Your home entrances should be designed to give easy access through your landscaping. First impressions count for a lot, so aesthetic appeal surrounding your landscaping and entryways is important. It’s usually best and easiest to start with the highest traffic entries which are usually from your front door to your parking driveway. Next, assess the paths and walkways to and from all access areas of your home. The plants that surround these spots should guide a visitors eye towards your entryways or exits. If you use a side entrance as often, or more often, than your front door, focus attention here as well. Colorful blooms, walkways, foundation beds, and outdoor lighting may be used.
If you plant to create some height, start by building up towards your house. Start lower and then increase the height of your plants as they get closer to the house. Doing this will help direct attention to the entryway. Pay close attention here because garden beds bordering a sidewalk or pathway can draw attention away from your entrance. The best I can explain it is that the beginning of your walkway is a starting point leading your entry as an opening leading you towards the door.
Your entryway should be inviting as well as safe. Depending on your neighborhood, good lighting and moderate visibility ensure safety at night when walking from your garage or driveway into your home. If you have a foyer, mudroom, laundry room, summer kitchen, or utility room that abuts your front or rear entry, plan for ease on the eyes as well as functional traffic flow.
What’s the best way to guide visitors through your access entryways? Most professional landscaping designers basically follow the same pattern here. Walks, hedges, borders, edging, fences, trellises, screens, and railings are all good ideas. You can use planters to highlight entryways to certain areas. Raised beds, screens, and fences can also be useful for masking places that are more utility based from sight.
When utilizing plantings to define access areas, space them with their mature size in mind. This is often overlooked in landscaping plans. Since paths, walkways, and other access areas will usually lead to or near your house, plants should have enough spacing from your foundation so that you can take care of both the plants and home. Plant plants so they’re spaced far enough from any buildings so that you will be able to tend to them once they are full grown. Given time to grow, shrubs and hedges create a natural boundary and screen while fences create an immediate boundary.