TGIF, so we are guessing a lot of readers will be outside, working on the garden and the lawn and landscaping in general. So today, a simple before-and-after landscaping photo that makes a dramatic point about reconsidering those classic midcentury sideburn hedges.
Reader Shann owns a lovely coolonial. All the vintage hedges — they got a major haircut. In their place and in addition: Low lying plantings… a window box… a trellis… and some front yard hardscaping — most notably, the sidewalk. Looks like Shann also got a new roof – dark, to play up the shutters.) Trim the hedges and now: We can see the pretty facade of the house.
Folks, those classic midcentury box hedges chucked right up against the foundation and left to grow and grow and grow, choking the front of the house? Well, I don’t think they were a particularly good idea.
Want to improve your curb appeal? Get those hedge hogs out of there. Or, cut ’em ‘way down below the windows at least. Layer other plantings in front of them. “Pull” your landscaping out about as deep as the height of the first floor wall of the house. Add some hardscape. Etc. Nicely done, Shann — what a lovely house you have — classic!
- Tips for adding shutters
- 17 ideas to add curb appeal, from around 1950
- Ideas from the Swift Homes catalog, 1957
virginia says
I read the site early this morning and thought Oh Child, Get Ready.
Signed off, made coffee, went out to do some pruning and weeding.
And thought about how long, how many years, it’s taken me to love and appreciate my 1949 ranch. When all about me were having love conniptions over Victorians and McMansions — and Sears whatevers from the 30s (love them — sob).
It took over a decade for me to fully embrace and understand my house — inside and out. And much resistance to having stuff done that didn’t fly. I got that you don’t mess with the integrity of the space if you don’t need to. Got that from the get-go and glad I did.
Took a while. Today I have a house I love and have been working on the outside steadily. And the outside is like the inside — It’s good to know what turns you on and what you are willing to commit to.
I’ve been on this blog for I think almost a year and have been exposed to all kinds of stuff that has made my house so much better. Mirror tiles — hurrah! Love them. And by extension beaded curtains in what we call our Marilyn Monroe Memorial Dinning (sic) Hall which is a closed in porch area — two stories up, overlooking trees and other folks’ backyards. Won’t mention all of the suggestions although Tiki barware might be included.
Always inspiration.
My little boy fell in love with Marilyn M when he was 8 and had me turn that space into a room for her, which sounds horrid, except that I’m arty and I made it work. It does work. It’s a pale blue living and dining room summer porch area — with a mini 50s bar included.
All this to say — Hurrah for the blog and for all of us who love these houses.
And like all successful blogs get ready for some action. But do keep up the outdoor angle — It’s much needed and appreciated.
And keep up your sense of humour — The outside brings on the heat.
lynda davis says
I do not care for large pruned shrubs unless they are used as a border on a larger property. The second picture looks much more interesting and colorful. I feel also that azaleas should never be sheared. Unless you live on an estate like Ladew Topiary Gardens, natural shapes and plants look best. I have pulled out large shrubs with a chain attached to a car–it works! Most gardens need refurbished and updated a bit after 25 or 30 years.
Wendy M. says
I think both look nice…the “before” is more retro, but the “after” looks nice and neat and allows the house to be seen.
I have a landscaping issue and haven’t really seen anything addressing it in the vintage landscaping guides…we live in a wooded neighborhood in Corvallis, Oregon (the Willamette Valley, SW of Portland). It is really difficult to do traditional mid-century landscaping while working around giant fir trees. Has anyone come across and good resources for landscaping that are mid-century appropriate in this kind of setting? I’m happy with our back yard, but the front was completely overgrown when we moved in (no lawn, due to the fir tree in the middle, just mostly native plants, but there isn’t much design to it.) Oh, also- we have a huge herd of deer in our neighborhood and fences are discouraged. Any thoughts or resources would be greatly appreciated!
virginia says
Number one — Lucky you all, Miss Wendy. That sounds divine.
I’m no kind of expert on much of anything but I love rock gardens and rock garden patios. Always wanted one.
So envious of the giant fir trees — Sounds like your landscaping is already working at the meta level! Good luck.
