Who doesn’t want eye-catching front yard landscaping while increasing the value of their home? Sound expensive? It doesn’t have to be when properly planned out.
Outdated Homes With Outdated Front Yard Landscaping
If you think your home looks outdated, one of the factors you may want to look at how the yard is landscaped. When you look at your property, do you see something exciting or do you see a bygone era? It may be time to rethink the plants and the layout of your current front yard landscaping. It is amazing how some rearranging in the front yard can turn a home built decades ago into a modern look with current curb appeal.
Less Can Be More
When planning a new front yard design, using one or two key plants can say more than filling the yard with a complex garden. Besides the design, you’ll want to consider how much maintenance or upkeep is involved. Rock gardens can be very exciting having awesome curb appeal while reducing maintenance. Using shell, lava rock, pebble, cypress or other wood mulch with a few well-selected plants as accents can give it a southwest Florida feel without being hard on the budget.
Let’s Go Native
Being in a sub-tropical planting zone, colorful exotic plants abound. There is a plethora of native plants that can create a landscape you know will thrive. Remember to check their growing height when mature so that you keep the balance of the yard as the plants grow. Also, be aware of when they bloom, how long they bloom, and the colors of the blooms. With some careful thought, you can have a beautifully coordinated yard in color and timing all year.
Soften It Up
When you look at the front of your home, you may see a hard-line geometric look. Think of using landscaping to give a softer concept for better curb appeal. Low growing flowering trees, flowering shrubs, or small palms can conceal a hard corner of a home, Garden beds that have an irregular border can break up a rectangular front yard. Add a birdbath or other water feature as a nice accent. Add pollinating plants to attract butterflies.
Build and Define
To add dimension to a slanted front yard, retaining walls can provide interest. Using hardscape stone blocks to build the walls of your beds adds additional elegance. These beds can be built up or “cut out” of a slope. Be sure to line the bottoms of the beds with a landscape cloth that drains to keep the weeds down and prevent the plants from growing soggy during a rainy season.
Tips To Remember When Planning
- Scale the plants you choose to the size of your home.
- Choose plants that will thrive in your plant zone 10a.
- Do a scale layout of your yard.
- Have a budget in mind.
- Check your soil pH and content for plant compatibility.
- If you don’t have a green thumb or the time, call in the professionals.