Shirley over at Shirls Garden Watch has invited bloggers to post 5 gardening/blogging questions on their blogs and as she says in her original post, gardeners are a very generous bunch with help and advice.
Before I launch into my five questions (actually I only have one) Big thanks to all of you who left comments on my last post Gardening Mojo each and every one was much appreciated. Sadly, my garden mojo fled shortly afterwards as I was poorly, which left computer stuff rather difficult to do and as a result I was unable to respond to you all.
My question for Shirley’s meme has been prompted by something that I read over at Helen’s blog. This year for her end of the month view she will be focusing on her front garden, which made me realize that after 6 years or so in this house, I really must sort out mine!
Our house is on the main road that runs through the village, we rarely use the front door, every one that visits just comes straight around to the back where they know they will find us. As I type this, I am not even sure if we have a working front door bell.
We don’t have a front garden, what we do have is a “bit” which is 3.5 feet x 24 feet, divided in the middle by a concrete path from the front gate to the door. Looking at the front of the house in the picture above The right hand side is where I want planting, the left hand side, I think I need to keep a path to the front door …. maybe.
The two front windows are bays, so if I put planters in the “alcoves” they will be half undercover and wont get any natural water from rainfall or light from above. All the plants were removed when the roof was done although there was not much in there. We also levelled the earth so that it was below the air-bricks rather than above them and re-instated the front gate and that is as far as we got.
As people visit our garden to buy plants – to have this unsightly area at the front is not a good idea but I have no idea what to put in here and I am looking for suggestions.
The challenges are:-
No soil (So presumably I will need to get pots … big pots, but they have to be affordable and weather resistant)
North facing (With bright morning sunshine and deep shade for the rest of the day)
Dreadful North and East Winds
3 feet from the road, and quite often cars park in front of the house = much pollution and there is no pavement.
It will have to survive neglect as I rarely go out there – so tough plants
I am not a big fan of tough/lumpy evergreens … or hydrangeas
I think (But I am not sure) that I only want planting on one side, as sometimes people use the left hand “bit” to get to the front door due to the lack of pavement and parked cars.
So this is my question to you all “What shall I do with the front area of my house?” (After we have re-painted the windows)
Answers on a postcard in the comments please.
If you have a question that you would like an answer for I am sure that it is not to late to join in. Also look out for a post on Tuesday 26th February which sounds like a fun thing to join “The Gardening Prequel” (What was your garden like pre blogging days) More information is on Shirley’s blogger invitations post.
Could you construct a long raised bed in front of the bay that was wide enough to allow access between it and the front wall. I’m not a fan of pots because they dry out so quickly and good size ones can be expensive. It would give any plants a more substantial amount of soil/compost to grow in. Plants that grow in coastal gardens tend to be able to cope with harsher conditions such as north winds. Not sure if this is much help.
wellywoman´s last post ..Memories of France
Wow Karen! Who would have ever guessed this would be your front garden – at the edge of a busy road. Your back garden looks like you are out in the country. What a wonderful surprise visitors coming to buy plants from you must get
I love a huge contrast in situations from front to back garden. I have that myself with open sunny at the front and partial shady in the back and lots of vertical structures. I think this is a fantastic question to be asking us all. Thanks for joining me ;-D
I’ll need to look out photo albums and photo folders on my PC for you – a thoroughly time wasting job hahaha look forward to doing it. I’ll be back
Thanks for the links and mentions of the Prequel too. I’ve been reminiscing through old photos and I couldn’t be gardening more differently now
Shirley´s last post ..Garden Bloggers’ Questions FEB13
I am not a gardener but I would love to see more straightened stone/slate or tiles the both sides and just a coat of paint on the windows. Leave the plants to the side and back, because the house is impressive by itself.
I don’t think your front door bell does work. Yes I agree with a lick of paint on door and windows, slate path and forget plants
My first response was that you should plant something like box or an evergreen shrub that could be clipped and would look smart and not need much bother.
Then I saw you couldnt plant into the ground. I dont like the idea of the pots as they will look pushed together and as Charlotte says will dry out. Her idea of a raised bed is good but again I would plant it with something you can forget about as you really dont bother with the front garden space.
