Okay. So sometimes I jump into a project and then find myself at a loss.
When we bought this house, Dan and I agreed that the front bushes/shrubs/whatever needed to come out. They looked terrible and were falling apart. Without luck, the Brilliant Previous Homeowners tried to hold up the splitting trunks with cinder blocks. Go figure.
Really hating the shrubs/bushes/whatever, I went at them with gusto. At first, I thought I could just improve their appearance for the time being by squaring them up. They were still ugly.
Then, I thought I’d just chop down the parts against the front of the house so I could at least get between the things and the house to clean up all the trash BPH left behind. Not too bad, but still ugly.
So, the other day, before the yard waste was picked up, I really went at them. Chopped them down completely. Then, on Saturday, I dug up all the roots. Ah… much better. In my opinion. Not so much in Dan’s opinion. He’d rather ugly than nothing. Oops.
So, now I need some help. What should we put here? I know nothing about plants (except, aparently, chopping them down.) We need something that will work in the Chicago climate. Something with a little height. Something attractive. Something free. (Why not ask for it all?) Seriously, though, I don’t know what to do. I do know that I don’t want what was there before. I’m not a hedge fan. I don’t want anything prickly.
Got any ideas?
5 responses so far ↓
1 morethananelectrician // Oct 20, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Alright! Budget matters. This is what I do…not landscaping, but renovation.
1. Bigger porch would be the best thing…if you can’t do it now. Plan your landscaping around a porch that would extend past the window by the door.
2. Shutters. New and bigger. This will pose a problem with the mailbox and light fixture. You could go back witht he same size, but maybe a darker color.
3. Landscaping. Tree on the left corner. Far enough from the house that the roots don’t cause a problem later, but break up the squareness a bit.
2 Gwen // Oct 20, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Ripping out ugly plants indicates progress. You rock for doing it yourself!! (Sorry, no plant suggestions, as my limited plant knowledge applies only in TX).
3 gran // Oct 21, 2008 at 4:08 pm
i’ll go with the suggestions from more thananelectrician. we had already discussed a tree to the left and i think bigger shutters would help. see you soon!
4 Your Brother (the older one) // Oct 21, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Trees would be nice.
5 Sister in-law (older brother side) // Oct 21, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Go to the HGTV site and apply for the curb appeal people to fix your front yard…lol.. just a thought.
Good Luck!
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