Transform Your Front Yard Landscaping Into a Welcoming Arrival Experience
Why invest in front yard landscaping?
Some people wonder whether an investment in front yard landscaping is worth it. It makes sense to develop the backyard because a landscape architect can create multiple spaces for different activities there. Plus, backyards are typically quiet and private. Whereas, the front yard… what would you use it for?
ebook offer: Transform Your Front Yard Landscaping Into a Welcoming Arrival Experience
Is your experience of arriving home each day underwhelming?
This ebook is for you! Find out how to reinvent your front yard landscape and swap that “blah” experience for a feeling of pride and pleasure
The Benefits of Front Yard Landscaping
In both front and backyard landscaping, landscape architects are engaged in defining outdoor space, establishing use areas that function independently and fit into the overall landscape picture to make a balanced composition.
In front yard landscaping, on the public side of the house, the primary goal is to enhance the setting of the home and ease access by defining the entry and approach to the home, making the driveway and walkways appealing to guests as well as to the homeowners.
Whether you are turning into the driveway with a carload of kids and field hockey gear, or you’ve just returned from a brisk morning walk with your rambunctious pup–you want to experience a warm feeling that says “welcome home”
The distinctive benefit of front yard landscaping is that it corrects practical issues while significantly upgrading the aesthetic experience of arriving home.
There are typically two scenarios that affect how homeowners experience their front yards. You may recognize yourself in one of these:
- An aging landscape. Your home is located in an established older neighborhood of modest-sized lots. You have an aging landscape that may have reached the end of its useful lifecycle. A front yard designed in the eighties or earlier would be reflective of how landscapers designed then. It might appear to us as one-dimensional, presentable but not all that distinctive or exciting
- A “blank slate” landscape. Your home is newly built in a development of large or multi-acre-sized lots. The developer gave you a vast front lawn, a sprinkling of saplings and low shrubs, minimal hardscaping, and a lot of mulch.
If you love the style and architecture of your home, you’ll want the quality of landscaping to be equally impressive.
Although the situations are different, the issues are mostly the same.
If you love the style and architecture of your home, you want the landscaping to be equally impressive. The surrounding landscape should support the level of quality. If it doesn’t, it may detract from the satisfaction you feel about your home.
Understandably, most people focus on the amenities and aesthetics of the house at the time of purchase. But later, as they settle in and look around, they may start to feel a bit disappointed.
They may not realize the source of this somewhat deflated feeling but are nevertheless sensitive to a lack of “something”.
The solution lies in matching the quality of the landscaping with the quality of the home.
Aesthetic Benefits of Front Yard Landscape Design
- “curb appeal” enhanced by a landscape setting that compliments the architecture of the house
- an “arrival experience” that welcomes guests by establishing arrival areas, a covered entry, and parking, or by making the walkway to the front entry intuitive
- layering and elevation changes that highlight special features and improve the overall visual appeal
- You’ll feel proud and pleased when you arrive home each day!
Practical Benefits of Front Yard Landscape Design
- Correcting site conditions that diminish visual appeal, interfere with access to the home (steep slopes), or present hazards (inadequate lighting, puddling on walkways or driveways)
- Fine-tuning walkways, driveways, and other hardscaping to ease and organize traffic flow (both human and automotive)
- Enhancing privacy & seclusion or a “buffer” from street activity by using any combination of low border beds and garden walls, taller plants for screening, or a gateway to the entry drive
Design Principles of Front Yard Design
Your landscape architect will show how your house is positioned on the lot and you’ll discuss the most appealing angles from which to approach it. You’ll then develop a plan that highlights the house (the destination) and creates a sense of anticipation by framing views of it with a combination of constructed and planted elements.
The design approach to your front yard will be determined by several factors including the feel of the surrounding neighborhood and the position of your home on the lot.
A home with a modest-sized front yard is best served by a straightforward approach that pays close attention to the size, scale, detailing, and positioning of fewer landscape elements.
