Sunday 30 December 2012

Kerb appeal - front yard fence and landscaping. HELP!

I would love a simple, formal front yard with evergreen plants and shrubs.

Am not a fan of anything high maintenance, which means no flowers. Although hedges require regular trimming, from what I have been reading (Paul Bangay, thanks to KL and Heidi for the recommendation!!!) depending on the species they usually require trimming anywhere between two to six times a year. We can deal with that :)

Also, even though the path to the front doors has not yet been done or even decided on, we will match it to the width of the front doors, which leaves 1.2m between the path and the driveway for us to work with.

Please ignore the fact that in my drawings the path does not line up with the front doors. I clearly messed up, but I can assure you this was not my intention and it will not happen in real life :)

This is what I am thinking of for a start. Would love to hear your thoughts, feedback and advice, as always.


"When planning a hedge, the most important thing to consider is scale. Many people get it wrong. Some make the hedge too large and dominant for the site they are working with, dwarfing all other planting and overwhelming the other elements of the garden..."

As a starting point, I am thinking of a 30cm x 30cm hedge on the inside, and 60cm x 60cm hedge on the outside. Do you think the balance of proportion and scale work with the house? Does it work with the architectural style of the house? Would smaller shrubs instead of the lower (inner) hedge look better?


Here is a pic of our front yard as it is:


The fence footings have already been done, but we are still unsure of what sort of fence to go with. We originally thought a brick pillar fence, but I am now thinking it might look to heavy and full on with our brick house. What do you think? I am even considering a low line rendered fence with a hedge behind it. See, I am obsessed with hedges. But then I think about the practicality of trimming the hedge against a fence .... Eeeek!



Quotes are from Paul Bangay's Guide to Plants 2011.

B

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