Alternatively you could put down some nice paving and have two grand pots either side of the front door with bays in or something else seasonal. Rather grand and posh looking and even one of those hanging baskets you sell and dont like
Helen´s last post ..Catching ‘White Fever’
I have got myself into a blogger muddled and confused Wellywoman with someone called Charlotte which isnt the case. I am now off to lie in a dark corner – sorry
Helen´s last post ..Catching ‘White Fever’
Will keep an eye on the answers because, apart from the absence of soil, your situation mirrors the front of my house – gloom for much of the time, punctuated by fierce light and heat at certain times in the summer. Dark colours don’t show up and light ones can look very stark in shadow. Plants also insist on leaning forward towards the light. Without soil – I think I’d go for the story book look – neatly cut bay in large pots, one on either side of the door. Not that I could really do that because I wouldn’t be able to keep them symmetrical so they would soon look odd. You, probably, could though.
Esther Montgomery´s last post ..THE ARRANGEMENT OF BOOKS
Popped in via Shirl’s blog. Being as there is no soil your options would be containers or a raised bed if you opt for plants.
What about just some slate chippings and a few strategically placed stones as a feature not technically gardening I know but they can look nice if done correctly.
Angie´s last post ..About time!
I kind of see a moss garden with a few ferns or something – wouldn’t need a lot of soil. Could add additional interest/texture with some rocks and/or smaller logs/branches/driftwood.
Hmmmm, I’m thinking less is more…
You need something that’s stylish yet welcoming and shows you mean ‘business’ plants wise.
So, I’m going for two matching pots with bay or topiary and lots of nice Welsh slate underneath to neaten the area. And yes, a lick of paint to finish things off.
This would also provide contrast with your plant sales area at the side, which is usually very colourful. The pots at the front could match your display stands so that the two areas are tied together.
I don’t think you need to duplicate the plant sales area in terms of having lots of pots and plants on display especially as you already have a lot of watering to do.
An alternative approach could be a gravel garden, but using slate instead of gravel and using plants which are as tough as old boots to spread/self-seed themselves.
VP´s last post ..Garden Bloggers’ Five Questions
PS – so glad to hear your parcel’s arrived and I hope you’re feeling better now.
I thought you’d enjoy Shirl’s ideas
VP´s last post ..Garden Bloggers’ Five Questions
Despite knowing the house well, I’d not really realised how deep the front strip is. Hmm.
I do like VP’s slate chippings idea, but for myself I’d think about a couple of spectacular grasses in pots. They’d reflect the garden behind, look a lot less formal or conventional than clipped bay (not sure that would survive without browning, anyway) which would also mirror the garden. They’d move in the wind and the aftertow of cars and, if you got the right ones, the colour would contract well with the house… they’d also work throughout the year.
And this is from someone who isn’t the world’s biggest grasses fan. Slap me, someone…
Kate´s last post ..Wet and wordless Wednesday
Yes, grasses would work well and brings a taste of the back garden through to the front
You can slap me too, biggest as Karen knows too well, I’m not the world’s biggest grass fan either. You must be laughing your socks off, Karen
VP´s last post ..Garden Bloggers’ Five Questions
Try cobbles and inter-plant with sedums and creeping thyme. They will withstand everything the weather can throw at you and can look very pretty.
Well, funnily enough this is just the type of challenge I absolutely adore! I have a similar sized space at the front of my house, it’s not enclosed though but I say go for a climber in the space between the door and window. A lovely spring & summer flowering clematis – you can even get mixed coloured ones now and it would look stunning against the colour of your house too, it would be fine without direct sunlight. Plant it in a massive container and pop some trellis up. Then other containers would look incredible either side of your door. I’m thinking topiary style box too and some red pelargoniums in the summer to contrast against the blue. Some of the most impressive gardens I’ve seen are small. It is amazing what you actually can do with containers. I’d probably attach some terracotta pots to your railings too, on the inside in your case. 3 on each side in line with your windows. I’d have a field day with that! Can I come over? !! I have tons of containers out front, all cheap from Wilko’s and my house is in direct sunlight pretty much all day, I don’t struggle with watering at all. Container gardening is a doddle, much easier than you think.
