Anyone good with landscape design?

[black2002ls]

I've been trying to figure out what to do with this side of my house. It faces west and catches the afternoon/evening sun, faces a busy street, and has no windows.

I planted the two crepe myrtles in 2014, there are a couple of azalea's that are still alive, but that is about it. I would like something that would give a bit of shade, as well as maybe provide a noise barrier.

The tree on the corner is a live oak, not sure what type of tree it is more on the west side of the house. The bushes along the front are Holly, with a boxwood on the corner.

Here is a picture of that side of the house. The crape myrtles are much larger now. the tops are just about even with the roof line, which is where I plan to keep them.



I'm not a huge fan of just a line of bushes. Though, at this point, This "bare" wall is the most unattractive part of the yard.

I have also been considering encompassing the live oak tree into the flower bed. bringing the stone all the way out and circling the tree. I have trouble with grass growing in this area due to the density of the canopy.

[black2002ls]

Most of the azaleas in the first picture are dead and gone.

[cool cat]

Throw some Canna lilies in the flowerbed near the house. They do well in my flower bed that faces west.

[Chili]

One thing I would do would be to plant a tree on closer to the fence. Won't do shit now, but down the road that will provide more shade for the roof and wall on that west side, which will make a difference with temps..

That's the only advise I can give.

Edit: I'd add one in the middle of the front yard as well. Bet the front of the house cooks in the summer.

[black2002ls]

One thing I would do would be to plant a tree on closer to the fence. Won't do shit now, but down the road that will provide more shade for the roof and wall on that west side, which will make a difference with temps..

That's the only advise I can give. [emoji14]

Edit: I'd add one in the middle of the front yard as well. Bet the front of the house cooks in the summer.

It isn't too bad.

I want to stay away from trees. Long term maintenance is a bitch, having to unclog gutters, having them trimmed, etc. The main living area isn't too bad. I did quite a bit to seal up the envelope from the inside when we re-modelled when we bought it. It could stand for the vaults in the family room to be hot walled in the attic, other than that, temps aren't too bad. The area with the biggest efficiency issue is that west wall. It holds a TON of heat in the summer.

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[black2002ls]

Throw some Canna lilies in the flowerbed near the house. They do well in my flower bed that faces west.

Got any pictures? I see they can grow up to 6 ft. With 8' soffit height, that is damn near perfect. How wide do they grow? Wheen do they bloom?

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[bird_dog0347]

Got any pictures? I see they can grow up to 6 ft. With 8' soffit height, that is damn near perfect. How wide do they grow? Wheen do they bloom?

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I've got them in my flower beds, both corners of the front of my house. They get 4-5 feet tall, and spread through the roots. They are great, but can take over... lots of pretty flowers all summer in different colors.

[black2002ls]

I've got them in my flower beds, both corners of the front of my house. They get 4-5 feet tall, and spread through the roots. They are great, but can take over... lots of pretty flowers all summer in different colors.

Thank you. I like the look of these and they should help fill that flower bed out and give some color.

[bird_dog0347]

Thank you. I like the look of these and they should help fill that flower bed out and give some color.

I'd suggest getting multiple colors to have variety, only the flowers would be different as long as you get all the same type of leaves. There's also different color leaves too.

[Chili]

It isn't too bad.

I want to stay away from trees. Long term maintenance is a bitch, having to unclog gutters, having them trimmed, etc. The main living area isn't too bad. I did quite a bit to seal up the envelope from the inside when we re-modelled when we bought it. It could stand for the vaults in the family room to be hot walled in the attic, other than that, temps aren't too bad. The area with the biggest efficiency issue is that west wall. It holds a TON of heat in the summer.

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Haha, yeah, it's a give and take. The maintenance is a pita but it's just so nice to have the bulk of the house / yard shaded. More of a personal preference.

Edit: As you can tell, I'm biased.

[mustang1200]

I love all of our trees. Our yard is primarily shaded throughout the day. We recently had some landscaping done. Now if I can just get some real grass to grow.

[black2002ls]

That is the other difficulty with a shaded yard, grass.

[Chili]

That is the other difficulty with a shaded yard, grass.

Yeah, that is definitely true. But I would rather have trees than grass.

[black2002ls]

Well, I planted some bulbs earlier in the year. A few cannas and some other stuff that gets 4-6' tall to help with shade, and color along the bare side of my house. I planted some smaller stuff to help with some variation of color and depth. I also set up a dig sprinkler system to help with watering and keeping things alive. I was previously relying on soaker hose on a timer and it just wasn't cutting it. Since adding the spray system, my azalea's which I once thought were going to die on me, have started to come back and are doing much better.



After looking at that picture, you can't really see the bulbs that I planted, they are only 1-2' tall right now. And WOW I need to trim my crape myrtles up!

Also, does anyone know anything about little gem magnolias? My wife REALLY wanted a magnolia tree, and we pulled a little gem out of a landscape package before one of my houses closed and I transplanted it into the flower bed in my back yard, beside my grill platform. My hope is that I can trim/train it and keep it a certain size, and that it offers a little bit of shade for the grill once it matures.