Landscape design on a BUDGET: It doesn't have to be boring!

[@x23ange]

I wish a master gardener would drive by my house and make a video about it and that I found the video. 😂👏

[@LC_Boston]

I had teh very same thought!

[@lynardok6654]

Amen!!

[@kooale]

100%!

[@michelegawrys7286]

I would love a master Gardener to just stop and say “Hey it looks like you need some help and I would welcome them for sure”!

[@patriciaflores2776]

🌞💖that would be wonderful.

[@tiffanyleasure2448]

Yes, please do a series like this. This is very helpful to amateur garden designers, like me. I love seeing your established beds but sometimes I can’t imagine ever getting to that stage. Seeing a plan from the “ground up” or correcting errors is extremely informative. Thank you!

[@JennaEngelhard-z7o]

Yes, this!

[@tiffanyleasure2448]

Would you ever consider viewer submitted photos that could use a little guidance?

[@dawnreynolds519]

Great ideas!!! We just need a little nudge to use different shrubs/ plants. I’ve just got into gardening and I have to be pulled back from throwing the nursery into my garden bed using no good plans. What you suggested is lovely to look at and not high maintenance!!

[@johnnabattle2940]

Please, do it and soon, thank you ❤❤❤

[@ninabooker2904]

Yes please. Who doesn’t love a good glow up ? So good I subscribed. ❤

[@mimijohnson689]

Agree with the other commenters: this is SO helpful to a broad range of gardeners / homeowners. I hope you do more of this “real world” type video. I bet you’d have no shortage of people offering their properties as subjects.

[@SweetStuffOnMonarchLane]

Me! 🙋🏼‍♀️ 🤣😂🤣

[@cherylchristenson8120]

Hear me out: what if you continue this as a series, but you allow local viewers to submit there homes as options. You could still grab the photos from google maps, but you'd remove the creepy factor you mentioned of selecting homes from ppl that aren't looking for your advice. I'm excited to see you do more of these ❤

[@markbaker8249]

I agree. The information was great, but I was uncomfortable that this was done without the owner's consent.

[@mmsanrio]

She needs to delete this video & youtube should take back any proceeds. She could’ve drawn it out. Also, Belgium, WI area has a lot of homes with healthy arb privacy borders. These homeowners don’t need her unsolicited advice.

[@wavyhairedgardengirl2148]

Many of us would willingly submit photos of yards!

[@peaceatferngully8369]

P. Allen Smith used to do this and I loved it!

[@máirín2269]

@@mmsanrioErin hasn’t actually given them advice. And you don’t know if they would welcome advice from her or not. What Erin has done is given terrific, valuable advice to people with a blank slate.

[@pamelafrydman4429]

I hope someone lets them know they just got a lovely free landscape design! And if they follow through to watch what happens! Thanks, Erin 😊

[@tpdoolin8445]

Great episode! I vote for a series of these. Some possible landscape design issues might include dealing with sloping on small lots, lots with high water tables, and do's and don'ts with berms. Let us know if the couple at that house finds out about your design plan and incorporates some of those ideas. By the way you got shoutouts on two channels this week (the Garden Answer retrospective and another one out of Massachusetts who did a survey of favorite ornamental garden YT channels)

[@eileen6470]

I saw that Garden Answer! Erin did too because she responded about how long she came after Laura.

[@cherylskornik1512]

I saw both of those videos. also

[@tpdoolin8445]

Erin, you might also find additional properties to design but ask one or two of your fellow YTers on each property to offer a design as well. Its be interesting to compare approaches.

[@RebeccaW_NC]

Yes to help with berms!

[@doreen7554]

Viewer submitted issues/pictures!

[@lorihanby6733]

I think it would be amazing if you wrote them a letter offering to help them redo their yard. Would love to follow the progress you could make with them to improve their cute little home.

[@StayPositive050]

One thing I have noticed is that gardeners tend to lay off giving advice unless specifically asked for it. It’s just seldom appreciated I guess.

[@QueenAnnesLace13]

I think they would be so very grateful! Most people simply do not know where and how to start.

[@pandorar1388]

Yes, they would probably be thrilled, but I think most people would appreciate being asked first.

