Returning home, you wonder how Christie did with the new plantings in your front yard while you were on vacation.
You are startled as you approach your house. It looks so different! The holly hedge that used to cover your house is gone. You can see the front door. Now you can see it will look good painted bright red. Geraniums in some new pots will look great in the summer. Christmas trees with lights in the winter.
You wonder “which plant that is with the yellow green leaf? Maybe that's the one that blooms in the summer.?” The ferns are huge. They must be 2 feet tall.
Christie was right. You don't need many plantings along the front of your house. It looks cleaner and light.
You'll have to have them take a look at your back yard jungle this spring. You wonder what they could do with that.
Before & After
Sometimes new Landscape Design Ideas are can come from viewing before and after comparisons of other projects. Here are a few favorites
Japanese Garden near St. Christopher’s School
This is an example of a yard that we stepped into and had a hard time thinking clearly it was so overgrown with a jungle of old and multiple boxwoods, liriope, random slate and azaleas.
We decided to shape the Japanese garden she wanted around her inventory. We dug out all of the liriope and sprayed the roots before and after the installation to catch any hangers-on. The full healthy English boxwoods were left in place. We wove the pebble path and berm through the ones we left standing. The random slate buried under the lirope in the before shot, was used on top of the gravel path around the berm. Hostas and hellebores were transplanted from the chaos and used closer to the new Asian terrace. Quite a difference! The client was great and really thrilled.
Church Hill Charm
We reworked this Church Hill garden by giving the space a lovely English garden look with flowers in the front. The existing knock out roses stayed, but we added Russian sage, a “Sonora” rudebekia, and two “Pinky Winky” hydrangeas to give the garden color which will last into the late fall. Functional tumbled blue stepping stones add weight and power to the small space.
Lush Plantings on Brook Road
This is actually a before and after showing how plants mature after 3 years of growth. Pop! It just takes good energy, balanced watering and appropriate light exposure to enjoy shades of green and flower color.
The unseen “before picture” of the whole project had a much rougher start with broken down stairs and no retaining wall or pedestals at the stairs’ base.
Parterre on Monument Avenue
Careful planning was the important aspect of making this garden pop. The owners and I poured hours of thought into the perfection of this small space. We used clean angular gravel, that is less costly, instead of large flat stone for a pristine look. The center pot is the only thing that has to change for fresh annual color. Justin Brouwer boxwoods are pricey, but critical in easily maintaining the tight green hedge.
