What does your front yard say about you? Anything at all? Does it reflect who you are, or does it mirror every other front yard in the neighborhood? Does what’s outside your front door have any relationship to those who live inside?
After settling into a home, most people eventually make their living space an expression of who they are through choice of wall color, flooring, furniture and decoration. Yet the outside of the home, particularly the front yard, often remains exactly as the former owner or the developer or landscaper designed it. Or even as the homeowners themselves designed it – 30 years ago!
People usually use their backyards for recreation, socializing, gardening and relaxing. Many front yards do nothing more than take up space between the street and the house. Sometimes the only person who spends any time out there is the one who cuts the lawn. Add all the unused front yards together and that’s a lot of wasted space.
What could your front yard do to earn its keep?
Well, it could break out of its evergreen shrub-barberry-spirea-hosta-maple tree boringness to something welcoming that reflects the personality of the family inside.
Any nature lovers in there? Why not plant some native shrubs with berries and perennials with nectar and seeds to attract birds and butterflies?
Is someone a good cook? A vegetarian? Many vegetable and herb plants have beautiful forms and flowers and make wonderful additions to ornamental landscapes.
Got a creative or crafty type? Grow annual or perennial flowers and even vegetables and fruits that can be dried for floral arrangements or other art projects. Many plants and vegetable and fruit juices can be used to die yarn for weaving or fabric for art quilts or clothing.
A social type? How about a semi-private seating area with a bench and a tree or a few shrubs or container plantings so that you can sit in your front yard, not quite on display, but ready to greet those who pass by?
How about a gardener? Several years ago my husband mentioned to a neighbor that I was a Master Gardener. Her response was, “She must do all her gardening in the back yard.” Embarrassing, but she was right. I needed to give some attention to the front yard.
Perhaps you don’t want your front yard to “do” anything. Maybe the street’s too busy or you just aren’t comfortable being out there for some reason. In that case, you’ll want to make the landscape as low maintenance as possible.
To do that, mulch around the plants and shrubs to help control weeds and conserve soil moisture and make the landscape look cared for. Replace grass with ground covers so less time is spent mowing. Let the grass grow to 4 1/2 inches and cut it to 3 inches. Taller grass shades out weeds and doesn’t dry out as quickly as closely cropped turf.
If you aren’t going to rethink your front yard, at least give it a first thought.
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