Up Your Home's Curb Appeal with Front-Yard Landscaping

Successful landscaping goes well beyond a beautiful lawn. See 12 pro tips for showing off your front yard

Your front yard, regardless of its size, plays an important role in your home’s overall curb appeal. Your landscaping, however, goes well beyond just a beautiful lawn. It should take into account the style and size of your house, how it’s sited on the property, the amount of sunlight the yard receives and how to best enhance it with plantings, bushes, shrubs and trees. It should also include hardscaping features, from walkways and driveways to raised beds, planters and decorative containers.
What are the best practices for front-yard landscaping? To learn more, we reached out to Dorian Winslow, a certified landscape designer and the owner and president of Womanswork, an online retailer of gardening apparel and supplies. Here are her 12 tips for successful front yard landscaping.

1. Find your focus

Every view in your landscape should have a focal point. “For your front yard, the focal point is the front door, so be sure you don’t hide it,” advises Winslow. If you are considering major plantings such as trees, think about how they will frame the front door as you approach your house.

2. Use ground covers

Ground covers are a low-maintenance alternative — and complement — to grass. “Because they’re low to the ground and dense, they give a neat appearance with very little maintenance,” says Winslow. “They also allow you to introduce spring bulbs to your landscape because the ground cover hides the dead leaves after the bulbs bloom.” Be sure you research what ground covers work (culturally) with the trees in your yard.

The path is curved, but not meandering, to lead visitors to the front door. Source: Eduardo Mendoza

3. Set the right path

When considering the pathway from the driveway to your front door, Winslow says to “remember that our natural instinct is to take the most direct route to where we’re going.” A curved path to the front door is nice, but a meandering path may not be. “If you want to take your visitors on a circuitous route, be sure you plant densely along each side of your path,” she adds. “Otherwise, your guests will cut their own path across your grass to get to the front door.”

4. Rethink foundation plants

“Avoid treating foundation plants as if they were little soldiers pressed up along the perimeter of your house,” advises Winslow. “For a two-story house, foundation plantings should extend at least 8 feet out from the house.” And remember, a curved garden bed can soften the lines of your house in a pleasing way. Be sure the shrubs that are placed closest to your house are not taller than the windows, or they will block the light coming into your house and the view from inside looking out. When you’re planting shrubs, think about how they will look in three to five years. “You don’t want to select varieties that will block your windows,” she adds.

5. Add some privacy

If you are looking to add some privacy in your yard, consider a buffer of shrubs, suggests Winslow. “A buffer that includes multiple plants at varying heights can accomplish the same thing as a solid hedge or a fence but is far more welcoming,” says Winslow. Alternatively, if you are just trying to block the view from a particular room — or a part of your yard from your neighbors — plant a couple of trees or shrubs with strategic precision.

6. Deter the deer

If deer are an issue, select shrubs that are deciduous (lose their leaves in the winter) but retain their form even when their leaves are gone. This will help preserve the structure of your garden in all seasons.

7. Consider the light

“Your house is a large object that will block the sun for part of every day,” notes Winslow. If your house faces north, the front yard is never going to get great light. If it faces east or west, it may get searing sun for part of the day and then no sun for the remainder. Make your plant choices with that in mind, advises Winslow.

Pavers dress up the edges of this driveway. Source: All Oregon Landscaping

8. Think long term

If you’re planting trees in front of your house, plan 12 to 15 years out. They are considered a permanent fixture of the landscape, so you want to be sure they are not too close to the house. “If you are thinking of selling your house, a tree can be an asset — unless it is one that prospective owners think they will have to remove; then it’s a liability,” cautions Winslow.

9. Dress up the drive

If you have a standard asphalt driveway that you want to enhance, install a border of Belgian blocks (more expensive) or cement pavers (less expensive) along the edges of your driveway. A border gives the driveway a more finished and rich look.

10. Create an entrance

“If your driveway is a straight line from the street to the house,” says Winslow, “soften the line with a curved planting bed where the driveway meets the front corner of your yard.” This will create a pleasing, sweeping effect as you approach the house.

11. Add a flowering tree

A flowering tree provides wonderful curb appeal and is welcoming for those few weeks in spring when it’s in bloom. Flowering varieties provide fragrance and usually don’t block the house, because they tend to be smaller trees.

12. Keep it simple

Don’t crowd your front yard with lots of objects or plants. Have a clear structure to the design and a focal point.

