Front Yard Design

Made Simple

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First off you must, let me say it again, you must, start out with an airplane view sketch of your front yard design. This will save you so much time and headaches too! Complete the drawing with color. Be prepared to answer questions about the climate and soil conditions where you live. Is the soil where you live mostly clay or black dirt? Dry or Humid? Shade or Sun? Winters below freezing? Windy? Do some research on what type of plants work best with your conditions. If you live in a windy climate, you’ll want wind resistant plants like banna grass. If you have soil that is thick with clay you’ll want to plant daffodils or such with strong root systems. If you have lots of shade trees, plant hostas. You get the idea. Write down the names of the plants and shrubs that fit the criteria on a chart like the one below. Collect pictures of the full grown plants too. This will help you place them properly on your front yard design sketch. Collect garden magazines throughout the off season. Thinking and planning for spring and summer always helps me to get through the cold winters!

This is a chart for plants in my area. Winters are very cold. It gets hot and humid in the summers. My back yard is full of big shade trees. The soil is rich and well drained.

This is just the basic plan. Start out simple. It’s more likely to get finished that way. Next year you can expand into the back yard. You may even decide to add more pieces to the gardening puzzle of your front yard design like flowers that attract butterflies or plants that repel bugs. If you're a little impatient you can addorto speed butterfly attention. Always remember. Don’t plant anything you can’t remember the name of or that you don’t know the four basic characteristics of, as listed on the above chart.

Now it’s time to bring your paper dreams into reality. Use landscapers spray paint to mark the edge of your front yard design. Start digging. Or even better, rent a tiller! Outline the garden with plastic edging that comes in rolls from your home improvement store. Or, opt not to dig at all and splurge on brick or stackable landscaping stone. Once they are properly fitted and stacked, you will need to fill with bags of dirt.

Front Yard Design Ideas

2. Force bulbs by placing in refrigerator in a paper sack in oct. for 15 weeks. Keep apples and pears stored separately because they emit gasses that will cause the bulbs not to sprout. Then plant in pots or boxes for a bit of northern spring in January. Forced bulbs will not flower again.

3. Give your front yard a theme. Red, white and blue can be a color theme or herbs mixed with flowering annuals could be a culinary theme. Use your imagination.

4. Use inexpensive terra cotta pots of all sizes to plant flowers and herbs in. Scatter the pots throughout your garden to add height and interest.

Herb Gardening

During the winter, take them back inside. You can use this idea with other flowers as well. If you’re absolutely in love with lily of the valley, but you’re soil conditions don’t suit, try it! The soil you use in containers should be well-drained; regular potting soil amended with perlite and vermiculite will suit most plants. As with other plants in containers, herbs require regular watering and fertilization throughout the growing season. Plants like rosemary can tolerate fairly dry soil between waterings, but other herbs with broader leaves need more watering when grown in pots. Adding finished compost or peat moss to the soil mix when you are potting plants will help the soil retain moisture.

Fertilize once a week when outdoors and every couple of months when indoors. When inside, be sure to flush the plants with water to prevent the fertilizer from building up. A good way to do this is to give them a shower, literally! Put the plants in the tub and turn the shower on for 15 minutes or so. Usually houses are dry in winter so mist the plants often with a spray bottle too.

The best time to harvest herbs is when the plants are forming buds, but before they flower. This doesn’t include, of course, herbs that are primarily used for their flowers like lavender and chamomile. The easiest way to dry them is to cut the stems in bunches and hang them upside down. Once they are dry, strip the leaves and store in an air tight container for future use. This method doesn’t work for every herb. Basil has a tendency to get brown. In this case, place directly on oven racks in a barely warm oven to let dry.

Root division: For many hardy perennial herbs, root division is the simplest means of propagation. Dig up the plant's root system and either pull the roots apart by hand (as with chives), or cut the root mass into several pieces and replant them elsewhere in the garden. Place transplants on a small mound of soil or compost in the bottom of the planting hole to help prevent settling. Firm down the soil around the plants and water them well after to eliminate any air pockets around the roots. Laying mulch around plants in the late fall will help prevent crown heaving, which may occur in winter due to the ground repeatedly thawing and freezing. The best time to divide plants is in the fall. They will be able to store up their energy during the winter and get a good start the following spring.

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Now that you have some great ideas for front yard design front yard design, what are your waiting for? Get out there and enjoy yourself. You’ll probably even discover that getting your hands dirty is a welcome stress reliever after a hectic day at work!