[@navymom1954]

The hydrangea I love but the deer take mine down every year!!

[@sue2611]

Hopefully someone they know sees this video and tells them about it.

[@rhondaduncan7602]

Erin, judging from the number I views, I think a TIG series "They didn't know what else to do! Landscape design on a BUDGET" would take your channel to a whole new level. This information is sorely needed. Thank you for showing us that this kind of landscaping is not out of our reach.

[@Jillybean620]

I agree!

[@kathleenhall6346]

Most home owners don’t have access to / or can’t afford gardening advice including which plants to choose, where to plant, etc. Your advice is excellent.

[@MikeA15206]

Agreed, but this isn’t gardening it’s landscape advice. And it’s top notch.

[@susanthornton5371]

Good job! We have lived here on 2 acres for 21 years next to a 6 acres of overgrown neglected land. We have tried to buy the land as well as the neighbors on the other side. Recently an excavator came in took down the brush,cleared the weeds and snapped off branches of trees, that you know are going to die. This has left my potting shed and garden exposed to to the road. I now need to plant exactly what you described. Thank you. Anything but arborvitae. Plus I’m in my 70s I don’t have time to wait for things to grow.

[@izzyhendrix2651]

More of these please!

[@lisamccullough224]

Would love to see a series of videos like this with problem solving landscape designs. Very interesting and helpful!

[@kimberlykendall7302]

Erin, I LOVED this video! And think this would be a very interesting series of videos to make. Applying practical, basic design concepts to real world situations is so helpful to folks. This gives your audience (us folk who already have the gardening bug, but have varying levels of gardening and landscaping experience) additional tools to tackle our own challenges, but also helps non gardeners via sharing what we’ve learned. 👏👏👏

[@saralee848]

Adding my vote for a series like this :)

[@bonniejackson7476]

Thank you for seeing that a budget does come into play. I love the ideas you have! 😊

[@paulacothren3591]

I think it was the potential deer damage to the Arborvitae that is the most crushing to hear about these homeowner's efforts to landscape. Intensely and diversely anchoring the corner is the best way to mitigate the headlight intrusion, and provide view from the inside. The pleasing view from the inside is really what you want. And these homeowners will learn that once they have it.

[@triciahalsey7061]

I LOVE this idea and I hope you do more like this! It gets me thinking about problem areas and inherited sections of the garden and how I could handle them differently.

[@catherinemoran3325]

How wonderful to have an experienced and talented gardener (out of the blue) spend the time to provide options to enhance and provide privacy to your property. And, the advise is at no charge! I would love to have someone of Erin's expertise walk through our landscape and give me some honest and alternative considerations.

[@jennypatterson6660]

OH me too! I am struggling right now with wanting a new garden out my office window.

[@claris1755]

Me three! 😊

[@kooale]

Are you asking for free professional services & advice? Just curious.

[@jennypatterson6660]

@ I guess I am, but even if I could afford to have a professional come out, they are few and far between here in my neck of the woods.

[@marybeth4002]

Yes! I absolutely love this type of video. I watch and subscribe to a handful of garden channels - and I'm thankful that I've learned a lot about plants, soil, etc. However, .... I keep drawing a blank when it comes to design. While I see some designs I like, I just don't know how to execute them or reach beyond the basics. I've not planted any arborvitaes but I know I can still do better. Thank you for taking the budget into consideration. I think you're onto something here!

[@amysgardenstead2879]

I loved this video and not just the idea of it but the way you presented it with some history and a story about new homeowners. As a long time gardener, I find myself making similar mistakes such as buying small which just becomes deer snacks. I enjoyed seeing your vision of a growing garden hedge with named options. Please do more of these.

[@marky3131]

Not critical of the homeowners arborvitae hedge. I made decisions in our first home that makes me cringe today! Even most landscapers are guilty of unimaginative plans. I call them ‘McLandscapers’. They rely on the same 10-15 plants and shrubs. Hope none of your viewers or the homeowners get upset. It’s a wonderful video. Regardless of where a viewer lives or their fast in plants, this kind of video can really help homeowners envision what could be.