A large property with a deep setback will require a greater number of plants and a finely drawn balance between hardscaping, landscaping, and “negative” space (lawn areas often fulfill that function) to achieve a balanced composition.
If your home is in an older neighborhood, close to neighbors on a quiet street, the front yard design will take a different approach than a home that is set back from the road on a two or three-acre lot.
Regardless of the size of the area, the principles underpinning your landscape design will be the same. Essential design considerations include:
- Focal points. Employing hardscaping, plantings, and elevation changes to frame the view of the destination (front door, porch, parking area) to highlight the style of the home.
- Composition. Positioning beds and border features for visual variety and to guide you on the approach to the home
- Visual variety. Employing hardscaping and landscaping features to define primary and secondary points of interest that come together to uplift the style of the home
- Layering. Landscape layering technique divides the total area into visual planes (foreground, middle ground, and background) based on the depth of the yard from the curb to the house. In addition, there is layering in the vertical plane. Changes in elevation from foreground to background add to the feeling of depth in the view. Layering balances the type, size, density, and height of plants selected as well as the location of constructed elements such as gateways, border walls, and steps.
Think of your front yard landscape as part of the whole landscape: front, sides, and back. Each serves a different functional purpose but they all contribute to the aesthetic whole to make a complete outdoor environment that compliments your home
Poorly conceived walkways and driveways are frequently the cause of “design dysfunction” in front yard landscapes.
Driveways and Walkways - Design & Dysfunction
Front walkways and driveways are often a source of dysfunction in a front yard landscape. The issues begin with the approach to the house, with the ease of getting to the front door.
Driveway design and front walkway design are often the culprits. That is because the experience of getting from point A to point B is an essential part of the “arrival experience” that welcomes you home.
If the approach to the house is awkward or visually confusing, you’ve got a problem. On the other hand, when front yard hardscape elements are harmonious, they produce an experience of beauty and pleasure as they lead you from the point of arrival to the front (or side door) of your home.
Controlling the View with Front Yard Privacy Landscaping
Most homeowners don’t want to feel like they are on display when they are inside their house. They don’t want it to be too easy for people to see into the windows as they pass by on the street. This is why it is necessary to incorporate privacy elements in a front yard landscaping design.
Front yard privacy landscaping is necessary but more subtle in effect because it needs to balance with the presentational goal of “showing” the home to best advantage. We tend to design with partial views and intentional views in mind. We don’t wish to completely block the viewer from seeing but to control what can be seen.
Strategically positioned groupings of small trees or shrubs in mounded beds can be positioned so they will, as they fill out over time, block or partially obscure views of windows or door areas.
The goal is to frame views of the home that present its most appealing aspects and retain a measure of privacy.
To achieve your front yard privacy goals with finesse, your landscape architect will divide it into visual zones: foreground, middle ground, and then the foundation of the house.
In the zone nearest to the street, they might employ a combination of low walls or fencing preceded by low greenery and backed by taller shrubs. This first layer delineates the property boundary and creates a point of interest that is also a partial visual barrier.
If you live on a busy street, you can use this first layer to create a “buffer” zone that provides a sense of seclusion by softening the noise of street activity and glare from street lights. And it will place beautiful plantings and greenery (instead of traffic) into the view from inside your home. A gateway entry at the driveway can further enhance the feeling of seclusion.
Landscape Lighting - Bringing a Front Yard to Life at Night
Most homes come with utility lighting at the front of the house. That basic outdoor lighting plan will usually include an overhead fixture that illuminates the entry porch area. There may also be a few low-to-the-ground path lights and a lamp post at the start of the front walkway.
However, if there are gaps in the front yard lighting design, there will be an imbalance between shadow and brightness that won’t help all that much to “show the way” to the front door. An improperly designed lighting system has blind spots. There may be areas that are in deep shadow and others that are too bright. The imbalance interferes with vision.
Lighting that provides safety and utility is important. But the most commonly overlooked opportunity with front yard lighting is aesthetic, the way lighting can showcase landscape features after dark that dramatically contribute to the aesthetic experience of approaching the front door of the house.
