Need impressive front yard.

16 years ago

I'm trying to plan an impressive front yard for a 6,000SF, $2.5 million home we'll be constructing in an older suburb, outside of Philadelphia.

Its a sloped lot with a stream. And there are too many complications to try to explain it all with words alone. At www.darlingwolf.com/morris.html there are sketches of the planned building, photos of the lot, a topographic map of the site, etc. And I apologize that the following won't make much sense without the visuals.

We will not be permitted to disturb most of the steep slope directly in front of the house -- so no terracing.

Also, we need to keep every tree with a diameter over 6" at breast height, unless that tree is really in the way of our construction plan.

Making a house look like it fits on this lot will require a lot of creative landscaping. And I think we're getting a handle on most of the challenges. But I don't have a good idea for this front, apron area.

We'll be going for a naturalistic, local plants flavor around the stream. But the building itself will be rather formal. So, it seems like the area that people will see in the foreground should also have a formal look. So, I guess a rock garden is out. And I gather that grass is out of the question on this steep slope with a 15' elevation change. I could see some ivy or Vinca there. But I'm thinking that using those groundcovers alone would be underwhelming. So, a sea of ivy with islands of shrubs, perrenials, and small trees with mulch or gravel? Will it look like its all about to come tumbling down the hillside?

The house will have the look of limestone blocks.

Thanks for your comments.

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Comments (2)

bob64
16 years ago
I must confess that I have a huge distaste for ivy and vinca. They are both invasive and I think you would regret planting them in the long run. Ivy will overwhelm your trees and shrubs and everything else. Vinca will suppress everything at ground level and spread far and wide. In PA you might consider native ferns, sedges and grasses. Ernst Conservation Seeds (in PA) is where I order a lot of my native seeds and plants from. You might also want to consider redbud trees and serviceberry shrubs and similar smaller scale native trees and shrubs.
jeanner
16 years ago
Looks like a great project!

And it's almost exactly like my property including the restrictions imposed with a flood retention basin.

I have a few questions though ...

What's growing there now?

You said no terracing, is this being mandated by the conservancy district?

Maybe I missed this, but how big an area are you landscaping?

Is it accessible for maintenance (mulching, weeding, trimming, etc)

You mention a 15' change in elevation but what is the distance that the slope covers (or what is the angle of the slope).

Something you might want to consider is an ornamental fence that runs along the top of the ridge. Nothing tall to block the view of the house, rather something people can lean on and enjoy the view. We had no problem with standing on the edge of our ridge but many people were umcomfortable with that. If nothing else, the fence provides a feeling of security. Ours is actually an extension of the railing of a small lookout deck that extends out over the hill, but I would guess too informal for the design of your house.

Tell us more please!
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