How to Landscape Around the House: Where do you Start?

Landscaping improves the beauty of a home, enhances curb appeal and adds color and texture to the yard. If your home has little landscape, deciding where to start can feel overwhelming, but with a few simple tips, you can transform the look of your home with a variety of plants. No matter what your budget is for landscaping, there are plenty of ways to dress up the exterior of the home and improve the overall curb appeal in a short time.

Incorporate the plants you already have in the yard into the overall landscape plan. Working with what you have saves time and money. Before you begin planting, watch the yard for a few days to recognize which areas of the yard receive full or partial sun or are prone to flooding. This helps you map out locations for any plants you purchase.

Select flowers, shrubs and trees that complement the color of the home. For example, if your home is light-colored, vibrant hues of flowers or shrubs stand out against the neutral palette of the exterior. For darker-colored homes, choose light-colored plants to create depth within the landscape.

Frame the entryway of the home with low-profile plants, such as flowers and shrubs, placed within flower beds close to the front door and around the foundation. As you move away from the home, incorporate larger shrubs and trees to extend out along the property.

Place large shrubs and trees at least 30 feet away from a driveway or walkway to prevent roots from growing underneath and causing damage.

Landscape the yard with the cost of water and maintenance in mind. If you don’t have time for maintenance or a large budget for watering, choose low-maintenance flowers, grasses and shrubs, such as black-eyed Susan, coneflower, little bluestem, butterfly bush or bayberry.

Select plants that fit proportionally with the size of the house. Small-sized homes pair well with ornamental trees and dwarf shrub varieties, while larger homes pair with tall tree varieties such as elm, cypress or oak.