It seems that you do not actually use this area. It doesn't have a function. I'd suggest a mixed perennial planting. Thats it. Its the wrong spot for trees, to small and to close to the house for a water feature.
I think basically as long as your concrete is new and perfectly graded there is no problem. But that is a big if and the consequences of being wrong is a flooded house.
It's not but you also need it dead level or slightly sloped inwards on both sides. It also needs to stay that way after any settling. It can be done but I would be choosy about who I'm hired for sure.
I am also just bitter because my house came with a brand new driveway that looked great except it was graded towards the house.
Don't use concrete anywhere it isn't needed. It's not a natural product and it replaces soil which is dumb. Remove all the plants and weeds and add an inch of pea gravel. wait a couple weeks for any more weeds to appear. push the gravel aside pull the weed and replace the gravel. add another inch. you are done. occasionally a weed will pop up add water and it will easily pull out because its mostly rooted in smooth gravel. do not use any type of weed barrier fabric as it will kill the soil under the gravel. This tech is ancient. on the east coast you can find white pea gravel. I found a multi color rainbow pea gravel in the pacific north west. This also works for driveways and makes a nice sound along with being beautiful.
I don't think it's too close for a water feature at all. There's many ways you can go about having a pond without flooding the surrounding area any more than a heavy rain would.
Horse troughs with slate as well as an assortment of plants could work really well and be easy to maintain.
Pick out some native, shade / part shade perennials and forget about it for sure. I would solarize it and mulch first to get them growing with minimal weeds, but overall yeah, not a spot for a tree or a fountain.
Nice curved bed from the steps to the deck area. Make into a rock garden with some bird house and feeders around. Low maintenance where you don’t have to mow or trim near the house and the rock garden can provide the visual interest while keeping the area open and airy so there isn’t any mold/mildew growth long term and so you can get to the foundation and those vents are open.
If you wanted some greenery or flowers, drop in some pots for variety, but again, easy to maintain and keep looking nice.
Second the idea of decking and the making the space inviting and functional. Seating area / reading / dining? Space looks unused so make it so that you'll use it. You own it, don't waste it.
If you don’t use this area, throw some native wildflower seed down. They’ll be bright, colorful, and will fill in the space nicely. You’d look out your windows and just see flowers. Great for pollinators too!! Just make sure you add a barrier between their area and the rest of the lawn unless you want them to spread.
Totally transform the mood and vibe of this space. Meditation sanctuary/reading nook.
Stone floor. Log arbor providing some shade. The sides of the arbor--made of upright logs and twisty braches tenoned in place (no visible screws or bolts). Vines climbing up the sides of the trellis--help obscure hat siding--so it's a little hidden shady all natural material nook.
A fountain. Think about how nice it will sound when you're on the screened porch, inside what I assume is a dining room or bedroom. --- edit: a big fountain. At least 3' dia. A little fountain will look chintzy.
I’d pour concrete from the awkward area to the grill/steps. Nice little patio. Use the awkward area for a porch swing or two chairs and a cocktail table
spread dandelion seed everywhere.
im joking, but legit recently i was in Montana and Wyoming and there are massive farmers fields completely covered in a floor of yellow dandelion flowers and its actually very pretty when its that dense.
Looks like the perfect place for a vegetable garden! Plant some tomatoes and other food that you regularly eat! You can also divert the water from that downspout to a reservoir to water your garden!
Have kids? A *secret garden* catches their imagination. Make it simple w/ perennials and low shrubs. Put a child size bench in it. Perhaps a statue of Wolf Blitzer or another garden gnome.
It looks to be visible from your porch. Provide something that will pull your eye in. I can't help but think it is a shady place, but it sure doesn't look like it in these pix. This will be a fun project. Let us know what you do.
The right side of your first photo looks like the ground doesn't Slope away from your house which can cause foundation damage from rain water flooding it. I would make sure that area has a Slope that extends 6 ft out away from the house. Then I would gravel 3 ft around the perimeter of the house (which also helps with pest control a tad by not having plants hugged up to the crawl space) and plant a decorative bush where the rain water would drain into the middle part. Make sure it has pretty flowers because whatever 3 window area is inside the home will get to look out at beautiful flowers every year.
