Landscape Design Ideas: Front Yard Renovations

Lots of people pay close attention to their back yards, as they tend to be hubs of entertainment complete with pools and patios. But your front yard is what everyone sees first, and should be the focal point of your property. If your curb appeal is sorely lacking, you can enlist the help of the professionals at T&B Landscape and Irrigation to help you with some design ideas and implementation. From walkways to gardens, check out some ideas to incorporate front yard renovations.

Start with a Lush Lawn

Everyone wants to be the envy of the neighborhood with a rich, green carpet of lawn in the front yard. It isn’t as easy as it sounds, as many of you know. Once you’ve seeded and the lawn is starting to get established with watering 10 minutes a day, don’t neglect a weekly soaking that encourages roots to extend deeper into the soil. You may be tempted to give your yard a quick sprinkle of water daily, but this won’t do as much good as a longer watering once weekly. Spread fertilizer once in the spring that has micro-nutrients such as sulfur, copper and iron. An application of dolomitic lime every couple of years to re-balance the pH and add minerals like calcium and magnesium isn’t a bad idea either.

Flowing Walkways

A critical part of front yard landscaping is having a design that flows naturally. Think about how people actually get to your front door, side door, or garden area Sometimes a straight or overly curved line is just unnatural. Keep your walkways fluid to keep visual interest and make the design practical. Walkways and pathways should feature natural access patterns that follow the rhythm of your yard. If you don’t, kids, pets and visitors will make their own way, forcing them onto the lawn and mulch areas where you may not want foot traffic.

Keep the width of your walkways comfortable for visitors, making them at least 36 inches wide, suggests Better Homes and Gardens. Your walk should not slope more than 10 percent; keep it between one and five percent for the most comfort. Leave enough of a buffer zone of about two feet around your pathways comprising ground cover, lawn area, mulch or crushed stone. People don’t want to feel cramped as they walk along.

Steps, Porches and Fences

These are all considered architectural features and they tend to be the most costly and permanent of your front yard landscape. While you can’t always incorporate all of these elements (think pergolas, trellises, retaining walls, etc.) at once, you could plan to add one feature each year until you get where you want to be. Trees, shrubs and ground covers are much less permanent but they still take time to grow and nurture. Plan for that inevitable growth by researching what kind of layout you want well beforehand. Cute little shrubs in front of the picture window of your home look adorable now but what about in 10 years when they block out all sunlight from your living room? Add bright blooms amongst the permanent architectural features so you can switch out the look each year depending on mood and surrounding decor.

Give us a Call

Looking for assistance with front yard renovations? Give T&B Landscape and Irrigation a call to learn more at (978) 296-5290. Established in 2003, we are proud to offer top-notch lawn care at a reasonable price to people in Andover and throughout Andover. Our services include lawn installation and renovation, flower planting, mulching, garden beds, edging, and irrigation installation.