Quick Fix With Little Imagination And Even Less Expense, Your Home Can Take On An Inviting Personality

Entrances, foundations and uninteresting topography. Often these are the most difficult areas in the landscape to deal with because changing them can be a costly adventure. However, there are techniques that can enhance or dress up existing patterns with not a great deal of expense.

Entrances

The entrance to our homes is probably the most important feature in the landscape. The main entrance should be spacious, well-lighted and safe. In other words, it should say “Welcome.”

The front door and porch should always be inviting and safe. The door should not force us off the porch onto the steps when it is opened. If it does, we should look into changing the width of the porch or the direction in which the door swings open.

Shrubs and trellises should not engulf this area. Not only is this unsafe, but hitchhiking insects may think of you as a great mode of transportation. Choose narrow, upright plants or small shrubby plants with character to enhance the front door. If the porch and steps are wide enough, dress them up with containers packed with flowers.

Wide, open front porches can be given personality with sections of wrought iron or wood railings and handrails. Narrow trellises covered with delicate vines, such as clematis or morning glory, can add a spark of charm without being overpowering. Roses and other thorny characters are not the most welcoming plants at the entrance. They have been known to snag clothes and toupees.

The sidewalk

Many of our front walks begin at the driveway. Older homes, with garages in the alley, usually have sidewalks leading to the front door from the street. Most are two- to three-foot-narrow paths. This width is fine for accommodating one person or two people walking one behind the other. A more inviting walkway would allow you and your guest to walk side-by-side with space in between. This walk would be around five or six feet wide.

So how can we make existing walkways more comfortable and welcoming? To make them wider, try bordering them with interlocking pavers or stepping stones that highlight or complement the walkway. Since front walks are used all the time, pavers and stepping stones should be butted against each other. Low-growing plant material could be a hazard if allowed to grow in between the pavers.

Walks can also say “welcome” simply by bordering them with flowers, as seen at the home of Dennis and Bev Kraft. Not only does the walk give the impression of being wider than it really is, but it is very inviting.

The driveway

Since our cars are an integral part of our lifestyles, the garages and driveways have become integral parts of our homes. Depending on where the house sits on the property, the driveway can often take on the appearance of a runway. Like the sidewalks, driveways can be softened by adding shoulders of complementary or contrasting materials.

This may tend to widen the driveway a bit, but in many cases this is a plus, especially for single-car and double-car driveways. Not only does the wider shoulder give you a little extra room to maneuver, but it takes away the cramped, crowded feeling when getting out of the car. Now you can step freely onto the shoulder instead of onto the lawn or into shrubs.

Foundation plantings

Nowhere is there a written law that says we have to plant right next to the foundation of our homes. Before planting those junipers, ask yourself first, why am I planting to begin with? Is it to cover exposed concrete? Is it to soften the structure? Does water leak through the foundation? Does rain from the roof create trenches? Does snow fall from the roof smashing everything beneath it? Can I water next to the house? Are there low windows that must be kept clear for safety purposes? Are there windows that require a bit more privacy or shade?

Once these questions have been answered, then begin with this premise. Give plant material at least four to five feet of space. Do not expect plants to do well with only two feet of growing area. We do not have to plant for the hedge look. Leave spaces between plants. Choose two or three different shrubs, making sure at least one of them is evergreen, needled or broadleafed. Stagger plants and intermix them to create interest.

Be creative. The Krafts have caused the foundation planting on one side of the entrance to be a little different from the other side by creating a large curved foundation bed. The wide part of the curve is enhanced by a magnolia tree. Other specimen trees such as dogwood, tricolor beech, sunburst locust or Japanese red maple can also be used in these areas. Interesting textures can be added to the bed by using rhododendrons, spirea (goldflame, lime mound or crispa), or dwarf quince. If homes are taller on one side, soften the height by using plant material that weeps - weeping cherry, spruce, cedar, etc.

For spot color, tuck in a few pots of annuals.

If foundations tend to leak or if trenches form underneath rooflines and the runoff is breaking down plant material, you might consider moving the plantings outside the roofline. Be creative. With stepping stones or interlocking pavers, you can make an inside walkway or a large patio complete with flower pots and benches. Both can be bordered with interesting plantings.

Changing the topography

If areas of the yard are flat and uninteresting, raising the soil may do the trick. Robert and Diane Notske’s back yard rolls out into a park-like atmosphere. In order to create a little more intimate enclosure without building a fence, the Notskes built berms (raised mounds of soil).

With a garden hose, they marked out the size and shape of the berm, creating wide areas and narrow areas. If you are cutting into sod, first design the bed with the hose, than kill the turf with a non-selective herbicide such as Roundup. Once the sod dies, till it into the soil along with two inches of the trucked-in soil for the berm. This incorporation of new soil into your existing soil will help alleviate any potential problems of soil layering.

Begin building the berms, keeping in mind the highest point should be half as wide as the widest part of the berm. In other words, if the berm is eight feet wide, the berm and the tallest plant on top of it should only be 4 feet at mature growth. You can raise the soil up two feet and plant a two-foot-tall plant on top or you can raise the soil up four feet and plant nothing on top. Taller plants on the sides are always lovely.

Diane planted perennial beds for year-round beauty. Not only does she look for flower interest and color, but she looks for foliage texture. Perennials have a tendency to bloom for such a short time that plant texture and shape become key elements in this garden.

Select one plant as a specimen plant. Repeat other plants at least three times. Use foliage that is strong, yet airy, such as Siberian iris and ornamental grasses. Use a few rock garden plants as border plants and dot the bed with one or two colors of annuals.

It is so much fun to work changes into the garden. Inside our homes, when the seat covers are worn, we change them. We paint the walls, change the drapes and sometimes even add a new room. If we can do it inside, then why not outside? Be creative and go for it.