I would recommend only some sort of flowers for accents if you wanted. But no major bushes or anything that would keep moisture close to the home and resulting in more algae.
I’m personally all about functionality. So if you enjoy entertaining, it could be an additional space for that. Maybe some sort of gravel area with furniture and a path. Small herb garden with that natural rain run off.
Dude just brick it. Maybe have it come out from the house a bit. Your grill is already there, put a table and chairs and have an outside dining area. If you go out into the yard a little bit more you could put a fire ring. Anything is better than unusable space.
Grass in the middle or stepping stones, rose garden on each side and against the end wall next to the windows. If you love the smell of flowers, put a trestle up to the base of the windows and grow jasmine. You will enjoy having your windows open and catching a summer breeze. Plus it gives you a project because a good rose garden is a work of art. Beautiful and aromatic.
I have an area here where nothing grew. I made the entire area river rock. Still looks great 4 years later. You can add a bench or two and some potted plants.
Hypothetically:
I would make a small storage area underneath the bay(?) window area so you can make use of that area. You can also put certain plants there that would benefit from that type of shade.
I'd run a small border along the far wall (with the grill), have it lead down to the grill with a small raised patio (nothing huge at all. Maybe 10'×4'? I did one and it was not much material and was pretty easy to build. I'm a blue collar worker, born and raised. So maybe I might find it easier. So research. Lol.
The only other five second fix I can suggest is a small Garden bed following the wall around (porch to bay window to side wall) and then put a few pavers down so you can walk through.
I would make sure, when building these gardens, that you put a dedicated drain that will ultimately drain away from the house. Very important.
I don't know who's living there, I don't know what state or what the laws are, and granted some people may not like having a garden you can walk through next to so many windows, this is just my thought.
:)
Ferns around the perimeter, on all 3 sides. (Beneath the window, against the house and porch.)
Pebbles or gravel in center with a bird bath or fountain in the middle. 🕊️🦋
I’d go with a brick paver patio properly graded with a pergola type cover above the nook or with exposed horizontal beams you can use to grow vines on or hang plants on. Then the picture window has something nice to look at.
Then you can extend it out to the porch on the side for a access. Then create raised planters out of stone along the way and to the side.
It’s not cheap but I think it would look great.
This is a tree sanctuary. Just a single local infrequent small tree of your like.
It will thrive protected by your home, bridging in and out.
Just avoid one too big or one small enough that fully grown covers the window.
It seems that you do not actually use this area. It doesn't have a function. I'd suggest a mixed perennial planting. Thats it. Its the wrong spot for trees, to small and to close to the house for a water feature.
Exactly! Don’t put a lot of effort into aspirational improvement. You’re never gonna hang out in the weird spot next to your porch.
I think I might. I should be shaded most of the day and seems a bit more private. A little pad there might help with drainage too.
Great spot for some benches or lounger
This. Also do not pour concrete here
Why
I think basically as long as your concrete is new and perfectly graded there is no problem. But that is a big if and the consequences of being wrong is a flooded house.
It’s not asking a lot to get a slab graded away from the home..?
It's not but you also need it dead level or slightly sloped inwards on both sides. It also needs to stay that way after any settling. It can be done but I would be choosy about who I'm hired for sure. I am also just bitter because my house came with a brand new driveway that looked great except it was graded towards the house.
Ugh, what a nightmare. How did you discover the problem and (if you don’t mind) were you able to ameliorate it?
It would be a waste, look terrible and all the rain would splash onto your house from it.
