Front Yard Garden Flair
It’s a common habit to save all your wildest outdoor living ideas for the backyard where only you and your guests can enjoy it. Where our properties are the “mullet” of landscaping (all business in the front… you know), it’s hard to imagine doing anything too crazy that can be viewed by all. But front yards often offer lots of room for creativity and color. Designing more elaborate gardens in the front can improve curb appeal, increasing the value of your home while improving the aesthetic.
But what kind of garden design might be right? It depends on the architecture of your house, the space available, and your personal taste. Here are some ideas to get the juices flowing:
- English cottage. While this may seem obvious, the versatility and impact this type of garden brings makes it worth mentioning here. An English cottage garden works best with smaller homes built of more traditional materials such as stone or brick, although that should not discourage homeowners from considering it for their modern abode. The softness of the materials against a stark background can have a very striking effect. To create the look: Use large, bountiful perennials and large ornamental grasses to flank a narrow pathway leading to the front door. Establish strong boundaries with hedges and stone walls. Choose plants to provide color throughout the season and fullness within.
- A natural opposite to the cottage garden, the homeowner who prefers simplicity with style might be inclined to try a garden that is minimalist and modern in geometry and texture. Flat surfaces can create strong lines, giving way occasionally to unique focal points at their termini and intersections. A lack of plants is in itself interesting, favoring the use of “negative space” in between to create the aesthetic. And the interplay of soft mulch against smooth paving is a delight. To create the look: Study the geometry of the garden space and create a rhythm with rectangular pavers or a scored concrete. Create rectilinear beds bounded by likewise straight edging materials such as landscape timbers and place within them a judicious amount of small, compact plants. Choose one or two focal elements such as an unusual cactus or a large pot planted with a citrus.
LANDSCAPE DESIGN – SANTA BARBARA
When it comes to creating a landscape, homeowners generally fall into two categories: those who itch to start putting plants into the ground themselves and those who recognize a need to hire out the work. Just as it wouldn’t be wise to …
- Dual purpose. Why not use the front yard to give back? A sustainable landscape that houses a pollinator garden, feeds wildlife, or treats stormwater can be just the right way for homeowners to become true stewards of the land. Or, perhaps consider a vegetable garden if the front yard gets better sun than the back. To create the look: Choose a mission and then select plants that are not only right for the project, but provide a nice aesthetic, particularly through the seasons. Consider concentrating wildflowers or vegetables in just one area and using more traditional landscape forms and textures around it to maintain balance.
If you’re still stuck on the type of garden that might be a good fit for your style and your home’s architecture, considering enlisting the help of a landscape professional who offers design services. A landscape designer can help choose materials and create a plan that is appropriate to the scale and layout of your front yard.
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