[@betsymaltby6788]

'McLandscapers'! Exactly...they use the exact same plants, design in every yard! LOL!

[@dianemasterson2132]

Our McDonald's has a great landscape design. I feel like when other people are spending your money (talking about your budget) it never ends well. The whole yard has straight lines, is formal, and needs to be for many reasons. I would never bring in any mulch. Nothing is cheap about landscaping.

[@ladikmk]

That was fun Erin, and quite interesting to see and hear about your thought process in creating a corner landscape bed for that small ranch. The idea of going around the yard with that big swoop is my favourite though - so many more options and oh, all the flowers you could add. Plus, less grass to mow lol. Doing different landscape scenario videos is a great idea, very interesting, and undoubtedly would be so helpful to many people watching. Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed this so much.

[@sandIT-ion]

I LOVED THIS!! I already love your videos but this info is worth its weight in gold!

[@sharonupchurch6734]

As a master gardener myself, I wish people would seek master gardeners out and ask for advice. Giving gardening advice and training is our mission. Master gardeners can be found through University Extension offices. I understand that many, if not most, people may not know about the master gardener program. I don’t know how to increase awareness about the master gardener program and also about the services of University Extension.

[@dianebright8137]

On a small level, Sharon, you just did!

[@katerina_270]

I'm curious, could you please explain more 🙏? I think I have a pretty good understanding and a good bit of experience in gardening. But it is always nice to have a second opinion, especially from someone very knowledgeable. So, do I just find a master gardener through the university website? Does the university have to be around my area or not necessary? Do master gardeners prefer to discuss more the style and visuality of the garden or more the agro techniques, or maybe altogether? Sorry to bother you with questions, I'm new to the country and trying to understand how things work here :)

[@farwest6275]

@@katerina_270 I am also a master gardener but our training is in plant care not landscape design. We help identify diseases on plants, environmental issues, herbicides and pesticides, lawn care, fruit tree care, etc and can give suggestions on plants that would do well in your yard, i.e., full sun, shade, dry/wet soil. Some MG are very talented in the design area, but that is not the focus of the Master Gardener program.

[@katerina_270]

@@farwest6275 thank you for sharing!

[@hannahreese1629]

The people who own the nursery are very helpful here in NC. They don't try to upsell either.

[@beatlematicus1]

Erin, I think this was one of your best videos. Like you said the design this couple took is very common and you came up with a beautiful design. Thank you for sharing.

[@janirwin-v5r]

I loved this episode. Do more! What a wonderful teaching tool for everyone

[@StaceyDeGuzman]

Loved this video! To see different options for different landscapes is great.

[@stillmeadowfarmgirl90]

I enjoyed this video. I encourage you to do more of them. Great job of breaking down strategies to work with various budgets.

[@Bandaid17]

Landscaping also adds to the value of ones property. Great video. Looking forward to more like this!

[@catherinerhyno9581]

Please do more of these Erin! LIKE!!

[@agnescarbone8257]

Love this type of video

[@kaystinebrink1220]

I sure hope this family finds this video. Your ideas are perfect. I moved last year and my son's yard is now my garden. They are NOT plant people. Balancing my desire to try new interesting plants with a modern cottage twist and their desire to keep everything simple (boring and bland) has been interesting. 😱I might buy a home just to get my own gardens back.

[@stephanied3884]

Please make a series like this!!!

[@tamb7587]

I’m always amazed at how short sighted people are when they landscape..

[@lauralennon3936]

Hi Erin, I love landscape design. I would like to see more shows like this. I live in Cincinnati and like hydrangeas. However when I’ve planted hydrangeas the deer have decimated them. My first house was on a corner lot in Seattle on a busy street. Car head lights were a problem. Luckily the previous owners had installed a corner planting of arborvitae that were well established and wide. This solved the head light problem and added privacy. People would cut across my front lawn because there weren’t any plantings. There we’re evergreen anchor plants on the corners of the property and by the house. I also had three focal point trees. Two apple trees in the front and one vine maple on the side. I had just started working at a local garden center and they let me take home plants that weren’t doing well. I created island beds like you were describing using perennials. My husband and I first prepped the beds by double digging and adding a-lot of compost. My plantings thrived!