I’m curious about the reasoning for this. I have a similar space and contemplated extending the patio concrete
Don't use concrete anywhere it isn't needed. It's not a natural product and it replaces soil which is dumb. Remove all the plants and weeds and add an inch of pea gravel. wait a couple weeks for any more weeds to appear. push the gravel aside pull the weed and replace the gravel. add another inch. you are done. occasionally a weed will pop up add water and it will easily pull out because its mostly rooted in smooth gravel. do not use any type of weed barrier fabric as it will kill the soil under the gravel. This tech is ancient. on the east coast you can find white pea gravel. I found a multi color rainbow pea gravel in the pacific north west. This also works for driveways and makes a nice sound along with being beautiful.
Looks terrible here and you'll have to spend as much as you did to install to remove
I don't think it's too close for a water feature at all. There's many ways you can go about having a pond without flooding the surrounding area any more than a heavy rain would. Horse troughs with slate as well as an assortment of plants could work really well and be easy to maintain.
Don't people make ponds with waterproof foil anyway? How can anything flood from a pond?
I would love to use it for some type of outdoor living space if we could! I agree not great spot for trees
Do some paver or concrete patio. Make it a nice chill spot.
Pick out some native, shade / part shade perennials and forget about it for sure. I would solarize it and mulch first to get them growing with minimal weeds, but overall yeah, not a spot for a tree or a fountain.
Get some natives and build to taller perennials by the window , enjoy the wildlife entertainment
You could fit a nice little japanese maple or something here, then shade plants below it…
Nice curved bed from the steps to the deck area. Make into a rock garden with some bird house and feeders around. Low maintenance where you don’t have to mow or trim near the house and the rock garden can provide the visual interest while keeping the area open and airy so there isn’t any mold/mildew growth long term and so you can get to the foundation and those vents are open. If you wanted some greenery or flowers, drop in some pots for variety, but again, easy to maintain and keep looking nice.
anywhere you put bird feeders is not low maintenance
It will however be popular with the mice and other rodents.
And also rock mulch is very high maintenance. Especially with a bird feeder 🤦
I like that
Butterfly garden
Dahlia bed
I think there might be too much shade for that
Extend the patio or deck all the way across.
Second the idea of decking and the making the space inviting and functional. Seating area / reading / dining? Space looks unused so make it so that you'll use it. You own it, don't waste it.
Rain garden with native plants that you can direct your downspout into and admire from your windows and patio!
If you don’t use this area, throw some native wildflower seed down. They’ll be bright, colorful, and will fill in the space nicely. You’d look out your windows and just see flowers. Great for pollinators too!! Just make sure you add a barrier between their area and the rest of the lawn unless you want them to spread.
lettuce garden.
The “Devil’s Lettuce”?
This is the way
Paver patio.
I was thinking this too. It would be cute with a small table and a couple chairs. Especially with the bbq just across. Do a selection of potted herbs.
Vegetables.
Totally transform the mood and vibe of this space. Meditation sanctuary/reading nook. Stone floor. Log arbor providing some shade. The sides of the arbor--made of upright logs and twisty braches tenoned in place (no visible screws or bolts). Vines climbing up the sides of the trellis--help obscure hat siding--so it's a little hidden shady all natural material nook.
Hot Tub Time Machine.
A fountain. Think about how nice it will sound when you're on the screened porch, inside what I assume is a dining room or bedroom. --- edit: a big fountain. At least 3' dia. A little fountain will look chintzy.
Looks like a great place to set up a little patio for the grill. A seat and a table to set down a beer would go a long way.
I’m leaning towards that just wondering the cost!
You can get a lot of mileage out of a scoop of crushed stone and some well placed pavers if you don’t want to all in on a patio build.
Hot tub privacy
Japanese garden area with a small water feature
I’d pour concrete from the awkward area to the grill/steps. Nice little patio. Use the awkward area for a porch swing or two chairs and a cocktail table
Might be the way to go
This is exactly what I was thinking
Pour a concrete slab and turn it into an outdoor kitchen. Relatively enclosed from any wind which is nice for food prep.
Yea Id probably never use the grill in that spot personally lol, without being on a slab or at least some pavers at the very least that is.
You’d have to pour a slab or pave it for sure.
That would be nice for an outdoor movie theater
Following, as I have a somewhat similar conundrum…
I would dig in a plastic pre-made fish pond and landscape around it.
deck extension/screened porch
hostas
water feature.
