Front Yards of Grass – Watch Attention Distractors

One of the least popular landscape solutions for public areas is the topic of the lawn – grass. It stresses that the lawn should be kept open, that is, free of such attention distracters as bird baths (often placed in the broiling sun), gazing balls of all colors, flower beds of circular or other geometric forms, unnecessary lattices or pergolas with vines growing on them, individual specimen shrubs or perennial flowers set here and there, on the front lawn, and even unneeded fences and hedges.

All these items and others like them, might be perfectly all right in their proper place, but they definitely do not belong in the public area.

The public area should be so designed, planted, and cared for that it presents a pleasing picture – neat, simple, and restful. Nothing should detract from the importance of the house as a focal point.

This landscape principle states, that you shall maintain an open lawn area, broken only by such necessary utilities as driveways and walks, and the trees needed to frame the building.

Enclosures

Each individual must decide whether or not be should partially or completely enclose the public area with a fence, wall, or hedge. Ideally, the public area is kept open. This would always be true on a street where one house follows another and none of the neighbors have any such barriers along their side or front property lines.

If, on the other hand, you live in a location where there are undesirable views in front or to either side of your home, it might then be quite sensible and desirable to provide some sort of enclosure around the entire public area.

Sometimes a barrier is needed to keep animals or people from trespassing on and destroying your property. For this purpose very low hedges are most frequently satisfactory. Even though they would effectively deter unwanted traffic, your public area would appear to be open. It would not look as if you were trying to keep everyone out.

Note, however, that although low hedges can be effective and beautiful, a low fence is invariably unattractive.

Extended Foundation Planting

A good looking variation consists in carrying the foundation planting out from the corners of the house toward the property lines and then curving the planting gently toward the front.

The result is a slight curvature leading the eye of the observer toward the house. It is a typical trick of good landscaping technique because while it emphasizes the focal point it does not do so blatantly. On the subtlety with which you direct attention depends the success of your garden as a whole.

Related Articles Of Interest:

• Assigning the Five Basic Landscaping Areas
• The Front Yard
• The Foundation Planting
• Advantages Of Enclosing The Property Boundary