New house - ideas!

[samwi123]

Hi everyone - got some great ideas last time we moved! Looking for ideas for the front garden border for our new house! (Back garden will be a while!) It need a ton of work everywhere, but trying to gain some inspo!

As you can see the wall is currently covered in ivy and moss, and behind that all the way to the house is just weeds with the odd old shrub. There is a wisteria there, however this side of the house is entirely north facing with no direct sun on it really, so I’m thinking that may have to go and be replaced with something more happier in that aspect. Partner likes stuff not too busy (ie a shrub, something ever green and something flowering and repeating the same plants) so I was thinking a row of Annabelle’s near the house with sarcoccoca shrubs dotted about and some type of geranium for flowering.

It is quite a deep border, probably 3 metres from the wall to the house. Soil is slightly acidic, loamy (dream) and more on the damper (although free draining still) side than dry.

I'm only focusing on the side to the right of the door at the moment as will be putting in a path to the left of the door which can take you to the garden. Any other planting ideas welcome!

To me that house is crying out for a climbing rose. There are some that do well in shade. The photo shows too small on my screen to be able to make out much of the garden, though.

The wisteria looks happy to me, I’d be tempted to leave it a year or 2 and see how it does. I’d also be tempted by a tall thin tree on the right hand side. Also lots of bulbs….. your plan sounds good. A bright yellow or bright red rose would stand out beautifully. We’ve got a white render house and I planted a red leafed cherry that shows up really well against it…

Roses definitely

Oh, yes, a tree would be lovely there. Maybe a Japanese maple? It would do well in shade.

I like the low wall covered in ivy surrounding the garden.
Victorian/Edwardian style houses seem well suited to a formal front garden - and it's a very low maintenance option..

I would plant a row of 3 or 4 equally spaced short lollipop trees - either Bay, Holly, Portuguese laurel, Chinese privet or Euonymus japonicus Aureus (variegated leaves yellow and green) - perhaps a quarter or half standard size so as not to block the light from the windows. They will cope with shady conditions but Portuguese laurel and Bay don't like windy sites.

In between a row of trees I would plant Heucheras of contrasting leaf colours.
Hydrangeas do need some sun to flower successfully, so instead I would plant a row of fuchsias with a long flowering period near to the house if this spot gets little or no sunlight.

I wouldn't plant roses even if they are shade tolerant - I have tried this in a north facing garden. They produce few flowers, are more prone to disease and they need regular treatments to keep them healthy.

If you like Sarcococca I would choose Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna 'Purple Stem' as it maintains a neat shape, smaller size and has a bit more winter colour.

I'm not a fan of climbers on a house wall - too much work to keep them looking good and under control. Framing your front door I would have a pot each side with Golden Irish Yew - a slim column shape that takes up little space, a very slow growing tree that can be easily clipped to desired size once a year. It has an abundance of red berries in winter and will enhance rather than detract from the elegant frontage of the house.

Thanks for ideas everyone, some great ideas! I do love the idea of an acer or something too add a bit of height, but it might be a challenge finding one

Climbers would look amazing but it takes time and effort to keep them in control. It's worth it imo, though really depends on whether you're ready to go through all these motions. Roses are a great idea and you could also mix in some ferns or brunnera to brighten the shady spots, and maybe a couple of clipped evergreens (like yew or skimmia) to give it structure all year. Are you using any landscape planning tools? That really helps visualizing the whole thing, you can try out something like https://gardenbox3d.com/ or maybe even Auto Cad if you have it (they have a plugin for landscape design afaik).