[@rodwilliamson7233]

Your idea of advice is on the right track. In my case, I live in a large, pricey subdivision near Nashville and virtually every house/lot has the same look. Most occupants don't know what else to do even if we want to be different. I plan to soon rip out an old hedge between the foundation and the sidewalk leading to the front steps. That decision is easy but what to replace them with? Azaleas are a thought - not a lot of room to work with - but somehow that seems a "me too" solution. I'd love to know what a professional would suggest.

[@vickijackson9115]

Absolutely loved this video. Giving us a realistic perspective not only from a monetary but also the plants chosen to accomplish a beautiful result. Thank you for sharing. 🤗

[@sallywilburn3024]

Erin, this was such a fun, helpful video. Not only does it speak to the beginner gardener, but it gives some long time gardeners some ideas if you are downsizing.

[@Stephanie-cq8mf]

I LOVED this video. As gardeners I think we all have places like this in our towns where we drive by and say “I would do this or that.” You totally presented all criticism as constructive. ❤

[@allisonmussman5760]

Would love to see more of these… for the design challenged gardeners.

[@prairie2gem]

Love this, very educational and practical. yes, please do more like this. Another video on 1st steps beyond design, but before planting: digging, mulching, creating borders, best practices. Been watching you for years, so I know you speak on this throughout your gardening, but having it laid out in a series would be wonderful. Awesome video!

[@LindaBaker-l1b]

Fantastic idea for a new series, Erin! It would be so much fun to see this very nice home redone using your brilliant plans! Thinking back on all the huge landscaping fiascos I've created in the past is mortifying! I'd love to have gardening advice from an expert like you!!

[@michellefrance1165]

Loved this video, as I live on a corner lot but essentially no backyard. I would love more videos like this!

[@jcking6785]

I’m in the exact same spot, on a corner (not as busy as this one, thank goodness)! My house sits catty corner on the lot with a garage which makes my back yard tiny and the front yard quite spacious. I don’t want a fortress but am trying to “build” a more private yet beautiful space. Looking for solutions. (I also have the dog pee issue and have had some friendly signs made but have not put them up yet).

[@dozenrosas2136]

Same here. Corner lot in a new 55+ HOA neighborhood adjacent to a pet friendly family neighborhood with two city sidewalks (side and front). Yep…

[@sallycapotosto6927]

I loved this! Yes, please. More of this type of videos. 💜

[@CPAndy-x5x]

So many of us can identify with this! More please!

[@aprildnewsom5105]

Hello Erin, am also a WI resident and love your channel. If you need more yards to provide landscape ideas I would gladly volunteer mine. Have been trying to remove more grass and fill in my yard with more perennials every year.

[@karencoley9593]

Loved this video. Even those of us who have been gardening for a number of years can benefit from your wisdom. Thank you!

[@leahkrotz935]

I love this! I do this all the time in my head as I drive around and look at people's homes and landscaping, or lack thereof. I would watch every single one you did!

[@kootenaydoug]

I’d love to see you do more like this. Thanks, Erin. So useful for even seasoned gardeners.

[@lolahiggins5951]

Erin, you are so real, it lends you to nail a subject like this. Thank you for hitting all the important points on a project like this, and the way you handled this was kind and neighborly. I would suspect this video to go virile, the information is priceless, good job, thank you!

[@renejohnson37]

I thought this was a little crazy at first but I love your ideas. You have given me food for thought about my own front yard. Current my front garden has many natives and small trees and shrubs as well as perennials but I think I can do more. Without feeding the 🦌 😅

[@nicolemartins7577]

Love this video, Erin. Would love to see more of these:-)

[@beverlyzientara4502]

Thank you, I did a very similar thing with my property corner. We bought the property 12 years ago. Knocked down the tiny old house and built a new home 10 years ago. I planted a couple of tall things and a few perennials and annuals on the corner. Now starting to fill in with more perennials and prairie plants each year. Different things are blooming all summer long and I get a lot of walkers stopping to compliment me. ❤

[@beverlymartin179]

Excellent video! I love seeing educational videos that teach all of us something of great value! I am a learner and encourage mankind to be as smart as they can be. Yes, to more of this type video, as I love garden and interior design topics. Miss little/big Marcus!

