More on the Base Planting

Your planting needs to be adjusted based on if your path leads to an entrance directly or paralleled. The planting should be kept low in most cases, unless you have many steps. If the paces for planting at the entrance are narrow, Firethorn or other wall shrubs that you can wire train is a good option. The best idea for an “L” shaped house is planting multi-stemmed trees, with under plantings of low evergreens.

The plantings, for the L-shaped house, should be set in the corner opposite wing, if the house is a double wing set in at the angle opposite where the entrance is located. The planting is balanced because there is a low mass near the entrance of the door. As for the rest of the house, be careful not to use anything that will block the view of the windows or take over the whole structure. Modern homes may need a little more planting then the low growing plants, to keep mud from spatter the house, and make mowing an easier job. Ivy’s are a good choice.

In areas where the ornamental evergreens thrive, it becomes quite common to make your planting ornamental as well. Azaleas, Andromeda, Rhododendron, holly and others work well here. Small lots cannot support these, but when used elsewhere the y provide a lift and lovely color in the spring.  Be aware of the colors you choose to make sure they fit in with your coloring scheme. Yes is a great backdrop for adding colorful azaleas or other plants. Homes with taller proportions can accommodate a large belt of this material along the base.

To finish your foundation planting, creating a fitting look with your house and grounds, you will need to address the last window and the corner. Depending on the amount of space, you may want to try loose growing plants for wider areas, so they grow past the corner. Examples include Rosebay rhododendron, Carolina Rhododendrons, lilac grey birch, and dogwood.

Planting at the corner will soften the corner of your home, removing the “cut away” appearance corners seem to have. A loose growing plant will softened the hardness of the corner, creating a pleasing and appealing result for your home.

Foundation planting is a great way to alter the appearance of your house without making any changes to the construction. Planting heavily in the space between the corner and the window allows a long or wide space to become smaller. If done on both side of the house, it will no longer seem like it is spreading. Similarly, a narrow house can be made to look longer with the proper lawn.
This should put the center of the tree at about the center of the garage when you look diagonally across the lawn. The space between the tree and house corner is planted with a medium-sized shrub, evergreen or deciduous. But the shrub is brought in so as not to form a straight line or hedge. Another such shrub is placed on the other side of the tree to further lengthen the covering and form a sort of semi-circle. The house with a roof overhang needs different treatment. Without roof leaders, rain drips off cutting a trench in the soil below the overhang.

Ornamental plants will not long survive this as the soil will wash off the roots. In some cases the plants will rot, or be killed by winter conditions. Besides, mud splatters the side of the house. To remedy this, dig a trench starting at the drip point and extending back to the base of the house. Then fill the trench with gravel. If foundation planting is required, set low plants a foot away from the drip point or gravel edge.