Allen says
Since your issue seems to be localized, I’d recommend checking with a local landscaper (perhaps one that has been in the business for awhile or an old family company that may have old photos and resources on file) and your county office or public library may have old photos/files that you can view to see what they did back in the day. I know Oregon has some drop dead gorgeous mid century houses and surely they had some wonderful landscaping to go with them when they were built. Good Luck!
Wendy M. says
Thanks for the feedback! I hadn’t thought about using local resources…I wonder if OSU has anything available? I’ll have to check with them, as well as our library. Virginia- I like the idea of using rocks…I don’t have to worry about what the deer might do to them! I do feel very fortunate to live in a beautiful wooded setting, but when I see all the traditional mid-century landscaping photos I feel like our yard does not match the style of our home. I’ll have to do some more research.
I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!
virginia says
Great post on a very hot topic. Knew it would prove radioactive when I tapped into it very early this morning. It inspired me to do a bit of pruning up front.
Here in No. Virginia the summer months can start to feel tropical. Lots of heat, humidity, rain. Fortunately, I’m one of those folks who like a garden a bit on the wild side. I like tidy but not too tidy. And I do like hedges and such — or hedge-like shrubs at the front, but not crazy about the geometric shapes. I like them a bit wild and rounded once they reach a certain size.
We have in front azaleas, boxwood, a lovely bed of periwinkle, Japanese spindle brush (yellow and green leaves) and some other stuff. It works for us and I don’t mind keeping it a bit higher. None of it blocks the windows.
I like both photos and the house itself is lovely. My issue with flower beds, which we have in back, is that they must be stocked with perennials. So roses, hydrangea, wisteria, rosemary, lavender, grape leaves too. Peonies, etc. I don’t have a very green thumb and it’s got to be able to survive without a lot of fuss and bother.
Here in our tract house development, named Wunderia at the time and built 1949-50, it’s fun to see what folks have done to their front yards. The houses are all basically the same with some small variations in the brick work, etc. One of my favorite front yards is made up of a plain expanse of lovely lawn all the way to the front door. No hedges or flowers or plants or anything–trees are in back. Just a nice green carpet that allows all of the little house to be seen and appreciated. It feels very prairie-like and always makes me wonder if the prairie-style did not heavily influence the houses of this period. Low slung and modest.
Sorry so long but thanks for the thought provoking post. Whatever floats one’s boat is right.
Jay says
Read Alan Hess’ book “Ranch House” for a good illustrated read on the history of the style. Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prarie style do figure into the history.
virginia says
Thank you, Jay, for the recommendation. I will definitely look it up. Much appreciated.
Laurie Louise says
Virginia, your yard sounds absolutely lovely!
ineffablespace says
I think one of the things that just happens is that the hedges just keep growing. That seems like an obvious statement, but after a while it doesn’t matter how much you cut them down from the top, they are going to start getting woody and sparse at the bottom.
At my parents house, the sideburn-style hedge that was planted in front of the porch in 1970 had to be removed in the mid-80s because it was getting too tall, and too dense to trim any more. It wasn’t helped by the fact that my dad fertilized everything like crazy. The replacements in the mid-80s were never directly fertilized, but the adjacent lawn was. I would say that some of the hedges will have to be removed by the next owner (My dad’s 90, he’s not doing it) because they are starting to overgrow again, even with pruning.
I don’t know that the heaviness of these hedges was the original intent so much as that the plants around it grow and the house doesn’t 🙂 Coupled with the tendency of many mid century houses to be long, lowish, and ground hugging, the surrounding plantings seem to start consuming the house.
ineffablespace says
Also, we are comparing post-mature before with immature after. Neither one is quite what it would look like most of its life.
Suitability is another issue. Large blocks of trained single species are appropriate for the more spare midcentury house but may not be enough for the current puffed up neo-eclectic house. And the elaborate landscape designs of today look like a theme park around a simpler house but are right at home around the new stuff.
Steve H says
I like the after photo. The windows to the right of the front door are lovely and such a nice generous length. It was a shame to keep them half covered up with shrubbery (it also can be bad for the structure by retaining moisture). We see this so often in older homes; landscaping that was basically nice, but has just gotten a little out of hand over the years. Unlike other home features, landscaping continues to change and evolve over time.
gus says
While I think both look nice, I myself prefer the hedges. I think they also nicely serve as a safety feature to help avoid break-ins. Also they seem a lot easier to maintain with just a powered clipper.