[@heatherderganc5984]

If I were the homeowner I’d consider this plan a huge gift! I hope you consider reaching out to them. They seem to be trying and I’d expect they’d appreciate your suggestions! And I’m with you… it’s not only DIY homeowners, I see so many horrible installations from “landscapers”! 😑 A lot of wasted money!

[@clairerobinson2006]

Your problem solving for a budget with solid garden planning is wonderful. Very helpful in a realistic approach to building a bed or whole yard plan that expands with available time and money.

[@CharlotteFairchild]

Drought comes everywhere. I would plant a holly that has waxy leaves. I would not plant more flammable grasses or trees. Matt RISINGER has a program on KZbin that had plants included. The LA, Florida, Colorado, Canadian, Australian, fires are all recent history. Every city will have a few homes burn down every year. I wish it were not so. Could you do a planting for least flammable?

[@JudithClark-oy3tt]

Loved this video. We would often do these type of scenarios in my Master Gardener class. So great, and excellent choices for multi-season interest.

[@zanna9857]

What a great idea! You could even create a throw away email & have your subscribers send pix of their yards! I have a huge yard & i make plans but get too overwhelmed & end up doing nothing.

[@lorraineedmond5921]

That would be fun to see!

[@Betzie229]

I’m like all the others who have responded. This was absolutely terrific-so educational, informative and thought-provoking. You provided reasons why you chose a particular plant, which provides your viewers the same or similar reasons to choose a similar plant. Absolutely loved this video!

[@SweetStuffOnMonarchLane]

I apologize, I've been away from your channel for awhile with so much else going on in my life. You are looking great, Erin! This was SO great to watch... thank you for all the work you put into it!! I bet those homeowners would love to see the plans you came up with, I know I would... well, maybe with some regrets for what they've done so far, but didn’t we ALL do that?! It would save them so much future grief though. I would LOVE your input and expertise to help fix my goof-ups, lol! I made every (costly!) mistake imaginable when I started, and I'm still living with some of them, which I would love to find the time to change one day. Let's see how many I can list... some of which you mentioned in this video! 1. Planting in a straight line instead of lovely curves and beds 2. Planting just one or two of the same plant, where it should have been a group of them, (and never just two or even numbers!) 3. My absolute worst mistake (and probably everyone else's) was planting invasives, as in the seeds of these plants get into wild areas and take over native plants and eventually whole areas. 😖 Cringe-worthy! Seriously, WHY are garden centers allowed to get away with selling them?! 4. Accepting free (unknowingly aggressive) plants from others without the knowledge that they were just unloading them because their landscape (and now mine 😫) were being overrun with them. 5. Being ignorant of what zone I am in and buying plants that ended up not performing well and/or dying because they were intolerant of my zone. Same goes with amount of sunlight per day in particular areas of my yard. 6. Planting (SO many!!) daffodil bulbs too deep they wouldnt flower. What a waste of time and effort! 🤬 7. Planting (SO many!!) expensive tulip bulbs that were so attractive, pretty much every vole in the surrounding woods came to feast on them! Then they decided to stay... for years now🫠... with me in a battle against them, armed only with my caster oil granules, as they happily munch year 'round on our other plants and grassy areas. 😮‍💨 8. Not planting enough native plants and trees. I am determined to correct this, for a healthy yard that my beautiful songbirds can find lots of insects in to feed their babies! 9. Planting plants that require too much care for the time I have, not to mention the energy and physical ability I have as I age. 10. Planting deer-attracting plants that we have to put fence around, or else! 😂 11. Underestimating or overestimating the mature size of plants I planted years ago, which now don't fit where they are. Well, that's all I can think of for now. It makes me want to firmly whomp the palm of my hand into my forehead! 😂 Lots of mistakes I need to fix! I REALLY hope you keep going with these types of videos. They sure would save a lot of grief for a lot of people! Personally, I would love to see your ideas for more rural properties, like 2 or 3 acre size where one would like to decrease the amount of grass to mow and focus more on native plants and trees, if you're able. 😃 We've got to help save the Monarch butterfly too, and these types of properties are ideal to give them areas of milkweed to lay their eggs on, provide nectoring plants to nourish themselves, and trees to safely roost in for the night (mine love our pine trees!)

