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Landscaping Ideas for Ranch Style Houses
Landscaping Ideas for Ranch Style Houses. The ranch home -- long, low and horizontal -- dominated the American suburbs in the 1950s and '60s. These single-story structures, meant to blend into the existing landscape rather than stand in stark contrast, call for natural, informal plantings. Plants, especially trees, should be in proportion to a...
The ranch home -- long, low and horizontal -- dominated the American suburbs in the 1950s and '60s. These single-story structures, meant to blend into the existing landscape rather than stand in stark contrast, call for natural, informal plantings. Plants, especially trees, should be in proportion to a one-story home, not towering overhead and dwarfing the structure. Shrubs and ornamental trees and grasses will help your ranch blend into the horizon and become one with nature.
Foundation Plantings
Plant low, evergreen shrubs around the front of your ranch to conceal the foundation and add year-round color. Littleleaf boxwood (Buxus microphylla) is a popular easy-to-grow option. Boxwood is hardy in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5 to 9 and reaches 3 to 4 feet tall. Spreading English yew (Taxus baccata Repandens) is traditionally found in midcentury-modern ranch landscapes and has a retro look. Extremely low-maintenance, yews are hardy in Zones 5 to 9 and grow to about 2 feet tall and up to 6 feet wide.
Ornamental Grasses
Group ornamental grasses on your ranch landscape for vertical interest that's not too tall. Grasses provide texture, movement and a natural look. These members of the Poaceae family are extremely drought-tolerant and require only that you cut them back before the new spring growth begins. The gracefully swaying Miscanthus sinensis, hardy in Zones 5 through 9, is well-suited to a ranch. It grows to about 6 feet tall and is topped with wheat-like plumes.
Small Trees
Provide more vertical interest, spring color and a bit of shade with small trees. Perhaps the most popular ornamental tree for the ranch house is the eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), which sprouts purplish-pink flowers before it leafs out in spring. It has an interesting horizontal shape, grows quickly and reaches 15 to 20 feet tall. This understory tree tolerates shade. Other options are the Eastern flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) and crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica), which provide spring color and top out at 20 to 25 feet tall.
Annuals
Place a pot or two of brightly colored annuals at the entryway of your ranch in spring, summer and fall. Fill flower boxes with complementary annuals for a cottage look. For sun, choose geraniums, petunias, begonias or a mix. For shade, use colorful impatiens, lobelia, viola, or the boldly foliaged coleus. Add trailing vines to spill over the side.
