HOW TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION WITH YOUR FRONT YARD & CATER TO YOUR HOME STYLE
Your front yard is the first impression that others will have of your home. Because of this, you should make it count by adding some extra personality to your front yard. We sat down with local landscaping expert Zachary Streed to get his personal thoughts on how homeowners in San Luis Obispo County can improve their front yard landscaping appeal. Here are five front-yard landscaping tips to give you that WOW factor:
START A GARDEN
One of the quickest ways of adding personality to your front yard is by adding plant life. Whether your home is ranch-style, mid-century modern, or anything in between, it will benefit from additional greenery – and thankfully, San Luis Obispo County’s mild climate supports most plant life, without fear of your plants dying off during the winter months.
“Every garden requires maintenance of water, but around here, our native palette is really quite beautiful…. and you can really grow anything,” Streed shares. “We don’t have the freezing issues or on the flip side, the burning issues, and it really comes down to the weather. So I do love that there’s so much freedom that people have as far as what kind of pallet they want to do.”
USE PLANTS INSTEAD OF FENCING
While having a bit of privacy in your yard is important, there are better ways to go about it than building a big, intrusive fence.
“Instead of erecting a big fence, you can use shrubs,” Streed suggests. “Plants can be a great alternative to traditional fences as they look far more appealing while still offering privacy from neighbors.”
CREATE WALKWAYS
Whether inside your house or outdoors, defining your space and its purpose is absolutely vital. One way to adequately define your front yard’s space is by adding walkways, which can help show visitors where to walk, guide them to a backyard fence, or even dissuade them certain areas of your yard.
“One of my favorite things to do is use a very hard material like concrete or pavers to establish a direct route,” Streed advises. “Then if you want to create circulation, but not have people necessarily want to go that way, you can use a less formal material like decomposed granite or just gravel, or even a multi-path. And that’s a really powerful tool.”
CATER TO YOUR HOME’S ARCHITECTURAL STYLE
While there are plenty of options for customizing your front yard’s look, not all styles will work with your home – therefore you should try to cater to your home’s architectural style. Matching the style of your yard to your home provides curb appeal and will also help to make the most of the space you have. Here are some examples of landscaping that works with a respective home’s architectural style:
Craftsman-Style – One of the most popular architectural styles currently, craftsman-style homes first originated in the late 19th century and later experienced a revival in the 1930s. This style of home has the benefit of featuring a very sturdy, defined structure with prominent exterior details. Because of this, craftsman-style homes often need only very light landscaping. Shrubbery and trees that are overgrown or too close to the home can cause it to appear uninviting. Therefore, keeping greenery well-groomed and minimized is very important for a craftsman-style home.
Mid-century Modern – Similar to craftsman-style homes, less is usually more with mid-century modern-style homes. This style of home is all about functionality and minimalism, therefore your home’s outdoor space should match this. Instead of planting rows upon rows of garden flowers, you should instead opt for scattering just a handful of plants here and there – this will give your yard a more contemporary aesthetic. Another tip is to add some pavers. Embrace the use of clear lines and simple colors – we recommend black or gray.
Spanish Style – Popular here on the Central Coast of California, a Spanish style home’s greatest strength is the warmth and colors that it features; therefore, this style of home pairs perfectly with colorful plants including succulents, agave, cacti, citrus or avocado fruit trees, vegetables, lavender, and herbs. These plants fit particularly well because they require little rain, and also help to add extra color – which you can never have too much of with a Spanish-style home. Keep a natural look with Spanish style for your landscaping, but don’t shy away from bold and colorful statement plants.
Modern Farmhouse & Ranch Style – Whereas mid-century modern homes look best with straight lines and minimal greenery, modern farmhouse and ranch style are the opposite – creating curves and working with different heights and textures with your plants is ideal, as it gives your space more contrast and dimension. We recommend this because ranch-style homes are very simply structured – therefore, adding more variety in the front yard’s greenery will help the home will stand out more. For example, fruitless cherry trees add a pop of color perfect for your front yard space.
RESEARCH LOCALLY
It’s important to take your time and do your research before investing in your front yard landscaping. But instead of researching online, we advise looking locally.
“The best thing people can do is go around and look at local nurseries and just browse. It’s a really nice way to see what’s out there and what’s available,” Streed says. Instead of searching online or via national gardening magazines, it makes far more sense to do your research locally, as this will allow you to see what landscaping is possible in your own local area – and it will allow you to think more practically.
“If you sort of go to those places, even like a local hardware store, they buy from the same nurseries and you can see the same palette that’s available,” Streed concludes. “It’s a lot more digestible for people I think.”
We hope these front yard landscaping tips will help you figure out where to start with when designing your front yard. For more helpful guides like this one, be sure to check out our blog.