House Entrance Hardscape Ideas

Walkways

• In order to incorporate attractive hardscape ideas into your front entrance design, you need to establish a walkway that leads up to your front door. A concrete sidewalk provides you with a secure pathway, but stone, slate, flagstone and brick walkways increase the visual design of your front entrance. A hardscaped walkway adds curb appeal to your overall home design because it incorporates texture and pattern into the landscaping. According to Weavers Landscape Company, the most important element of your hardscape project is the aggregate that is used under your hardscaped areas. The sturdy compacted foundation will ensure that there is so slippage or deterioration of the stone or brick over time.

Retaining Wall

• If the front entrance to your home is elevated, a retaining wall is a functional and attractive way to incorporate hardscape into your design. A retaining wall provides stability for your landscape and decreases the amount of erosion in you yard. Brick, slate and stone materials can be used to create a linear or circular retaining wall design. Plants, trees and flowers can then be added to the ground inside the retaining wall space. Depending upon the size of your front entrance and the available space, a retaining wall could be constructed to fit within the desired parameters.

Ground Cover

• A simple way to add hardscaped visual interest to your front entrance design is to use rock, pea gravel, stone or wood chips to cover the landscaped areas. Mulch is a simple organic method for incorporating ground cover into your outdoor space, but stones, pavers, pea gravel and lava rock also could provide texture for your front entrance. Hardscaping around shrubs and flowers also must accommodate the needs of the plants. Some stones and wood chips are porous and allow water and other nutrients to make their way into the surrounding soil. Ornamental grasses often thrive in areas that have hardscaped ground covers.