I generally am not that great at cooking; if I do not follow a recipe then the finished meal comes out looking like a bunch of jumbled ingredients lacking in flavorful taste. The secret recipe to beautiful landscapes is to follow a front yard landscaping plan.
Plan for it – Make a Great First Impression with an Excellent Landscape
Consider these factors when drafting a simple front yard landscaping plan for maximum curb appeal. A well drafted plan will save you money by providing a guide to follow to shop wisely.
- Plan for year round interest. Garden designers know that as each season changes, so do the sun shade patterns. Use plants that are adapted to your yard’s conditions. Season long interest can be attained by including plants with variegated and colorful foliage. Think Japanese Red Maple tree or Gold Thread Cypress to name a few. Extreme shaded locations can present an extra challenge in the landscape. Hosta is a great shade understory perennial.
- Chose plantings adapted to your area’s hardiness zone. I incorporate evergreen shrubs in locations that have colder seasons, evergreen shrubs and trees provide interest when all the flowers and leaves are gone. I like to plant a greenery hedge such as boxwood under the house windows.
- Think long term – about mature planting size and plan for it, time passes quickly and beds will fill in fast. An overcrowded landscape is unappealing; allow room for your trees and shrubs to increase in size and value.
Hardy low maintenance plantings
Think of using plants that are low maintenance and hardy. We have all seen those stunning magazine pictures of beautiful blooming plants and many of my clients will request those in their front house landscape. However, it is best to use front yard plants that are disease and insect resistant varieties. You do not want to spend all your free time spraying toxic chemicals or replacing dead trees. Do your plant research and talk to your local nursery for best plant suggestions.
Draw Visitors in with Color
Determine the look you want, chose your style or theme such as modern landscape or a natural style landscape. Landscaping ideas for the front of house can be obtained by looking at landscape pictures of the different landscape styles. I like raised beds formed with screened top soil to delineate the lawn area from the planting area. I usually make the edge on the raised beds curved; unless, we are installing a formal landscape theme that calls for angles. Bed edges are a great location to plant flowers in abundance with vibrant colors, use your evergreen hedges as a backdrop. Hillside landscaping is another opportunity to plant flowers in mass for color.
Recipe for Great Landscape Design: Scale, Texture, Color & Balance
- The house and yard should work together in unity. One should not overpower the other. Scale can be achieved by using tall trees to impart a look of permanence. I recommend flowering ornamental trees such as Kwanzan Cherry Trees, the bark has great color and texture also. Pay attention to detail and don’t forget the driveway landscaping.
- Texture – Highlight special accent plantings with outdoor up lighting such as a Japanese Maple Tree. I really like planting Japanese Maple Trees; their leaves have a very fine texture. I find large boulders and rocks can introduce a course texture element as well. Another fantastic texture in the landscape to try is Ornamental Grasses; they are reasonably priced and add year round interest. There are many varieties with different colors and heights to experiment with in your design.
- Plant in mass – this idea works great for flowers to add color. Keep in mind many flowers beds will require extra watering and re-planting each year for annuals. Color should also be considered in the selection of trees and shrubbery. Purple Plum trees have deep crimson leaves.
- Don’t hodgepodge every plant variety form your local nursery together. Make it flow – achieve balance by repeating the same variety of plants and texture. Plant in odd multiples, usually plant in threes or fives. Plant in mass and repeat to give a sense of balance.
Remember you can transform your simple front yard landscape from ordinary to extraordinary with a pre thought-out plan and a recipe of design elements to create a landscape masterpiece.
Contact R&R Caddick 215-491-0767 to beautify your front yard today.