“You don’t want to put in a shrub in front of a window that eventually grows to 7 feet tall,” he says. Boxwoods are great corner anchors for a lawn, and ornamental and low-growing grasses are graceful candidates for the yard’s midsection.īostick also warns homeowners to consider maturity, not present height, when planting shrubs and trees in a flower bed or front yard landscape. “Plant taller species on the ends and shorter in the middle,” Bostick says. To soften the view when you landscape the yard, avoid straight rows of plants and vary their height and color. Plant beds serve to coax the eye up from the horizontal plane of the yard into the vertical plane focal point of the house. Soldiers look great in straight lines plants, not so much. (Elenathewise/iStock) Stagger heights and depths of greenery “There are beautiful, new plants brought to market that may not be the best choice for your area,” says Chad Bostick, a Huntsville, AL, landscape architect and member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Cosmos thrive in sandy soil, whereas Russian sage grows well in clay soil.Īlso consider your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone when selecting the plants and trees that will grow best in your particular climate. For less than $25, you can send a soil sample to your state cooperative extension, which has labs that will tell you everything about the soil you have to guide which plants you chose.Īzaleas, a popular foundation plant, do best in slightly acidic soil (pH 5.5), while lilacs love a more alkaline soil (pH 7.5). But picking the right plants requires more than a design eye you must choose plants that will thrive in your yard.īefore you start digging into front yard ideas, you’ll need to conduct a soil test to understand the composition, pH level, and nutrient quality of the dirt under your feet. Landscaping for front yards (and backyards, too) starts with plants-shrubs, trees, grasses, and perennials, which add color, height, texture, movement, and color to your lawn. That’s what professional landscape architects do for $75 to $150 an hour, but here’s a cheaper option: Many local garden centers provide consultations and simple front yard landscaping ideas for free or for a small additional cost if you buy plants from them-not a bad deal when you’re scraping for front yard inspiration! Pick the right plants to landscape the front yard You need a good design plan to fit all of these landscaping ideas together in your front yard. Landscaping also includes your driveway (have you considered a “green driveway” or one made of cobblestone or glass?), walkways, small trees, colorful flowers, perhaps a water feature. Front yard landscaping ideasįront yard landscaping is more than a patch of grass and a few plants. So what are you waiting for? Here are some gardening and landscaping ideas for the front yard to take care of now, before summer’s over. If you’re trying to sell your home, you’ll want to improve the curb appeal for potential buyers. But even if you have no plans to move, your yard can impress guests and passers-by. And while you may take care to mow your grass and refrain from parking a rusty pickup truck in the middle, your landscaping may not exactly impress visitors as much as it could. After all, people typically see your front yard before they step inside your front door. Front yard landscaping ideas that bump up your curb appeal can make a real difference in the selling price of your home (if you’re looking to sell) or the impression your home makes on visitors.
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