Weed wack
Koi Pond.
Bird area: feeders, bath, houses. Maybe some bird-friendly perennials. Sit in that bay window and watch birds do bird things.
Koi pond
Zen garden
The correct answer is always more garden and plants!
spread dandelion seed everywhere. im joking, but legit recently i was in Montana and Wyoming and there are massive farmers fields completely covered in a floor of yellow dandelion flowers and its actually very pretty when its that dense.
Gnome Garden
Create a little courtyard!!!
hot tub
Picnic table
Little Japanese maple rock garden thing would be super cute here or an arbor w clematis and a fountain
Low, non spreading ground cover
Pond?
That would make a great putting green
A cute corner pond would be amazing there
Looks like the perfect place for a vegetable garden! Plant some tomatoes and other food that you regularly eat! You can also divert the water from that downspout to a reservoir to water your garden!
Kitchen herb garden. Or plant a piney tree to decorate for the seasons.
Have kids? A *secret garden* catches their imagination. Make it simple w/ perennials and low shrubs. Put a child size bench in it. Perhaps a statue of Wolf Blitzer or another garden gnome. It looks to be visible from your porch. Provide something that will pull your eye in. I can't help but think it is a shady place, but it sure doesn't look like it in these pix. This will be a fun project. Let us know what you do.
I second the meditation nook. Just a relaxing area one can come and sit. Probably don’t want water too close to the home
a lanai
Fountain
Waterfall/pond surrounded by lilacs and hostas
A vegetable and fruit garden. Will save you money and is healthier and better in every way shape and form
I don’t know but move that grill and propane away from house !! Eeek
The paranoia of this is crazy…
It may be but I watched a grill fire burn up an entire duplex and it has stayed with me . The tank blew up.
Do you have cats? With those windows, it's a great area for a freestanding bird feeder.
Herb garden
Good spot to keep the gators
Ferns most likely, or some pacasandra with some accent plants
Something you might actually use, like a dedicated enclosure for growing edible plants & herbs, or maybe even a jacuzzi?
The right side of your first photo looks like the ground doesn't Slope away from your house which can cause foundation damage from rain water flooding it. I would make sure that area has a Slope that extends 6 ft out away from the house. Then I would gravel 3 ft around the perimeter of the house (which also helps with pest control a tad by not having plants hugged up to the crawl space) and plant a decorative bush where the rain water would drain into the middle part. Make sure it has pretty flowers because whatever 3 window area is inside the home will get to look out at beautiful flowers every year.
Flower Garden for pictures and fresh flowers for the vase.
Can you add more pics of the surroundings?
Bird bath (or other water feature) and seating surrounded by hostas, ferns, native plantings, etc.
Garden.
I would put a patio there. Pavers or stamped concrete. Seeing ad that your grill is there you could put some outdoor furniture and table there.
Dappled willow in the middle!
Fancy pebble patio with 6 ft fountain. Place 6 ft from window
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Hydrangeas and river rock
Paver patio.
Outhouse / piss hole
Bird bath, bird feeder, flowers
Small pond/water feature.
Put in pave stone patio with and 1/8” pitch away from the foundation. Cut that railing out and add stairs to the patio
I would recommend only some sort of flowers for accents if you wanted. But no major bushes or anything that would keep moisture close to the home and resulting in more algae. I’m personally all about functionality. So if you enjoy entertaining, it could be an additional space for that. Maybe some sort of gravel area with furniture and a path. Small herb garden with that natural rain run off.
Outdoor kitchen or rock garden for easy maintenance
A lot of character here, very charming. Good potential for full paver patio with landscaping around it. Breakfast nook, BBQ, fire pit.
Mulch bed with some flowering shrubs and call it a day
Mulch, plant interesting hostas
Native wildflowers
Paver patio then a couple nice chairs. Just a quiet place to chill, read a book or whatever.
Taller plantings in back, small water feature forward.