Commercial Landscape Chino | Residential Landscape Upland

Ayres Landscape Services first began in the year 1978 with Bruce A. Ayres the owner, operator, and leader of all landscaping projects. Bruce first began mowing lawns in order to pay his way through college and soon found that he had a love and passion for plants and landscaping that he decided he wanted to expand his little lawn mowing services into a company that provides landscape design and contracting for residential and commercial properties all over southern California. Bruce then got his contractor's license and took classes to become an expert on all plants, trees, irrigation installation, pest control, and eco-friendly ways to provide all his future customers with the best quality landscaping.Commercial Landscape Chino | Residential Landscape Upland
Once Bruce finished all of his schooling to get licensed and trained on all the aspects that landscaping and contracting entail, Ayres Landscape Services began. Bruce knowledgeable and well trained on landscape designing, renovation, installation of all irrigation and sprinkler systems, maintaining yards so they stay healthy and beautiful all year round, and able to provide ways of water saving and eco- friendly ways to keep your yard up to your standards. Not only is Bruce highly educated in the landscaping business, but he also has years and years of experience of working in the field. Bruce may be the owner of Ayres Landscape Services and has his crew members go out on jobs to do the work, but Bruce has put plenty of years in working out in the field himself. He knows all the ups and downs of landscaping and can educate any customer with any questions or concerns regarding their property.

Here at Ayres Landscape we are committed to offering low-maintenance, water-wise, eco-friendly and beautiful landscape designs to all of our commercial and residential customers with the best of quality at competitive prices. As the years have progressed our source of water has slowly declined, and our goal at Ayres Landscape in order to conserve water is to educate our customers on how they can help to conserve water. To conserve water customers can switch from regular water use to recycled water use for all landscaping and irrigation of the property which Ayres Landscape is fully trained and equipped for installing. Another way to conserve water is called Xeriscaping, which is designing your yard with plants that require minimal amounts of water throughout the year. To find out more information on Recycled Water use and Xeriscaping look under the heading Water Conservation which is located at the top of the page. Conserving water for our nation is a major and key goal here at Ayres Landscape so please allow us to help you make the switch to water conservative landscaping.

Commercial landscape contractor irvine | Apartment buildings landscaping chino

Ayres Landscape Services first began in the year 1978 with Bruce A. Ayres the owner, operator, and leader of all landscaping projects. Bruce first began mowing lawns in order to pay his way through college and soon found that he had a love and passion for plants and landscaping that he decided he wanted to expand his little lawn mowing services into a company that provides landscape design and contracting for residential and commercial properties all over southern California. Bruce then got his contractor's license and took classes to become an expert on all plants, trees, irrigation installation, pest control, and Eco-friendly ways to provide all his future customers with the best quality landscaping.

Getting on a Less Expensive Landscape

How typically does one assume that your cartilage or field wants makeover? Earlier on individuals use to mention you ought to attempt to pay anyplace from five-hitter to fifteen of your home's worth on landscaping. Even at the low finish of that varies, it still suggests that you're defrayment lots on the average. It’s perpetually cutting your pockets and it gets powerful to abdomen notwithstanding what proportion you\'re keen on the outside. Gratefully, you’ll right and still pay a fraction of that quantity like Commercial landscape contractor obtaining the foremost visual play from your pocket. Initial of all, it’s perpetually higher to induce hold of your husbandry budget during which you'll still be stunning placed. The primary belongings you ought to target are raising your soil and adding trees. It’s sensible regarding to contemplate} about however you are going mistreatment your location. If you intend a water feature however are irritated by the noise of babbling brooks, you’re progressing to pay more cash cacophony it out and replacement it with one thing else later.  Take the time to coach yourself and you may avoid common pitfalls like planting a tree too near your house. Conserving existing plants and trees will assist you save the value, materials and resources required to ascertain a brand new planting.  Knowing that areas in your yard are flood-prone and that are perpetually within the sun will assist you get the proper plants for the proper conditions. Some areas could be higher for swing sets or patios. Divide your arrange into phases and pay as you accompany funds accessible. You may save on loan Residential landscaper or credit prices and be able to judge your progress and alter plans before moving to successive section. Buy trees, shrubs, perennials, soil and mulch late within the season once retailers need to be obviating them. Reckoning on your region that would be early fall, a good time for planting as a result of it offers the plant time to develop roots before the summer heat arrives.