Front Yard Facelifts

Yard yelping for help? Area experts have the answers.

Written by Marion Butterworth

Photo by Ron Blunt, courtesy of Surrounds Landscape Architecture and Construction

Like an outstretched hand, a generous and curving walkway invites guests to the door.

Take a hard look at your front yard. As your home’s calling card, what’s it saying? Does it keep visitors at arms’ length or invite them closer?

If an invitingly green, well-manicured lawn laps a lush but neat landscape that incorporates a wide walkway of natural materials, which beckons visitors to the front door, you’re good. Stop here. But if bald patches in the turf, unruly shrubbery, or sickly plants punctuate your dreams of the perfect front yard, you’re in need of a little springtime makeover magic.

Photo by Erin Brooke Bogan, courtesy of McHale Landscape Design Inc.

Consider the level of maintenance you’re willing to support when
weighing landscape design options.

Wide Walkways

Area landscape professionals agree: The number one way to improve your front yard is to widen the walkway. By expanding your front walk, landscape architect Bob Hawkins of Hawkins Signature Landscapes declares, “You’ll get your money back ten times over.”

Landscape designer Glenn Richardson of Armstrong, Green and Embrey (AG&E) Landscape Services in Springfield, Va. notes that “Most builders do a three-foot-wide concrete ribbon.” But such a dental floss-sized string of cement signals rejection rather than welcome. “You need a walkway made from materials that blend with the house and that’s wide enough for two people to walk comfortably side by side,” advises Howard Cohen of Surrounds Inc. in Sterling, Va.

A fan of concrete pavers, Hawkins believes that a curved walk made from something other than plain concrete is most pleasing. “Pavers come in an array of colors and last longer than flagstone. They’re 30 percent less expensive and are easily repaired.” Because they look like they have aged in place, tumbled pavers are most popular.

Doug DeLuca, owner of Federal Stone and Brick, a Virginia-based, full-service design firm specializing in hardscapes, loves Pennsylvania-cut flagstone, either new or antique. “I often use antique brick and stone because they bring character to my designs. Newly processed stone is so even and clean cut that it looks manufactured,” not natural.

Photo courtesy of Federal Stone and Brick

Opt for porch and path materials that compliment your home’s
architectural style and façade.

Generously Proportioned Porches

Derek Woods of Calcon Inc. in Silver Spring, Md. recommends spacious paths and porches to create a welcoming façade. “I often see these big, beautiful, million dollar homes with tiny walks and terribly small entrances. We find that the average 3-X-2 foot stoop and narrow path do not give a warm welcome to a front entrance.” The front porch should give you a place to linger a moment as you say goodbye to guests and, minimally, be large enough to accommodate four people.

Richardson advises clients to consider adding a “forecourt” to a new path. Part of the sidewalk near the porch, it extends into the front yard a bit, acting as a small patio. “A semi-private area in the front of the house adds another level of function to the front yard,” he says.

On large exterior landings, DeLuca often installs a “doormat” fashioned from stone edged in brick that is the same color as that used in the façade to harmonize the house with the front walkway.

Photo courtesy of Hawkins Signature Landscapes

Professional landscapers will suggest plants well-suited to your site.
Among their favorites for our climate are nandina, spirea, snowberry,
crape myrtle and smoke tree.

Thoughtful Design

Professionals attack a front yard makeover from largest to smallest elements. After the hardscape (walks, porches and walls) is in place, it’s time to tackle the landscape because the two “go hand in hand,” according to Cohen. “Builders usually put only about $5,000 into landscaping new homes. Done right, a nicely landscaped 1/4 acre lot, including hardscape, runs about $60,000 to $70,000,” estimates Hawkins.

This kind of investment demands a professional. Designers will factor in the limitations and advantages of your site and create a front yard that compliments your home’s architecture, projects your personality, and incorporates only those plants that are culturally well-suited to your property.

“I call it landscape therapy,” says Richardson. Good designers assess the client’s needs, desires and constraints. “It’s important to take maintenance into account when planning,” he explains. For instance, formal hedges must be kept neatly clipped to look good, and many folks don’t have the time or money for that. “We’re designing a lifestyle as well as a landscape,” he asserts.

The Green Scene

Nothing showcases a beautifully landscaped home like a verdant expanse of grass. “A nice turf is the least expensive component of the front yard,” says Tom Woods of Complete Landscaping in Bowie, Md. Proper irrigation is the best way to improve the lawn you have says Bob MacKenzie of R.T. MacKenzie Inc. in Burtonsville, Md. “Systems using reclaimed rain water are gaining popularity.”