at all or you will be out there aggressively pruning regularly to keep them in bounds.


Are you allergic to bees, or do they just frighten you? Bees are actually very unobtrusive. just going about their business of gathering pollen and nectar for their hives. I keep bees and I never see many of them near the house. and I have 4 hives (which can add up to over 200,000 bees, easily). I rarely get stung, even while working in the hives. Just don't start swatting around, slow gentle movements are the surest way to avoid a sting. Wasps are a different story. They can be aggressive, but usually only if they are bothered (but not hornets).

if your friend "swears" by them go look at her beds and make your own opinion of them, they look deceptive to me. all those flowers do not bloom at the same time and even if they did there would then be a bloom free summer afterwards. Perennials are pretty notorious for blooming only a short time, the bulbs bloom once and are done and then the annual need to fill in and do the color thing the rest of the summer. I am not real fond of perennials since they usually bloom for such a short time and then I need to be working around them the rest of the year, but that is my opinion, others like them because they don't have to replace them yearly and there are flowers that just don't compare to the selection of annuals. Day lilies are one of my least favorite, but others love them, I think they look weedy, but they are getting some very pretty colors bred for every hue imaginable, now. Just pick things that you like. You are the one who has to look at it all the time. not us.

 

I'd suggest just concentrating on your background shrubs or plants for now.
Once you get those in place, then why not... go ahead and get one of those pre-planned packages. You may find that you love some of the plants...or hate some of them. You can always get rid of the one's that don't work for you.
But your bed will be filled and you won't feel the need to hurry up and buy stuff.
This will give you the time to research and pick and choose what, if anything, you want to change.

 

For flowering bushes i would again have to say azaleas just because of their wonderful flowers and ability to fill up space as a bush

 

Macbrine, thanks for the suggestion, neighbor I'm in Bellevue, so more or less down the road from you.

The problem I have with azaleas is really only the fact that they have to be deadheaded with such intensity. The flowers are prolific and look absolutely stunning, but then when they die the bush is covered with brown, ugly dead lumps. I'm busy enough that I can't guarantee I'm going to be able to get out there in a timely manner and get rid of that mess!

Carolyn, I tend to agree with you about the day lilies. I love how they spread out and are very hardy, but for the same reason I have a problem with azaleas, they are very unattractive once the flowers die and the dead brown lumps sit atop those wilty stems.

Anyone have an opinion on or a suggestion for a small conifer type shrub......another friend's suggestion, because they're low maintenance, grow slowly depending on the type, don't have to be cut or pruned, and are hardy.

 

Oh, and Carolyn about the bees? I'm not allergic, but I have young grandchildren who will be out and about in both the front and the back garden. Don't know if they're allergic or not as they've never been stung, and the "slow, gentle movements" that you suggest around bees just ain't gonna happen.....they're kids! That's my only concern. I realize that if I plant anything with blooms, I'm going to be running the risk of attracting bees. I just want to minimize that if I can, so planting something that is known for attracting bees would be something I'd want to avoid.

 

I would suggest Rose of Sharon but they can grow very tall and are more like trees than bushes,a forsythia might get it done or a dwarf forsythia. Im not very experienced with them since I am brand new to gardening and i'm young, but iv'e seen a few around and they look amazing