Today’s Garden Ideas

At its most basic, foundation plantings usually consist of shrubs running along the front of the house.  Traditionally these foundation plantings were designed to hide the foundation of the home.  Now a days very few homes are designed with a visable foundation.  Hence foundation plants are no longer a necessity to hide a visual eye sore.

Today we use foundation plants to frame, beautify and compliment our homes.  In addition foundation landscaping can be very utilitarian, helping to insulate our homes and even afford some security protection by providing a barrier between the intruder and our windows.

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Designing Your Garden

Before beginning your foundation garden it is best to have a landscape design plan.  You want to take into consideration the climate.  Will a tropical landscape planting work best or an evergreen that will withstand the cold?  Ask yourself if the front of your home gets a lot of sun or remains in the shade most of the day.  This will determine what foundation planting is likely to thrive.  Finally, remember, you are usually planting a small newly grown foundation plant.  Take in to consideration its adult height.  You might not want to choose a shrub whose final height is ten feet tall as it will require constant pruning.  And don’t forget, before digging, to contact your local utility company to be sure there are no ground wires where you plan to dig.

When formulating a design for foundation planting, the home usually is divided into 3 sections; the entryway, the length of the home, & the corners.  Each section should have a foundation planting design most suitable to its function.   

The Entryway

The front door is the focal point of the home.  It is meant to stand out yet be welcoming.  What better way to create a dramatic warm effect than with complimentary foundation plantings.  Container plantings surrounding the front door can be very inviting, or a row of boxwoods leading up to the entry can create a rather proposing, regal effect, almost like laying down the red carpet for your visitor. 

In Front of Your Home

The length of you home should compliment the foundation plantings you chose for the entryway, yet not overwhelm your front door landscape design.  Most popular is usually a row of low lying shrubs and in front of these foundation plantings, flower beds of annuals and perennials suitable to the climate and season.  Be sure to keep these plantings at least 5 feet from your home to allow for easy access to the walls of your house for upkeep and maintenance.  In addition, insects will not be able to crawl up your foundation plantings and enter your home.

At the Corner

The corners of you home are like a picture frame.  These foundation plants will compliment the home and keep the eye focused on the house by drawing the eye inward toward the home.  To accomplish this it is best to use good foundation plantings at the corners of the home.  Depending on your home’s style a tall thin plant may work best or a foundation plant that spreads our horizontally like a small sized tree may be more complimentary.

Making Your Plant Choices

Another effective foundation planting idea is the plant texture you choose.  Some foundation plants have very wide broad leaves like Elephant Ears, & others, like evergreen shrubs, have short narrow needles.  Each will compliment your home in a different way.

Another consideration is the color of plants for foundation planting that will best suit your home.  You may prefer a monochromatic color palette and with a white house choose white azaleas, white roses, & a background of dark green evergreens to compliment the flower color.  Or, you may prefer  several, or just one or two hues that suit your house color for your foundation plantings.

Finally foundation planning design no longer has to be on the straight and narrow.  Rather curved foundation landscape design might be the best way to go to compliment your home.  The fun with these curved foundation plantings is they allow for use of more and varied plants.
You can also added walls or water features to this type of curved landscape design.

The best plants for foundation planting are usually those that are hardy and require little care unless you are an avid gardener.  To choose the correct plants for foundation planting speak with your local garden center experts or a professional landscape designer.  Or go to your local library or bookstore.  They usually have books on flora that will work best in your area.

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PLANTS FOR A FOUNDATION GARDEN
	Spider Flower	H: 3-4 ft., S: 18 in.; clusters of airy, pink flowers; annual; all zones
	Dahlia	H: 2ft., 6 in.; round, pink flowers on long stems; may need staking; tuberous bulb; all zones
	Dusty Miller	H: 1ft., S: 1ft; lacy, silver foliage aids in the transition from one color to the next; spreads rapidly; yellow flowers in summer, zones 4-10
	Scarlet Sage	H: 1ft., S: 8-12 in.; bright red flowers; dark green foliage that lasts from early summer to first frost, creating a lush background to edging plants; annual; all zones
	Mealy-Cup Sage	H: 1-3 ft., S: 1ft; violet flower spikes; gray-green foliage, offering height to fill out the middle of the planting; annual; all zones
	French Marigold	H: 6-12in., S: 2-6in.; long lasting gold flowers that work well as a low edging plant; annual; all zones
	Flossflower	H: 6-12in., S: 6-12in; forms a thick mat of violet, lavender, white or pink flowers; oval leaves with scalloped edges; annual; all zones

Tags: creative planting ideas, foundation garden, foundation plant, foundation planting, foundation plantings, foundation plants, garden ideas, landscape design, plants for foundation