Landscaping the front entry
by Charlie Nardozzi

Whether it’s a job interview, buying a car or going on a date, first impressions mean a lot. When it comes to making a good first impression with your home, the area to focus on is the front entryway. A well‑landscaped entryway sets a welcoming tone and adds value to your home.

Jonathan Bardzik, of the American Nursery and Landscape Association, says effective landscaping adds 8 to 15 percent to the value of your home. “A well‑landscaped front entryway beautifies your yard, inspiring neighbors to do the same,” he says.

Ideas for sprucing up the entryway

Landscaping doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive to be welcoming. Here are some design ideas that can help you create a beautiful entryway to your home:

· Create a walkway wide enough for two people to walk side by side to your house. There’s comfort in numbers.

· Evaluate the exposure of your front entryway. Is it windy, open to the rain, sunny or shady? These environmental factors can determine what you can grow.

· Instead of a direct path to your front door, consider creating a winding path that adds a sense of excitement and intrigue. Plant in layers along the front entryway. Place the tallest shrubs near the house, medium‑sized shrubs in the middle, and lower growing ground covers such as perennials and annuals in the front.

· Think about the structures you have or want to have around your front entryway. These could include an arbor or trellis for vines to climb.

· Consider dwarf trees and shrubs that will look natural in relation to the size of your front entry

area and serve as focal points. Plant perennials, ground covers, or bulbs under the trees to fill out the planting.

· Plant a mix of deciduous and evergreen shrubs throughout your gardens, and repeat the same grouping of plants around the front entryway. This draws your eye across the entire landscape, tying it together and making it look full.

Creating four seasons of interest

While spring and summer are easy times to create interest and color in your entryway garden, fall and winter are a little more problematic.

Gardeners in warm climates can spruce up the front entryway with cool‑season annuals, such as pansies and primulas. In any climate, consider shrubs with distinctive bark, berries or branch structure–such as contorted hazelnut, hollies and birch trees– that remain interesting even after the leaves have dropped. Ornamental grasses, such as fountain grass, have richly textured seed heads that look beautiful all winter. Perennials such as teasel and coneflowers have interesting seedpods that can be left on through fall and winter.

Landscaping basics

Always choose plants adapted to the sun, drainage, exposure and winter low temperatures in your area. If planting under the eaves of the house, remember that rainwater rarely reaches there, so those plants need more water and protection from snow and ice falling off the roof.

Charlie Nardozzi, a nationally recognized garden writer, book author, speaker and radio and television personality, has appeared on HGTV, PBS and Discovery Channel television networks. He is the senior horticulturist and spokesperson for the National Gardening Association and Chief Gardening Officer for the Hilton Garden Inn.