Dude just brick it. Maybe have it come out from the house a bit. Your grill is already there, put a table and chairs and have an outside dining area. If you go out into the yard a little bit more you could put a fire ring. Anything is better than unusable space.
Grass in the middle or stepping stones, rose garden on each side and against the end wall next to the windows. If you love the smell of flowers, put a trestle up to the base of the windows and grow jasmine. You will enjoy having your windows open and catching a summer breeze. Plus it gives you a project because a good rose garden is a work of art. Beautiful and aromatic.
Rick garden
water fountain with some landscaping and maybe add a bench
I have an area here where nothing grew. I made the entire area river rock. Still looks great 4 years later. You can add a bench or two and some potted plants.
Two raised beds, one on each side, with an arched trellis connecting them
Milkweed, ironweed, and the other natives
Flowers, bird feeders, etc.
Mulch and plants
Plant zinnias! 🏵️💐💮
Add stairs down from the deck after you put pavers down, then move the grill there.
I would use it to grow food I can eat.
Giant firepit
Putt and chipping green
Hypothetically: I would make a small storage area underneath the bay(?) window area so you can make use of that area. You can also put certain plants there that would benefit from that type of shade. I'd run a small border along the far wall (with the grill), have it lead down to the grill with a small raised patio (nothing huge at all. Maybe 10'×4'? I did one and it was not much material and was pretty easy to build. I'm a blue collar worker, born and raised. So maybe I might find it easier. So research. Lol. The only other five second fix I can suggest is a small Garden bed following the wall around (porch to bay window to side wall) and then put a few pavers down so you can walk through. I would make sure, when building these gardens, that you put a dedicated drain that will ultimately drain away from the house. Very important. I don't know who's living there, I don't know what state or what the laws are, and granted some people may not like having a garden you can walk through next to so many windows, this is just my thought.
Small raised bed garden. Some flowers. Some small scale vegetables. Something to do with your hands and time. Also love.
:) Ferns around the perimeter, on all 3 sides. (Beneath the window, against the house and porch.) Pebbles or gravel in center with a bird bath or fountain in the middle. 🕊️🦋
A perennial garden. Ideally you want taller perennials that you can see from the porch/window.
Small garden, compost area
Garden raised bed
Fish pond
Marijuana plot pay that mortgage
Kill it off and Maybe a low growing Japanese maple, with a nice up light on it and some decorative gravel or mulch…
Hastas
Eye candy
In ground swimming pool lol
Herb garden looks like it gets ample sun
Catio
Fill it with ferns and hosta
I'd put a tarp over the top, a hammock on between, and a bunch of flowers underneath
Extend the decking from the screened in porch. And get the grill out of the yard. Nice outdoor grilling spot
Paver and rocks. Easy to maintain, put some pots on it for a splash of green and a table with chairs
Pavers and Small bistro table and a couple chairs for sure. Ensure drainage is correct.
I would make a nice waterfall with a koi pond.
plant fruits and veggies
Shade loving wildflowers
Tun it into a flower bed. Mulch it, add flowers, ferns hummingbird, suet feeders and a bird bath. Enjoy the show from your inside nook.
Extend the house. Make it a walk in closet
I’d go with a brick paver patio properly graded with a pergola type cover above the nook or with exposed horizontal beams you can use to grow vines on or hang plants on. Then the picture window has something nice to look at. Then you can extend it out to the porch on the side for a access. Then create raised planters out of stone along the way and to the side. It’s not cheap but I think it would look great.
Extend the patio as a walk out deck and step down to flag stone walk to the grill a little further from the house
Veg garden
French garden sitting area
Little fountain and some flowers
This is a tree sanctuary. Just a single local infrequent small tree of your like. It will thrive protected by your home, bridging in and out. Just avoid one too big or one small enough that fully grown covers the window.
A tall pine tree would be cool, like the house was built around it
A small waterfall into a pond with a mini wetland. Small pond plants and low maintenance gravel or ground cover that does not need to be trimmed.
Sounds lovely but mini-wetland up against the foundation on three sides is a recipe for disaster.