There is a quote that goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” This is probably why so many people are told to dress well and put their best foot forward when meeting new people. But when it comes to your own house, though, how can you put your best foot forward? By making sure that the first impression your visitors get of your property is a good one. And how do you go about doing that? By ensuring that your front yard is there to dazzle and impress. This doesn’t mean that you should bring out all the bells and whistles and decorate your yard to kingdom come. But it also means you shouldn’t neglect your yard to the point you have weeds growing over unmaintained pathways.
Below are some tips and tricks you can use to ensure your yard has a clean, pleasing appearance.
Something All Year Round
The thing about lawns or front yards is that if you don’t have any focal point of interest, it will end up looking empty and boring. Neat, yes, if you manage to keep the grass mowed, but not very interesting. And since you’d like a good first impression, consider planting flowers that will be around for each season of the year. Marigolds, geraniums, and cornflowers bloom well in the summer. Begonias, petunias, and calendulas are good in the fall. Winter flowers like primroses and sweet peas ensure you have a spot of color in the blanketing white of snow. And to join the colors of spring, you can plant snapdragons and African daisies. Having these flowers on your lawn ensures that your visitors and your family will have something to admire no matter the season.
Waterfalls and Fountains
Speaking of focal points of interest, another thing you can do to decorate your lawn is to have a water fountain or a waterfall installed. Aside from the visual appeal, these structures also have the added effect of giving out calming sounds of trickling water. You can DIY a small water fountain of your own with some rigid plastic liners, durable water pumps, flexible plastic tubing, and fountain designs you can buy at local gardening stores or online. If you’d rather save on time and energy, you can also opt to have water fountains installed by professional landscapers, especially if you’re leaning towards bigger fountains.
Hiding in Plain Sight
There are some things that, unfortunately, will look out of place on your lawn. Case in point: your air conditioning unit and the garden hose you use to keep all your plants hearty and healthy (no one has ever considered wilting plants aesthetically pleasing). These are things you can’t just haul away to avoid disrupting the flow and look of your lawn. Opt instead to hide these things in plain sight by using a DIY wooden screen project involving cedar fence pickets. You can make a smaller DIY project of this for items such as your garden hose or gardening tools you’d like to keep closer to your lawn.
Yellow Brick Road
There’s something inherently pleasing about making your way to the front door and not having to worry about tracking in dirt or mud from having to walk over an unpaved walkway. For high-traffic areas in your lawn, consider building a walkway or cleaning the current pathway you have to ensure things look bright and clean. Not only will having a walkway ensure your shoes (and that of your visitors) remain clean, but it also has the added benefit of ensuring that your plants stay protected. Some lawn pathway ideas you may consider trying are mulch and gravel pathways, stepping stone paths, paver or cut-stone paths, wooden boardwalks, and brick paths.
Tall and Leafy
Trees are also interesting focal points of interest, especially when in bloom or after they’ve matured and are now stately, sprawling things of nature. Consider trees that give good shade and the splash of color they can provide when in bloom. Red maple trees, crape myrtle, American holly, flowering cherry trees—these are just some ideas for eye-catching trees to plant in your front yard. But do be warned that trees are long-term investments for your yard. There may come a time when a tree will fall sick or grow to the point that it poses a danger to your property. In these cases, it would be wise to utilize tree removal services to assess if all your tree needs is a bit of pruning or if the rot is too much to salvage the tree. Knowledgeable and skilled professionals will be able to remove the tree and stump to ensure minimal damage to your lawn.
Final Thoughts
Depending on the amount of energy you have, you can customize your yard to your heart’s content. But using the most basic landscaping tips will ensure that if you don’t have as much time as you’d like to spend beautifying your lawn, at least it will still look respectable.