[@gracefulgrowing144]

Okay, so this was perfect timing. I'm in the process of redesigning my backyard for this coming spring/summer, 2025. You gave me great ideas, and I hope they see your video so they can do what you suggested.Maybe you should draw it on paper and just kindly leave it on their doorstep... I love your videos. Thank you so much for everything that you offer to us through KZbin- so much education and ideas. Thank you.❤❤

[@eileen6470]

Love this! Perfect timing for me. We are building a new house this winter and a majority of the budget will go to window coverings and interior space. I am going to save this video and use it as I make a plan for my future yard. A future video I idea might be to go to a new development and plan a budget friendly landscape from a bare lot with all of its new build issues. Thank you for your content.

[@roslynholcomb]

This looks like a great plan with a reasonable cost and room to expand. I just watched a neighbor do this and I all but had to forcefully restrain myself from going up to the door and begging them not to do it. They planted those arborvitaes last spring and a third are already dead. Just baffling why people want to look out at a wall of the same trees, especially arbs.

[@máirín2269]

This was a wonderfully inspiring video, Erin. I thought for certain you would suggest a berm and now I’m wondering why you didn’t? I love the evergreen and flowering tree and all of your other suggestions. Oh, and the reasons you gave for why the arborvitae hedge would not work were very comprehensive and I learned a few things. Thank you!

[@suzartheterrible]

Ooo do this again. Thats not my garden. Mines full full full. But this is an interesting thought experiment. It has made me think about moving soem plants myself as well

[@BobbieJeanM]

I loved this and just wish I had these ideas 21 years ago when I bought my house on a very busy corner in the country! And complicated by having many Amish with buggies in my “neighborhood” needing a deeper setback of plants to see oncoming traffic. My budget has been big box store clearance sales and my plan was flying by the seat of my pants. And changing my mind occasionally resulting in tearing out, moving things and ending up with a less attractive mishmash in the end. 😜 This spring I am going to redo again but with many of your suggestions and try to overcome my policy of never paying full price for plants. Thank you for your wonderful suggestions and all your videos! 👌👍💖😊

[@joniwallace1]

Fantastic! Garden design is perfect content, especially in the winter! I need much help with this aspect. Thank you

[@PS_____]

Absolutely love this episode. PLEASE DO MORE OF THESE!!

[@janeeberly4289]

Erin this was brilliant video. I too share your frustration in landscapes that are sure to fail, because of lack of knowledge. We've all been there when we are starting our gardening journey. The "BK" before knowledge has most likely affected everyone. Your knowledge and wisdom most likely will help many people in their quest to create a beautiful landscape. Great idea for a series!

[@susanskinner8855]

Great ideas! Sadly in my area, deer love hydrangeas….

[@bjbrown6488]

Wow, what a difference that would make! Great ideas, Erin 😊

[@susanpaquet9532]

I’ve been following you for several years, and this is one of my favorite videos of yours. Love your design which offers great ideas for me, even here in zone 8B in SC. Thanks

[@ivym.6388]

What a great video! Especially this time of year, in the northeast, we are thinking about garden design, so this was an _excellent_ video. Thanks Erin! Anytime you feel like musing about garden design, I'd welcome seeing more. I just hope the home owners find out that they've gotten a lovely garden plan, if they want to do more.

[@ghizlanetalbi7768]

Love this! Esp. As a series, would be great for new homeowners. Thank you. I learned a lot from this!❤

[@jessicanazario4137]

I really enjoyed you talking through this garden design process and drawing it out for us. Please do more videos like this!

[@madcosta0716]

This looks fantastic as long as you don't block the view of drivers driving up to the stop sign. Like what everyone is saying, this type of video is needed for many folks out there. Great JOB!!