Surprised this article has a negative slant towards the pure mid-century style…thought we were supposed to embrace the past?
pam kueber says
I don’t say you’re “supposed” to do anything. The key focus of the blog: Providing resources. My underlying ethic: Yes, if it’s original, of course, consider keeping it, rather than knee-jerk h***** it because it’s not popular today. And if it’s expensive to remodel — like a kitchen or a bathroom — I personally think that if you’re putting in expensive permanentish stuff, it’s wise to do so in a way that’s sympathetic to the original architecture. However, if the original feature is no longer doing what you want… change it. I do not consider trading hedges, or cutting them back, to be an irreversible sin; it does not violate the Retro Renovator’s Creed, or I would not have featured it. See: https://retrorenovation.com/2012/07/02/retro-renovators-creed-gut-remodel-without-guilt/
This is an article about getting overgrown hedges off the front of the house — something that I think this reader did very nicely.
Ugh. This is proving to be a difficult one.
jay says
Hi Pam!
My 2nd post didn’t show up, am I blocked? I knew the first post would be deleted because it was a gentle response to the snark post. How ever did that troll show up?
pam kueber says
I am on the run today so I have comments going into moderation. Everything is set free right now… The snark post was deleted – uncivil; a violation of commenting rules.
Chad says
ha, the debate team language in my first post makes less sense without the snark post
Kate H says
Does anyone have suggestions for low, sun tolerant plants that are as evergreen as box hedge would be? No cactus (which is a demon to remove) or holly (ditto).
Chad says
Whereabouts are you?
pam kueber says
I’m home just running around
Tim says
This is heavily about where you are. Most areas have much more attractive native options. I mix cactus, yuccas, grasses, and native flowers but that’s because I like keeping the plants low to show off the house (as in the illustration).
My main issue with a lot of the 1960s landscaping is that a lot of the plants are highly invasive. I have the Better Homes and Gardens book from the year my house was built and it was landscaped almost perfectly to the book. Unfortunately that means that the easements and creeks near my house are choked with invasives like Nandina and Ligustrum.
Landscaping is difficult, because it’s alive.
Marcia says
I think Robin’s roses are a good idea. We have drought in Central Texas too, though not as bad as NV. A lot of municipalities plant the knockout roses along highways etc. and they seem to thrive. David Austin also has varieties of old roses designated for hot & dry climate.
Jay says
Here in SE PA, zone 6B; the various forms of Japanese holly are usually suggested for boxwood replacement (cheaper too). There are both upright and groundhugging forms. They do not have the typical spindly holly leaves.
Kate H says
All good ideas, thanks! My folks in central Tx need some ideas to replace the out-of-control boxwood, some of which was frozen out last year. I thought rosemary might be nice, but I have no idea if my dad would consider it “front yard” or “back yard.”
Tim says
I’m in Central Texas too. I highly recommend no matter where you are in the US looking at the Lady Bird Wildflower Center’s recommended plant species s for your area – http://www.wildflower.org/collections/
Mr. Smarty Plants actually has answered this exact question for Central Texas – http://www.wildflower.org/expert/show.php?id=3412
Laurie Louise says
It’s not as structured-looking as boxwood, but I’ve always been fond of low-growing juniper/cedar.
Robin, NV says
I would be very interested to learn how MCM and xerascaping can work together. The water situation out west is pretty dire this year and it seems silly to waste any we have on lawns. I think it would look great in areas like Las Vegas, Phoenix, or Tucson. With the right style of MCM home, it would fit right in.
I love hedges but they can definitely be done wrong. Left to their own devices they can also quickly get out of hand. I’ve been thinking about putting a rose hedge in front of my house. I think that would look lovely.
Diane in CO says
It’s “xeriscaping.” And it doesn’t mean rock and cactus! 🙂 Xeriscaping from “xeric” meaning containing little moisture or very dry. Beds (carpets) of groundcover are very mid-century and can be very xeric. Check out gardens designed by James Rose… his 1960’s classic “Gardens Make Me Laugh.” 🙂