To set your yard apart,invest in streetscapingto add to your home’s current and future value.
For a clearer view, walk down the street, then walk back.
Then, do the same in the other direction.
Credit: Laurie Black Photography
it’s possible for you to also approach your house slowly from each way in your car.
Does your house blend with those nearby?
Does it sit well on the site or look out of place?
Credit: Bob Stefko Photography
Does it need stronger horizontal or vertical lines?
Does it nestle among the trees?
List all its virtues and shortcomings.
Credit: John Merkl
When you go to other houses, take note of theconvenience of their entryways.
For example, can you easily see where to turn into the drive?
Is the drive wide enough to open your car door and get out without stepping on plants or grass?
Credit: Kim Cornelison
Can you easily tell which door to approach?
Are walks and steps easily negotiated?
Also, consider your yard’s structural needswalkways, stairs, driveway, stoop, edgings, and fences.
Hardscaping and Landscaping
The architectural features of your yard will be the most expensive and permanent.
Selectmaterials that will add to your landscape, not detract from its harmony.
Flowers
Flowers are a simple front yard landscaping idea that needs some care and often requires replanting.
Still, they can fill in the gaps until your woody plants gain enough size to stand alone.
Lawn
Lawns take the most resources, work, and equipment of any aspect of landscaping.
To conserve natural resources and human energy, consider alternatives to lawns, especially in regions with inadequate rainfall.
Fence or mark off an area for turf and use the rest for meadows, pasture, or woodland.
A framed view is often much more inviting than an open view.
Plant them in the front yard if your budget allows for only one or two mature trees.
Besides providing framing, trees and larger shrubsand the buildingsmake up the masses in the landscape.
Choose and place them for the seasonal color interest for outline, shade, and energy control.
Harmonize the shapes of the plantsround, pyramidal, weepingwith each other and the structures.
Give visual relief by carefully varying leaf size and shape relative to the textures of structural materials.
Trees and shrubs also are good for marking boundaries and separating functional areas.
When selecting accentalso called specimen or ornamentaltrees, use reliable native types with good habits and few pest problems.
Raised Planting Beds
Raised planting bedsare often used instead of or together with foundation plantings.
Plants here have star billing.
For the most profusion and longest season of bloom, rely on annuals.
Cascadingpetunia,vinca, andasparagus fernlook lovely hanging over a bed’s edges.
Leave some edges clear, though, for sit-down gardening or just sitting down.
Is your front yard the sunniest in a cool climate?
The coolest in summer?
On the south side, where tender plants and fruit can best survive the cold?
The most significant part of your yard?
Then reclaim some or all of it for private family use.
Today, these so-calledfoundation plantingsare often inappropriate and widely misused.
Builders put in plants with enough size but little character, and they can soon outgrow their usefulness.
Plants near the houseare essential only to soften its angles and to help it blend in with its surroundings.
Concentrate on the entire setting, not just thefoundation line.
Your plantings here should be simple and dignified.
They should be appropriate in scale, enhancing rather than hiding the house.
Planning Your Walkway
The best plan for a walkway varies from yard to yard.
Use plants and structures to lead people where you’ve got the option to greet them most gracefully.
Driveways, too, should be readily visible.
A simple, low planting can mark the turn.
If trees or shrubs obstruct the view, remove them for safety’s sake.
Your Guide to Front Steps
Make steps as wide as the walks they connect.
Thestepsshould be emphatic and noticeable.
A plant accent can help.
So can a change of texture.
Never use just one step.
If the slope is that slight, use a ramp.
Three steps are the ideal minimum, though two are acceptable.
Check regularly that your steps are safe and not slick in snow or rain.
Or make conditionalplans for a ramp, avoiding any plantings that would interfere.
Use the plants with the proper ultimate spread and an attractive year-round appearance.
Keep plants far enough away to avoid overgrowth.
Creating an Attractive Front
Every house facade and site has visual assets and liabilities.
The well-done front yard highlights the appealing points and masks the poor ones.
All theelements of good designcome into play as you decide how to landscape a front yard.
All are essentially a matter of common sense.
If a scene pleases your eye, then it’s probably well-designed.
Themes are successful only if you unify all the garden aspects carefully.
Free-flowing, natural-looking elements markinformal landscaping designs.
Generally, informal home styles and sloping land require less rigid landscapes.
Formal houses and flat land can be treated either way.
However, most houses are asymmetrical since they have only one garage or drive.
In this case, balance is more subtle.
Perhaps a tall tree belongs on the side opposite the driveway.
Choose plants that will complement your home’s size at maturity and some that willgrow quickly.
Don’t let anything dwarf your house.
Severalplants of the same colorand kind have a more significant impact on a landscape than one of several types.
Use only enoughvarietyto sustain blooming and add visual interest.