[@samanthascott712]

Thank you! You may be preaching to the choir to folks like me but I’m with you. Privacy doesn’t mean a fortress wall. Distraction, obfuscation and layers is the name of the game. I live on a main road in my town and employ many of these tricks. I can be sitting on a bench 6 feet from thesidewalk and barely seen by passers by unless they are walking their dog because the dog knows I’m there of course. Thanks for some great winter content. Happy new year!

[@staceytaylor1502]

Absolutely yes to this kind of video! Loved hearing your thoughts on spending a prescribed budget for a specific problem. So interested in your thoughts and I hope those people watch this! I live by the "diverse screening hedge" process, so it always makes me cringe when someone plans a one plant hedge. Thanks Erin!

[@sherriianiro747]

I know! I always wondered how Garden Answer has perfect arborvitae and boxwood hedges!

[@GardensDelight]

My husband and I recently sold our home of 30 years. We built our home and garden from scratch. There was literally nothing but an empty field there prior to our build. I can't begin to tell you how sad it was to leave our beautiful custom built house with a 30'x50' garage and established full grown landscapes. We now live in a smaller house on 9 acres and a barn and I can't wait to start the landscaping. Currently, there are boring foundation shrubs that turn the same color as our brick house during the winter so they "blend" in with the brick. The trees in the yard have been topped. It breaks my heart to see how these trees have been massacred. I can't wait to begin relandscaping our property in the spring. Thank you for sharing what you would have done to the property.

[@lisahahn173]

Love this idea. Design ideas where "needed" Would love to see this property go forward with your design!

[@lindseystruckmeyer116]

I absolutely loved this and hope you will do more! So useful and well explained!

[@3kidmama]

Such an amazing video - so many of us are younger gardeners so just the basics of designing a space like that including the budget is so helpful!!!!

[@lm8006]

I love this! But then again, I always joke to my husband that I’m mentally re-landscaping the yards I pass when I’m out walking. Now that you’ve downloaded this from your brain, I wonder if you’re able to “check the block” on this one & move on to another that you can share with us! (Do the builder-grade foundation plant remix next please ;) ) I hope someone local points these folks to your helpful & inspirational video. If they did your plan (and perhaps moved a few of those arbs to the back property line), they’d be on their way to a beautiful yard.

[@melanienorstrom5121]

Best gardening content I've seen all year!

[@lauramarti7548]

Wonderful Video Erin! Great ideas for this yard! The first spring after I moved in my 1956 ranch that had a yard almost as bare as the one you showed us, I planted a plethora of different types of trees, shrubs, vines and perennials in my yard to help screen my view of the neighbors. Panicle hydrangeas, viburnum, ninebark, lilac, spirea, arborvitae, clematis, flowering crabapples, white spire birch, river birch, (these are near the creek in my back yard), echinacea, rudbeckia, Shasta daisies, coreopsis, gaillardia, and many annuals. I planted the shrubs in clumps in certain areas in my yard to create instant screens and I am so happy I did this. The shrubs have filled in beautifully, and the trees are filling in nicely. I have since added a small deck on the front of the house, and a larger deck on the back of the house. The shrubs are helping immensely with providing a screen and a habitat for birds. This past fall, after watching some of your videos about ornamental grasses, I have made two more gardens and added ornamental grasses, more echinacea, more gaillardia, sedum, allium, daffodils and tulips. There is more, but at this early hour, I can’t recall the rest. I am creating my own little garden of serenity. Not only do I get privacy now from my plantings, but the birds love hopping about in the shrubs and building nests in them. I feel a great sense of peace and fulfillment every time look out of my windows or step out onto my decks and see my gardens. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your wonderful videos. I have learned so much from watching them.

[@hannahreese1629]

Wow! Now I'm gonna have to Google all of those! My concern is do most of them stay green during the winter, but also, what about sun or shade and will deer eat them because we have a lot of deer. I bet your yard is like an oasis 😊

[@lauramarti7548]

@ , only the arborvitae’s stay green, the rest lose their leaves in the fall. I did also plant low growing junipers, which stay green , on the slope in my back yard. I was tired of trying to mow a steep slope, so I dug out the sod, planted wildflowers a seeds and evergreen type shrubs.

