Now that spring is has arrived, it’s time to start thinking about planning your property’s layout. Nothing makes more of a statement than landscaping your front yard because it offers a distinct first impression of your personality and home. It is the area of the home that most people spruce up first before tackling other areas and for good reason. Your front yard can transform your home’s curb appeal and impacts the way your home’s design looks from the outside.
Streetscaping is an excellent investment to make for your home. It offers you not only present enjoyment, but increases future resale value by setting the yard apart and making it beautiful. An attractive landscape view from the street shows a sense of individual pride and accomplishment. Whether you’re building upon an existing landscape design or starting from scratch, you front yard sets the scene for your entire property.
Before embarking on the landscape design for the front yard, you’ll want to take into account just how much maintenance will be required and work out a budget that fits your lifestyle. The architectural features of your front yard tend to be the most expensive because they’re permanent, so you may want to plan in stages. Maybe you’re choosing one small area of the front yard to start, like along walkways leading up to the house or perhaps a major overall, which will cost you considerably more. Whatever your intentions, you should prioritize what you would like for the end result to create harmony and balance relative to your purchasing power.
Evaluate your Front Yard
The first thing to consider when planning your front landscape is your natural bias, so step back and be honest in your assessment. Does your house blend in well with others in the neighborhood? Is it appealing and distinctive in its appearance and situated well on the lot? What would make it look better, stronger horizontal or vertical lines, more shrubberies, lawn, ground covers, trees or flowering gardens? Are the walkways, steps, driveway, edging and/or fencing leading up to the house easily navigated?
The Entryway
You want to pay particular attention to your home’s entryway and keep it clear and inviting to guests. There are many things that you can add to create a graceful lead to where you want people to go. The use of plants and structures like a lamppost, accent shrubs, flowing planters of geraniums and a bench at the front door are great landscape instruments.
Your driveway should always be readily visible and simple low plantings like shrubs can help to make the turn easy. Picket fences with flowing flowers can add dramatic accents as well. Lighting at night is also an important factor to your front yard landscape so it should be placed accordingly for walkways, steps and the front door.
Trees and Shrubs
Trees and larger shrubs are essential in front-yard design because they provide a look of permanence and stability. Trees frame the property for a more attractive view, especially with taller trees appearing on either side of your house and at least one behind it. They are ideal for softening the look of the second story or roofline against the sky. In addition to providing shade and energy control, their placement should be used as an outline of interest with textures and colours that will embrace all seasons. Spruce up the visual look by choosing varying shapes of trees and larger shrubs including different leaf sizes for contrast. For front yards, trees and larger shrubs are ideal for marking boundaries and separating functional areas.
Edgings and borders
By forming edgings to your front yard, you create an important and neat outline to your home’s appearance. Theses formations offer dramatic contrasts of form, texture, and colour. Permanent features such as small concrete curbs or bricks/flagstone set on an edge, end to end or diagonally along the walkway provide a harmonious transition for borders of plants or flowers. They are a welcoming focal point to the entryway of the house. Alternatively, ground covers can be used with the ultimate spread for a year round appearance to achieve balance in the landscape.
Well Designed Yards
Every house has its visual assets and liabilities; therefore, a well-done front yard highlights the positive points and minimizes the problems. Your front yard’s elements of balance, scale and unity, in addition to some common sense, comes into play for an aesthetically visual scene. Thoughtful landscaping of your front yard will improve your home’s appeal and make it a beacon of beauty in the neighborhood.
For Landscape Design and Construction services near Burlington, Ancaster and Oakville, contact Evergreen Landscaping today!