Creating Plants In A Garden Project For The Side Of Your Home
Creating plants on the side of your house is a great
garden project. Plant small trees, shrubs, and flowers.
The landscape in your front yard and your
backyard is complete. You walk around the house and look
at the sides, they are bare.
Creating garden beds
along the side will also enhance the beauty of your
home, along with raising the value of your property.
Here are some suggestions to think about before
you begin planning this particular garden project.
- Do you have any windows on the side of your house?
This is important in deciding what size small trees
or shrubs you want to install.
- Do you want to connect your front bed with
the side bed? Some people like the idea of connecting
their entire landscape all the way around their house.
- Do you have air units or other utility features
that are ugly and need covering up? A simple
way to get rid of an eye sore is to be creative and
plant three shrubs around the air unit or utility item.
- What will be involved in the prepping phase?
Do you have grass or sod that will need to be removed?
- Do you have power or other utility lines that will
need to be worked around?
- Do you want to put shrubs or flowers on both sides of the house?
Think about balancing your total landscape area before you
begin any project.
These are just a few things to think about before you begin.
Lets walk through some basic steps in planning, prepping, and
planting your side gardens. Decide if you want to connect any
of your beds. The front with the sides, the back with the sides,
or connect them all and have one intertwining large garden area.
A lot of this can be determined with the shape of your house and
of course expenses. Creating side beds can be easy and done in
just a few hours or a day. Below are the steps to take to create
garden beds along the side or sides of your home.
- First decision is if you are going to do both sides at once.
About 60 percent of my clients opt to do both sides at once.
The other 40 percent plant in phase planting.
- Think about what size trees or shrubs you want to plant?
Do you want low maintenance evergreen or incorporate
some flowering deciduous plants?
- Before the preparation phase, know where all your utility
lines run. If you don't know, have them marked by the power,
cable, gas, or telephone companies. This is very important in
any landscape project.
- Lay out the design of the bed. Take landscape chalk,
spray paint, or a garden hose and mark off the length
and width. There are two ways to design a side bed. Create
a snake pattern by weaving the edge of the bed all the way
down the side. Another design is a straight line all the way
down. This is really up to you and what is best for the contour
of your land. There is really no set pattern. You can have
a straight bed line across the front of your house and curve
the line all the way down the sides of your house.
Use your own creativity when making this decision.
- Prepare the area like you would any other project.
Spray for weeds and if you are removing grass, put
down a grass killer. Wait at least five days. I usually
tell people one week is a good rule of thumb.
- Use a tiller, shovel, or other tools and turn your soil
over. Do three to five passes if using a tiller. One of
the most important steps in the
plan, prep and plant method
is the preparation phase. If the soil isn't prepared
properly, the chances of healthy trees and shrubs
will diminish tremendously.
- Rake the area out as level as you can. Remember,
always pitch the dirt at the foundation. You do not
want a low pitch away the foundation. If you don't, there could be
drainage problems. The dirt should be a little higher
right next to the house and slope towards the edge
of the bed.
Dig a small trench or edging all the way down the
bed line. Rental places rent out small trenchers. The
trenchers will usually give you a two inch depth.
There is another option for the trench. (my crew got use to
this technique after awhile) Dig a small trench anywhere
from four to six inches deep and about three to five inches
wide. This serves as two purposes. One it will allow water
flow if the ground is uneven. Also the bigger trench gives
the bed a professional look.
- Add any top soil or other soil amenities if needed.
Your garden project - how to correctly install plants, shrubs, and flowers
explains the proper ways to place and plant. Try not to plant
large trees next to your foundation. The trees may look small now, but
always remember to think down the road a few years. Root systems
vary in different types of trees. What you don't want is a
root system growing underneath your foundation.
- Your final step is adding the finishing touch,
Mulch, Pine Straw Or Decorative Stones Finish A Landscape Project.
There is nothing like seeing an area in your yard
getting a new look.
Below are three different views looking at the side beds. The first one shows
a line of five Sky Pencils. The second is a full
view of different plants planted all the way down a side.
In the middle is an air conditioning unit that is now
covered by shrubs. The third photo is a small side of
a house that has some shrubs staggered. Notice
the single layer of stone to edge the bed.
Take a look at different pictures of landscape beds on the side of a few homes.
the photos give you some ideas on different options.
Here are a couple of small trees and shrub suggestions for the
side of your house. Low maintenance shrubs, and
small trees that are evergreen. A Cleyera, Hinoki
Cypress, Blue Owl Juniper, Globe Arborvitae, Soft
Touch Holly, Ruby Chinese Pizazz - Loropetalum, Mop
Cypress, Robin Holly, Tea Olive (Osmanthus),
and Otto Luyken Laurel.
If you have two windows
along the side of your house put the smaller shrubs
such as the Mop Cypress or Ruby Chinese Pizazz in
front of the window. Your taller plants such as the
Cleyera, Tea Olive, and Robin Holly can be placed where
there is all siding, brick, stone, or wood.
Any of these shrubs and small trees will work well.
Take a look at the
gallery section
for more plant specimens.