A creative landscape architect will always explore ways to combine both beauty and utility at every opportunity.
Three Exemplary Front Yard Designs
1 The Arrival Experience
BEFORE
AFTER
The original front entry of this new construction home was a blank slate. The circle driveway was too tight for turning and parking easily. And aside from the forlorn grass centerpiece, there were no defining features. Now the front entry is framed by two magnificent Crape Myrtles.The black top has been replaced by a cobblestone parking area that is softened by low shrubs that lead to the gracious front door of the home.
2 Layering and Defining Space
BEFORE
AFTER
This home sits at the end of a long driveway on a very large lot. The new design uses plant layering and groupings to define areas in the foreground and midground that complement the architecture of the home in the background. The precise placement of taller plants and trees frames views of the home guiding you down the driveway to the front entry.
3 Driveway Design
BEFORE
AFTER
The original driveway went straight up the left side of the house with a turn-out area in the front. The turn angles were tight and the end of the driveway dropped off sharply. So the owner frequently “bottomed out” especially when departing. The new design called for a semi-circular drive that sweeps across the front of the house. The unremarkable row of low hedges is replaced with dramatic raised planting beds that frame the driveway entrances. A new front entry porch picks up the curve of the driveway in its curved roof.
Meeting with a landscape architect to discuss how you experience your front yard versus how you would like to experience it could produce surprising options that you’d never imagined.
Planning Your Front Yard Design with a Landscape Architect
Working with a landscape architect even on a small front yard landscape can be advantageous. The architect’s experience and the breadth of problems encountered in their experience give them strong problem-solving skills to develop creative solutions.
Generally, here is what to expect when working with a landscape architect on a new vision for your front yard:
- site survey. You’ll receive an accurate site analysis that documents the topography, hydrology, and location of infrastructure on the property. So, limitations or obstacles will be identified before the design begins.
- style. The architect makes design decisions based on the architecture of the house and the overall style of the neighborhood. Your front yard design will make a statement without clashing.
- definition. Border walls and other hardscaping elements define space and ease the approach to the home. For example, cut terracing to ease a steep slope or add elevation changes to inject interest into a flat site. Position groupings of plants that add visual interest, hide utilities, and deemphasize other equipment that takes up space but doesn’t contribute aesthetically.
- seasonal interest. Implementing a planting plan that includes layers, and overlaying textures that provide depth and variety in all seasons including winter.
- maintenance. A modern designer tries to minimize that and avoid spaces that will require a lot of caretaking and support to maintain their appearance. They lean toward a natural look where plants are allowed to grow and fill their natural silhouette.
Meeting with a landscape architect to discuss how you experience your front yard versus how you would like to experience it could produce surprising options that you’d never imagined.
Today designers have many more options in terms of materials and techniques. A modern landscape design will be more layered, more sophisticated, and more personalized to the character of the home and the taste of the residents.
Working with Surrounds
Landscapes are not a “set and forget” affair. Your landscaping is a living, ever-changing ecosystem that evolves and needs consistent care to achieve its full potential.
Surrounds is a combined landscape architecture, construction, and landscape maintenance firm. We build what we design and provide ongoing care for what we’ve built. Our architects know construction. Our construction and landscape maintenance crews understand design.
We believe this all-in-one approach best serves homeowners because it supports clear communication, creative collaboration, and procedural efficiencies that significantly benefit you, our client.
We gain tremendous satisfaction from caring for the landscapes we design and build because we know exactly what they need. It’s gratifying to see them “grow into themselves” as they settle in, take root, mature, and thrive.
If you are ready to take the first step toward designing a new landscape or would like to upgrade your current landscape maintenance program to the next level, please schedule a consultation with one of our landscape architects.
ebook offer: Transform Your Front Yard Landscaping Into a Welcoming Arrival Experience
Is your experience of arriving home each day underwhelming?
This ebook is for you! Find out how to reinvent your front yard landscape and swap that “blah” experience for a feeling of pride and pleasure.