Hi everyone!

I've never landscaped before and this is the first house I've owned. It's really needing some landscape love but I have NO IDEA where to begin.. Can someone help me out with some ideas? I'm thinking I might have to do landscaping above ground?

First off, where are you at? You don't have to provide your address but nearest big city will help narrow down choices for you.

Also what is the light like there in your front yard? I see a couple big trees in the picture so do they provide a lot of shade or is it more like full sun there?

pepper23 said:First off, where are you at? You don't have to provide your address but nearest big city will help narrow down choices for you.

Also what is the light like there in your front yard? I see a couple big trees in the picture so do they provide a lot of shade or is it more like full sun there?

Hi there! yes sorry about that, I am in Central Iowa!
Also, the trees provide a LOT of shade! Sometimes we get some sun through the picture window (through the trees)
I will attach another angle of the front of the house so you can see the trees more! Also I added a view from the TOP!!

Thanks!!

Hostas and ferns make great shade plants. Then there are heucheras, helleborus, columbines (I especially like the species form), and a few other plants I'm not thinking of.

Oh and clematis. Makes a great climber so you could lean a trellis against the house and give the beds some height. Hydrangeas are good if you want some bushes. I would go with the oakleaf hydrangeas though because they are hardier. Ruby Slippers is a great cultivar.

If I had it my way your whole front yard would become a flower bed. Start small, maybe the spot between the sidewalk, house and driveway. Get that established and get a feel for your yard and you will be able to expand from there. Always amend the soil with compost when you plant and your plants will thank you by growing (hopefully anyways )

Hope this gives you some ideas to get you started. Keep hanging around the site and asking questions and you will get lots more help. A great place to start is this thread The thread "Midwest Weather and everything else" in Midwest Gardening forum where a lot of us who live in the Midwest hang out.

I agree with Amanda on plant selection. We have a LOT of oak trees on our property, which means a lot of shade. We've planted literally hundreds of hosta and fern and they are doing well. We have some heuchera and helleborus and are starting to add columbines.

If you have a garden center nearby, check with them on varieties that will do well in your area. Also, for spring color, you can also plant hyacinth, tulips, etc. They'll be winding down their light requirements as the trees are leafing out. For shrubs, you can also use azalea and rhododendron.

By the way, when I say 'garden center', I'm talking about a real nursery, not the local Home Depot or Lowe's. They may carry a lot of plants, but not not necessarily a lot of knowledge about them. (None of the staff at our HDs or Lowes knows anything about what they sell, including when and how to water.)

I don't know what your winters are like, but if you get a lot of snow, now is a good time to prepare that small bed that Amanda mentioned so that it's ready to receive some great plants in the spring.

Here are some shots of our gardens.

I love your gardens, Rick! Nice job!

Rick, can you come do my yard pretty please????? Yours looks like a showplace.

Thanks Karen. We held our annual fall plant swap here a couple of weeks ago. One of the things I offered up was rocks. And yep, people were interested. (All of the rock walls in our yard, some 600 feet or more, are made up of rocks from the yard.)

Amanda, if it weren't for the commute, I'd be over!

Agreed... first on the suggestions, and second, on the comments for Rick Beautiful job. Admittedly, I suffer a bit from garden envy on account of the deer here that greatly limit selections and possibilities.

Wow, the yard is gorgeous. Building the bridge, choosing that interesting border are wonderful touches. You have a talent for sure.

Wow, RickM, the yard is gorgeous. Building the bridge, choosing that interesting border are wonderful touches. You have a talent for sure.

NinjaMary, I love all the suggestions, and would love to also recommend dirt Fuschia. They are lovely, looking just like the hanging basket varieties, and are hearty. If you want a sturdier and more upright one, go for ones with bigger double flowers, of either purple and dark pink or dark pink and white. The plants with small flowers tend to sprawl more. Hydrangea would be beautiful too.

Have you got some taller plants and trees in mind?

Thank you EVERYONE for your suggestions!! I just really want to make the front look better before we sell our house (we're wanting to get an acreage) so this all helps so much! I was already thinking hostas for sure (my mother-in-law works PT at a hosta farm in the area so that's awesome!) and I was looking at some Siberian Bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla) because they are so pretty!!!

And then I thought with our navy shutters and door, perhaps some red would look nice!! I'll have to see what my husband will allow. I'm pretty sure he said I can only go down 6 inches and then there's plastic under the ground around the house (to keep water out of the basement) so I'll probably have to do raised landscaping unless there are plants that would work in those conditions..

What about Gazebo? Only a few of people know about gazebo and its beauty. You must install gazebo side panels in the garden for the beauty. The gazebo is the best landscaping idea.