Just as every house has a personality -- whether it's a ranch, bungalow, Queen Anne, Tudor, Cape Cod or any other architectural style -- the landscape that surrounds it has a personality, too, especially out front. There are formal gardens -- neatly trimmed and fertilized lawns, tightly manicured evergreens and plenty of straight lines. There are cottage gardens with billowy, informal plantings of annuals, perennials, flowering vines and roses. There's the prairie garden, the shade garden, the collector's garden that sports every new plant, and there's everything in between.
Whatever the look, the front landscape creates a first impression about who lives there and ultimately affects its resale value.
"A lot of older gardens have a little of this, a little of that, and the clutter creates visual noise," says landscape architect Billy Goodnick of Santa Barbara, Calif. "What you see from the street needs to be coherent."
Goodnick, the author of Yards: Turn Any Outdoor Space Into the Garden of Your Dreams (St. Lynn's Press), coaches real estate agents and homeowners on how to create a landscape that attracts buyers.
"If the whole garden is a jumble of stuff, get it down to key groupings of plants," he advises. "If your garden is so personal and unique, it could come back to bite you. By the time you're getting ready to sell, it's usually too late to redo the garden."
There are several ways to improve the curb appeal of your home even if you're not planning on selling anytime soon.
"Add new perennials or annual color to existing garden beds to stimulate the overall look," says landscape architect Deirdre Toner of D.T. Design in Old Mill Creek, Ill. "And add several containers that work with the home's architecture that can be filled with seasonal displays. Strategically placed, they can also be used to attract attention away from a dated yew hedge along the foundation." Toner also suggests adding a seasonal botanical wreath to the front door, which creates an inviting entryway.
"The landscape should be the bow on the package," says landscape designer Diane Smith of The Perennial Professionals in Northbrook, Ill. "It should enhance the house and make it look nice from the street." She suggests starting by taking a good look at planting beds around the home's foundation. "They can get out of control, become massive and eat up lawn space. Get rid of old, overgrown evergreens and plant something more in scale with the house."
Another often overlooked fix is the sidewalk leading to the front door. "When front walks get tired, it's an opportunity to redesign the walk. Don't just do what you had before," Smith says. If the walk has broken, cracked concrete, now may be the time to replace it with pavers and perhaps change it from a straight run to a curving path. Smith recommends that walkways be at least 4 feet wide so that two people can walk side by side to the front door. Adding an outdoor foyer -- a place for a bench with some pots -- sets out the welcome mat for visitors.
When the time comes to sell your house, Goodnick recommends staging the landscape.
"You only get one chance to make a good first impression. Do a good cleanup and some simple grooming of the plants, and power-wash the walkway. You can get fancy or fussy near the door by adding a few little treats -- some potted plants with color -- along the way as visitors enter. Make it look inviting."
HomeStyle on 05/23/2015