Help! Landscaping Ideas Needed for Zero-Lot Line Home with no curb appeal.

My husband and I purchased a zero-lot line home that looks "blah" and would appreciate any landscaping ideas that would really make it "Pop." The door is recessed and is not visible from the front of the property, and it is on a hill with uneven ground. Even the concrete is crooked. I am new to home owning and would appreciate any and all ideas/suggestions.

Thanks!

Here are some of the pictures:

 

Welcome to the forums.

My first thought would be to try to get control of the yard, that grass looks awful.

 

Thanks! The soil has a lot of clay and we may need to add some top soil to really help the grass out...in addition to some weed killer

 

Rule of thumb is if the lawn is more than 50% weeds and other unwanted plants or grasses, kill it all and start over. It looks like you might be in that territory. You're also getting to the part of the year where that kind of work has the best results.

 

So you recommend killing the grass and replanting? We are in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. What month do you recommend killing the grass, and do you have a suggested way of doing so?

 

That is one of my wife's worst nightmares. The house's facade is all garage door.

In addition to the lawn I would think of intensively landscaping the side leading to the entry door. Possibly even rip up the existing concrete with straight lines and do a gently curving walk. Something to draw guests to that area and make them want to walk further to the front door cave. I would also illuminate the walk and entry area for guests arriving at night.

Next I would consider replacing a panel in each garage door to add windows. Or, if the budget allows change the garage's facade possibly with a different material and completely replace the doors. It sounds extreme but those doors are the most prominent feature of the home.

 

Yes, I would kill all the grass by spraying with Roundup (or other 2% glyophosphate product), then waiting a couple weeks and tilling it all up to reseed. In the meantime, get a soil test done so you can add any needed amendments when you rototill.

 

Soil tests are often performed free by you county agricultural extension office. They usually have a cardboard box and instructions how to properly take a sample. On the form there should be a space where you can state the crop you want to grow which in your case would be grass so it would be a good idea to know what kind you want to plant. In my area it is a free service if you return your sample to their office and don't mind waiting a couple weeks. For a fee I can mail or UPS it directly to the lab in the Capital for faster results.

 

Other than getting the yard under control, what do you recommend for the actual landscaping (location of beds?) I don't want the property to appear any longer than it is (hate the whole column thing, but it is a narrow lot).

You say extensively landcape the walkway leading up to the door. Can you be more specific about how to do that (Sorry, I am new to all of this)

 

Along the walkway I think you need some nice landscaping at a professionally designed level. You don't have to hire someone but it should look like you did. Not just a row of bushes and some mulch but I'm thinking if you create an "entrance" at the front corner near the driveway. An arbor or some nice tall plantings that make it feel like that is the front door/entrance to the home. I would probably plant some taller things on the outside to help delineate your property from the neighbors and restrict the site line to your neighbors. Stick in some shorter, maybe colorful plants closer to the walk to give some interest to help keep attention focused on your nice entry and not the neighbors place. Maybe even some point of interest along the way like a grouping of rocks, a water feature or garden statue. Basically think of any hotel or theme park you've ever visited and noticed the gardening.

Go to the library and quickly leaf through the landscape architecture and landscaping books for pictures that catch your eye. If you are bored some night set your web search program to "images" and start searching for things that pop in your head like; "nice landscaped path", "entrance landscaping"... I would not get bogged down by details at first. Just look at a lot of pictures and educate yourself as to what's possible. Pick ideas that you like and piece them together for your own design. Then once you have a rough idea of what you want to accomplish you can think about the plants and things needed to fill in the blanks.