[@rhondaschenk5727]

Erin, I love this video so much! You have put in a lot of thought on what to do with this landscape on a budget and would give them impact much, much quicker. Thanks!!

[@terrivance8750]

Erin, Love your design ideas!!! 😊

[@debrabolduc9928]

Wonderful workable ideas. Please continue! Lived with the "lawn and garden" at my present house for a year. Then started with adding a various shrub hedgerow across the front 5 feet in from the road. Year after we smothered the weed lawn, dumped a load of sandy soil and seeded in creeping thyme [ It needs mowing once a month, if that] around widened perennial/shrub borders around the house. and a gravel path/seating area. The seating area is under the existing maple. I've added a variety of tall grass along the driveway side, with drought resistant perennials in front of them. The other side is an existing cedar hedge. I've since added rose bushes near the seating. 5 years in I have privacy in my south facing front yard. Zone 4bish southern Quebec, Canada.

[@sharonhinds4808]

I LOVE this! Yes! Please consider a series, that would be so much fun!

[@LisatheDIYChick]

I really appreciate this video! It made me think differently about how to handle privacy situations and just general design concepts! thank you!

[@scottiajohnston8025]

Getting ideas from master gardener is always a great idea, especially when they give multiple options for plants.❤

[@carlawatson7859]

This is the most helpful, detailed, helpful, and informative video EVER❣❣❣👏👏👏

[@suecallen2160]

Feel so bad for those home owners. They’ve been critiqued and his amazing it would have been to actually offer the initial planting. Otherwise, make planting suggestions on purely hypothetical yards.

[@bluebird4805]

I agree. It’s shocking that someone would do this. I feel bad for them.

[@doubles1738]

From someone who has lived on a corner lot for 30 years, please check with your city ordinances regarding the height of plants you can have planted at the corner of an intersection. Our city has made neighbors cut down their “privacy” shrubs so pedestrians can be seen easily. I’ve also had neighbors grumble at me once our trees grew to mature size and had to limb up the trees to keep the peace (and there goes my privacy!).

[@TheImpatientGardener]

I never even thought about this and I’m sure there’s an ordinance here too. Don’t worry, this is a purely theoretical design that I’m sure the homeowners will never see.

[@newt52864]

@@TheImpatientGardener yes, blocking the sight line on a corner property can cause some issues unfortunately:( But I loved your design :)

[@hannahreese1629]

People always rave about corner lots, but I would hate it!

[@mrsmorris265]

The plants might just be to keep kids from cutting across the lawn instead of sticking to the sidewalk.

[@mmsanrio]

Imagine the homeowner in hospital & seeing their home (they are proud of) critiqued on YT.

[@flowers.on.demand]

Very interesting and thought provoking. Looking forward to the next in this series. Thank you!

[@valerieervin1281]

I have followed you for a really long time and never comment. However, I absolutely love this video and hope that you do more of them. I have a very similar situation as these homeowners. I love the idea of a low/wide tree in the bed.

[@shawnh.6655]

Amazing video. This hit home for me. I also live in southeast Wisconsin. Every night on our walk around our subdivision we comment on the landscaping being all the same, ours included! A local nursery offered free landscape design and the rest is history. We are taking out hedged yews in the front yard this summer after 35 years. We’ve learned a lot since then but I will definitely take your ideas into consideration when planning.

[@betsymaltby6788]

This is excellent. I've been struggling with the front yard space between my property and our neighbors. About 4 years ago the existing house was torn down and the property completely cleared which included a beautiful very old oak tree 😥and a hedge of forsythia (which was just meh) but did provide a divide. However now it's just vast lawn between the 2 properties approximately 50 feet from house to sidewalk. This gave me a few ideas of starting some type of border that isn't just a single plant hedge. Love the Clethra! That would be a great next video...mixed hedge planting between 2 properties. Thinking on a smaller scale, we are in a borough with smaller lots.

[@laliday]

I love this as a series. When I saw the picture and thought about privacy, I immediately thought of some large evergreen tree in the corner. But I could never think of a flower bed with additional trees that is this good. Pease do a variety of these. For example, what would you do in a smaller front yard, that has a driveway on one side. How to create balance on a front yard that has concrete on one side. etc.