Anna B´s last post ..How do your products grow?
I’m with the “less is more” crowd. Refresh the pea gravel and add a single tall, deep container with something upright (could be as simple as curly willow wands) and a seasonal arrangement along the panel to the right of the door. Pop in updates from some of the pots you sell.
Helen at Toronto Gardens´s last post ..Wordless Wednesday: Catalpa trees
I’m with Kate. Grasses would look stunning in a couple of nice pots. Then just simple slate chippings and a couple of nice stones. Don’t think box would survive. When are we off to the pot shop then?
Karen, this may be a bit outside the remit but, since people mention the paint, maybe you won’t mind if I make another non-plant suggestion. Feeling a bit hesitant here – but why not have some curtains which show the design / colours on the outside, street facing? They could be transformative . . . and I associate you with fabrics as much as I do with plants.
Esther Montgomery´s last post ..THE ARRANGEMENT OF BOOKS
In your first photo, the right side of the front of your house seems to have a darker shade of blue paint. I’m assuming it’s the shadow effect. I do like the darker color though. It makes your white trim pop. Being the artist that you are, you might have fun with a bright colored door … Red?
At any rate, have you had any experience creating hyper tufa containers? They are easy to make, have natural drainage properties, and are weather resistant, due to having concrete as a base ingredient. If you were to form two very large containers over large rectangular cardboard boxes, they could be placed on the ground in front of your windows. They would look very much like window boxes. Fill them with good soil and pot with red geraniums, etc. somehow these flowers seem a natural fit to the traditional look of your home.
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Just a suggestion, though. You are receiving great ones! (The rest of the right-side area could have a layer of river pebbles, or some such thing.
Shady Gardener´s last post ..ABC Wednesday -F "Feathered Friends"
I like Toronto Helen’s suggestion. More slate chippings. Tall, dark coloured single container. Then I would combine it with Kate’s! A grass, not a big one, perhaps a steely blue one (festuca?). Change the door colour to the colour of your display stands round the side of the house. So any ideas here. How are you going to choose?
What a fabulous meme, wish I’d come across it earlier! Ah well. I too am voting (!) for slate chippings and one or two large pots with wonderful grasses – or possibly bamboos. Stylish, look after themselves, and behold, with a lick of paint a transformed front garden leaving more time to play (and work) in the back! Hope you are feeling much better. Almost Spring, though my it is nippy.
Janet/Plantaliscious´s last post ..Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day February 2013
Really looking forward to how this scenario plays out. Love all the thoughtful answers here. Here are my two cents:
Miscanthus sinensis against the rail for privacy, sound of rustling in the breezes (from cars even), birds snacking, and shape echoing the upright beauty of the iron railings. Perhaps some tiny plates of Sempervivum tectorum galloping between the rails. I’m big on minimal care…. but I’m thinking layering of this and that….
What about a couple of hooks in front to suggest the wares for sale in the back? Then, rotate as necessary.
Laurel´s last post ..my reality: brain injury
I know I probably suggest this grass too often, but it’s such a great problem-solver…and it’s beautiful. Anementhale lessoniana (Pheasant’s Tail Grass). It’s evergreen…but the colors change with the seasons, blooms in late spring/early summer with a frothy veil of pinky-purple blooms and will survive in a wide range of conditions, from full sun to dry shade. I think a row of them would look lovely, full and verdant.
Many good suggestions! I think different sizes of stones, combined with moss and ferns, would be lovely!
It’s a bigger area and she has soil, but reading both your post and the other comments I was reminded of Ms B’s front garden, which has slate, box, grasses, and some really nice paving, among other things. If you haven’t seen it, there are some photos of it here, which might give you some ideas.
Juliet´s last post ..A Quick Update …
I like Helen (Toronto Gardens) suggestions. Definitely add more gravel and 1 or 2 large pots that you can exchange plantings in.
You could try ‘Purple Haze’ hardy geraniums, wind resistant and do well in semi shade at least, they’d look very pretty.