Front Yard

If you are looking to embark on a home landscaping project, the logical place to begin is the front yard.  Your front yard is the face of your home and should express both personality and beauty.  The front yard should make visitors feel welcome while maintaining organization and accessibility.

The main purpose of a front yard is to maintain accessibility to the house.  When you are embarking on a front yard landscaping project the first thing you need to take into consideration are driveways and walkways.  Once these areas have been determined you need to design the plant landscaping around them.  Plants, flowers and trees should not intrude on either the driveway or the walkways.  There is nothing less inviting than a front yard in which you have to step over plants and rocks on the way to the door.  It should be easy to get to the doorway and the landscaping should simply be an attractive view on the way.

The next thing you need to decide is what look you are going for.  It is a good idea to match your landscaping and plant choices to your house.  For instance, if your house looks like a country cottage you may want to install a picket fence and some cute, flowery bushes in front.  A more conservative house may just need a few neatly trimmed hedges in front.  Also, keep in mind that you don’t want to hide your house behind the landscaping (unless of course the idea is to cover the house with vines or ivy).  Landscaping should help to bring out the beauty of your home and not to hide it.

The important thing to keep in mind is that front yard “curb appeal” adds value to your house.  If the landscaping makes your house stand out in a pleasant and good way then you can increase the value of your house by as much as fifteen percent!  So what are you waiting for?  Start landscaping today!