Help me up my kerb appeal! (Pic)

[Sparklydiplodocus]

Hello all. Before you say anything yes I know the bay tree on the right is kaput and needs to be replaced.

My husband thinks the planted bay trees look a bit spindly and blah here anyway.

There are lots of very smart houses near me with that very minimalist kerb appeal thing of gravel/ window shutters/ couple of bay trees or similar and they all look great. Mine doesn’t look right. Thoughts?

Thank you all for your suggestions. I’m particularly keen on the diamond idea mentioned, using lavender etc in formation with white pebbles. I’ll get to work on switching it up.

Try looking on FB Marketplace for 1/2 barrel planters - you can get these for about £20 and you can paint them whatever colour you want to. www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/pair-of-premium-quality-topiary-buxus-balls-with-stylish-contemporary-flared-black-planters?fee=6&fep=14681&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnuGNBhCPARIsACbnLzp4e677q7G-3iWZm__OtG6WBqkPDENV-Og_zoJfF8V1_1jN97yW7uAaAvGVEALw_wcB These are nice and on sale too.
Ultimately tidy up the garden (pick up the moss), buy some cheap edging stones for beside your path (you'll get plenty cheap ones in b&m) - you'll be surprised how cheap you can cheer it up!

I'm not keen on the blinds. I don't think they do anything for the appearance of a house from the outside. I prefer grass on front gardens rather than gravel stones. Have a walk round and look at other houses similar to yours and think whats appealing about that house from the outside and what isn't.

@rrhuth

Well I would say this as it is what I have done but I would fill it with plants and flog off the gravel, get the place living. It looks miserable because it is a dead space.

Lavender, rosemary, thyme, roses, ivy etc etc. Easy to maintain but pretty and fullof wildlife in spring.

If you are skint do it in stages, do a corner at a time.

Yes that's what I would do too...

Really pretty house.

I'd scrap the bay trees and maybe replace the gravel with bark. Then add 3 or 5 attractive small-medium shubs. Depending on the area and aspect, maybe something like acer, twisted hazel, dwarf cherry, camellia, spotted laurel, rhododendron, berberis etc. You can now get dwarf photinias I saw the other day, they're really attractive.

Definitely clean the brick work and re-gravel the space.

I'd choose a window box and choose plants with bright, clean greens to them. Swap them out for bright colours in the warmer months- red geraniums for example.

Is that trellis yours? Replace or restain/repaint. Pressure wash your path.
And the little gravel flower bed needs redoing.

I wouldn't plant in the large space but agree that shrub such as lavender would look lovely bordering the path. Or go for a low hedge like box or yew.

A bird bath could really smart out front in the large gravel space, and a well placed bird feeder could also attractive.

Lose both trees. I'd look at getting a new porch light as well, something shiny.

Clean the porch roof and opt for a raised bed or large planters below the bay window. Fill with evergreen shrubs, choose for structure and different green coloured foliage rather than flowers. Simplicity will look great so go for a variety of greens, plenty of bright and acidic greens if you can.

On the rhs website you can browse plants based on characteristics like hardiness, ease of care, colour etc.

If you don't want a lawn but would like to get rid of the gravel then look at lawn alternatives such as camomile or thyme.

Does the photo show the whole of the front area or is there something to the right of the path e.g. driveway, bin storage etc.? Is there a fence/wall at the front or is it open to the pavement?

Assuming that the gravel area doesn't need to perform any particular function, I'd build deep (as in, wide rather than really tall) raised beds in a reverse L-shape across the front that borders the pavement and up towards your front door. Decking boards are good for this. Leave a decent gap between the end of the bed and the corner of your porch so you can access the beds from the gravel area. In the bed that borders the path, plant lavender and Erigeron karvinskianus at the edge closest to the path. Look on the crocus website for ideas of other plants that fit a colour scheme e.g. pinks and purples or theme e.g. cottage garden and choose some plants that will flower at different times and heights. Bulbs such as alliums offer structural interest as does the verbena bonariensis (this is tall and self-supporting so good for the back of the bed). The bed that borders the pavement could be planted with some interesting grasses along with thistles, echinops, agastache and other insect-friendly plants... and bulbs.

Having given your garden some personality with the planting, weed the gravel and at some point in the future consider laying a weed suppressing membrane and covering with slate chips or something other than brown stones.

