Traditional Landscapes for Front Yards

Site Evaluation

• Site evaluation is an essential element in pre-planning a landscape. It's important to know how much sun, shade and standing water is present before making plant selections. If the home is a new construction, plan the landscaping and the house together to provide space for trees, shrubs or other greenery. If you're planning for an existing yard, take some time to figure out what already works and what can be improved.

Traditional Design

• Traditional landscaping softens a home's look with a combination of flowering plants, shrubs and trees. Landscape design serves two purposes: it presents a public face to the neighborhood; and it helps give visitors a route to get from the street to the front door. The traditional style features foundation plantings, using shrubs to line the home's foundation. Large shrubs--including hydrangea, holly and azaleas--are widely used at the corners of the home, while smaller species fill in the gaps. Small or medium sized trees add shade to the yard, and if positioned properly will help keep the home cooler in the summer.

Design Principles

• Landscaping should be designed to be attractive year-round, which normally means planning for different temperatures, water conditions and sun exposure. Unity is an important principle, and gives the feeling that each piece works together. This is accomplished by selecting complementary plants and grouping them effectively. Symmetry and asymmetry are both design principles that provide balance to the landscape. Symmetrical balance requires that plantings be arranged identically on both sides of the home. Asymmetrical design provides a more free-form option, and usually involves placement of unequal pieces to create a more informal style.

Material Selection

• Softscaping materials include plants such as shrubs, trees and flowers as well as grass, groundcover and hedges. Homeowners or landscapers should select plants that work within the intended growing zone, and that fit within the yard's sun exposure and water availability. It's also important to select a combination of plants that provide visual interest throughout the year. For example, a plant with visually interesting foliage in spring, appealing colors in fall, flowers in summer and an appealing shape in winter are ideal. Trees are dominant aspects of the yard, and as such the type and style should be selected carefully. Flowers add color, but are more accent pieces than dominant plantings. Structural materials--including those used for walkways, the driveway and borders--are both functional and aesthetic. These products should be considered along with the yard's design, and should complement the style and tone of the space.