Few things are more frustrating than a messy front yard. In addition to disrupting your curb appeal, overgrown, messy landscaping can also harbor pests and make it look like you don't care about your property. Fortunately, tidying up your yard doesn't have to be difficult. I have spent years learning more about landscaping, and this blog is all about how to become a landscaping enthusiast. Check out these articles about fun topics like planting flowers, perfecting pruned trees, and decorating your yard with whimsical additions. After you know more about landscaping, your yard might become the talk of the town.
If you're like most people, you work hard to keep your home looking good and take pride in its appearance. Your front yard, in particular, has the potential to add to the overall curb appeal of your property. However, yard maintenance can take up valuable leisure time, especially if you've got a gorgeous expanse of velvety green lawn in your front yard. Mowing, weeding, aerating, and irrigating are also necessary components of cultivating an attractive lawn, and many homeowners find that these activities take up most of their daytime hours on the weekend during the spring and summer.
Fortunately, you can still have an appealing front yard without becoming a slave to your lawn. The following are just three of the many ways that you can dress up your front yard and reduce the amount of actual lawn you have.
Specimen Plants
Specimen plants are trees or shrubs specially chosen for their aesthetic value. They're meant to stand alone instead of being used en masse or as part of a hedge. Examples of specimen plants include dramatic evergreens such as monkey puzzle trees, large flowering shrubs such as viburnum, or deciduous trees with striking foliage and growth habits such as Japanese maple. Specimen plants are often backlit with outdoor lighting for an extra-dramatic effect after the sun goes down.
Rock Gardens
Rock gardens require almost no maintenance and provide year-round good looks if you choose the plants wisely. Succulents are an excellent choice for rock gardens because they provide greenery and texture 12 months out of the year and can tolerate many types of weather conditions and growing environments. Ornamental grasses are another good option because they're tough as well as attractive. You can plant low-growing flowering perennials in your rock garden — good choices include candytuft, creeping verbena, and creeping sage.
Berms
A berm is a round, raised area in a yard designed to add height and texture to a level space. They're usually placed toward the center of the lawn and serve as a focal point of your landscape design scheme. The list of plants to use on berms depends on the overall impression you're trying to make. For instance, those seeking a formal effect often opt for evergreen boxwood, while homeowners who love casual cottage gardens often cover their berms with blooming annuals. Whatever you decide to plant on it, a berm will significantly reduce the amount of lawn space in your front yard and replace it with something more attractive.
To learn more, contact a custom landscaping contractor.
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