Well, I would dig up the gravel and put some plants and wildlife friendly things in.. but I guess that's a pipe dream!

Lavender atta to bees and butterflies. I suggested various plants such as verbena bonariensis which is also good for insects as it sedum. All are easy to grow and maintain. Wildlife benefits from plants and lots of us have suggested planting schemes.

Weed the gravel
Put a band of white gravel round the bay and alongside the drive / path.

Nice shrub in massive pot by door.

Sorry, is this to sell, or for a permanent look for you?

If permanent put in lots more planting as suggested. Lavender, rosemary etc.

We aren’t selling the house, I’m trying to improve the look.

Just out of shot to the right of the door there is a drain down to a water butt! It’s great for watering but an eyesore by the front door. Don’t know how to move that because the gutter leads to it?!

Also out of shot is a row of lavender that I planted which goes up the side of the path.

I’m in agreement with you all that lavender etc is the way to go. Just need to work out a planting scheme.

I would suggest you get a Louvre fence with a gate for access to the water butt.

Massive hydrangea in front of the water butt? Tall planter with lavender? Posh water butt - you can get ones with planters on the top.

Can you show us a pulled back photo of the whole frontage so we can be nosy suggest planting schemes and plans?

@Sparklydiplodocus

We aren’t selling the house, I’m trying to improve the look.

Just out of shot to the right of the door there is a drain down to a water butt! It’s great for watering but an eyesore by the front door. Don’t know how to move that because the gutter leads to it?!

Also out of shot is a row of lavender that I planted which goes up the side of the path.

I’m in agreement with you all that lavender etc is the way to go. Just need to work out a planting scheme.

Just conceal the water butt. You can get frames/brackets that secure around drainpipes to act as trellis for climbing plants. A bit of willow screening will do for the water butt.

Id last a variegated laurel in front of the water butt, then a couple of smaller bushes - to make a triangle shape

triangle shapes are better than lines of bushes in a blob formation

It's an urban garden so the safest route is to stay formal. Low hedges (lavender's good since box is out), clipped shrubs in classic containers. I don't know where you are, but rhododendrons and camellias which somebody suggested need acid soil. Hydrangeas are lovely in country gardens but a cliche in towns, except for the nice easy climbing one, hydrangea petiolaris. If you want a centrepiece, I'm drooling over obelisks from the Litchfield planter company at the moment. Gorgeous, and in F&B colours. What's not to like? Or you could go to woodwork classes and knock one up yourself along with a pair of Versailles planters for the front door.

Have not read all the thread, so if it's already been suggested..

could you put some rectangular planters up on the roof above the bay
window, is roof flat ? plant some trailing bi-coloured ivy and something colourful. can always take them with you.

If money is an object then dig up the bays and ditch the dead one. Mark out a central bed in a square, circle or diamond shape and edge with brick. Replant bay in the middle of this bed and underplant with box or lavender or rosemary. Get a long cheap wooden planter to go under the bay window and paint it a heritage colour (dark green is good) and plant with matching bay/lavender/rosemary interspersed with a few small white cyclamen. Get a couple of wooden square planters that match the long one and paint in the same colour and plant with a couple more bays to go either side of the front door and plant some small white cyclamen underneath. Come spring/summer plant some white trailing plants in the long and square planters too.

Could always try replacing the window? I know its a fairly big change but if you updated the design with new timber / uPVC with woodgrain finish then you'd get something that performed better with less maintenance, that usually ups the value of a place. Could try www.doubleglazingontheweb.co.uk/double-glazing-cost/ to see prices

Cheapo or second hand planters, one big one each side of the window with a hebe in and a long trough planter in front with cyclamen, pansies etc. It'll disguise the discolouration on the stone. Refresh gravel. Clear out bay trees, they look a bit miserable.

@Sparklydiplodocus

Regarding the suggestion above: Why use cheap planters? They don’t add value or herb appeal. They just shout “cheap”!

Don’t put planters on any roof!!! Please. They are not designed to carry the weight of planters when wet. They add no kerbside value either!

If you use the water butt (and you really should): Don’t plant anything big in front of it!!! You need to access it. So a smart fence with a gate is better. Trellis isn’t very robust in my view. However you can use lower level planting around the fence and the “path” to it.

Lastly look at front gardens you admire and replicate. That makes you happy and adds value. As for the advert for replacing the windows?! Heaven help us!