Buying a new house is a huge investment. After moving into your new home, you'll spend more on furniture, flooring, window treatments and maybe a remodeling project. While we spend most of our time at home indoors, you also need to look at the types of landscaping you need for curb appeal and a comfortable backyard.
It's exciting moving into a new house and a bit exhausting. Homeowners tend to focus on their new home for about a year. Then life takes over and the remaining items on your new home project list get pushed to the back burner. That's why it's important to put together a wish list of all the projects you'd like to pursue.
Once you have a list it's time to prioritize. Give each project an estimated cost so you know what you can afford year one. The remainder of the list might take years to complete. That's why you want to include some landscaping in year one. If not, you'll regret it when it's time to sell your home. Why? Because great curb appeal can sell your home quickly and for a higher price.
Here are the different types of landscaping you can use to enhance the curb appeal of your home.
Types of Landscaping: Foundation Plantings
You can get creative with your plants because there are no rules that say they all need to be the same. In the photo above, you can see how nice a variety of plants in different heights, color and texture looks. Notice how they're also not lined up in a straight line. You can view your yard as a canvas where you paint a landscape that's uniquely you … and different from your neighbors.
Types of Landscaping: Plants around Trees
Before picking out foundation plantings, draw up a plan for your front yard. Start by looking at the your house from the street. You'll get a better perspective by walking around the neighborhood. Identify what's already in your yard – some large trees, maybe a pile of rocks that can't be moved?
Now the fun begins as you think about the types of landscaping that will dress up these objects and your yard. Look at how beautiful the tree above looks. It's so much more than a circle of mulch around the base of the tree.
Types of Landscaping: Plant Around a Circular Driveway
While a circular driveway makes it much easier to drive up to your home, it also offers another feature to dress up your home's curb appeal. If you already have a large tree then all you need are shrubs and ground cover to dress it up. Make sure you pick plants that don't need a lot of direct sunlight. With ground cover you won't need to clean up mulch spilling into the driveway or mowing grass.
Use Lighting to Enhance Your Landscaping
As you add the different types of landscaping to your yard, consider which features will look great with a spotlight or two. In the photo above, you can see two spotlights. One points straight up at the tree while the other light points diagonally across the rocks and shrubs near the tree.
What's exciting is the number of solar powered landscape lights available today. This means you can add lighting without running wiring from the house out into your yard.
Once you've planned your front yard landscaping, you don't need to do it all at once. Start with the features you love the most as they'll motivate you to keep going until your plans are fully implemented … and click for more landscaping ideas.
PS Have fun planning your new front yard and don't forget some plants around your mailbox!
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