Though it’s the first thing, people see when visiting your home, the front yard is often the last thing that comes to mind when considering home renovation projects. It’s easy to understand why. We don’t live in our front yards, so we don’t see the point in making the most of them.
They’re just something we walk through to get to where we live. But your front yard is your first impression to the rest of the world. Be it potential homebuyers or just some friends you’re looking to impress; these tips are an easy way to inject some life and love into your front yard (without the headache).
Potted Annuals
We’ve all been there with gardening. You want the cover of Home & Garden, but you don’t want to get out of bed at the crack of dawn every weekend morning to have at those weeds.
Personally, I’d rather be hitting the snooze button. Fortunately, there are solutions for those of us without a green thumb.
One such fix is the annual potted flowers. Annual flowers grow every year, so you plant once, and you’re set! Potting these annual plants earns you an extra smash of that snooze button.
You keep aggressive plants from disturbing one another in the soil by potting them, and you get an added layer of customization by choosing whichever container best suits the style and color scheme of your front yard.
If you prefer the look of planted flowers, it’s easy enough to hide a basic terracotta pot beneath the soil in your garden. Plus, if you ever decide to uproot yourself and move on to greener pastures, you can take your plants with you!
Outdoor Succulents
The space between those annuals might look a little sparse. How about filling in the gaps with plants that require even less maintenance than a daily watering? Outdoor succulents fit the bill perfectly.
There is a wide variety of outdoor appropriate succulents to choose from. Spiky to smooth leaves, green, purple, with or without the appearance of flowers. There is no end to the different combinations at your disposal when arranging your succulents!
You can create a gorgeous landscape with an air of sophistication with all of the trouble it takes to run down to your local farmer’s market and back.
For most succulents, it is as simple as planting them and leaving them be. Succulents store water in their thick leaves, and most are considered to be drought resistant, so it’s a win-win for lazy lawn lovers in drier climates.
Make The Most of Your Garage
It’s easy to let your garage fall by the wayside in house rejuvenation or renovation. It’s where you park your car and keep your tools, but have you ever considered your garage as a serious contender for a neat outdoor space?
While your kids ride their bikes in the culdesac or play in your yard, you could be in the cool shade and quietude of your garage. Picture this: a cute rug, string lights, and a mini-fridge.
It’s as easy as moving your car out of the way and planting your butt into the cutest lawn chairs you can find. Aside from your adult (or not-so-adult) beverage of choice in the fridge, what more could you want?
Better yet, you can enjoy the fresh night air without any pesky bugs by implementing a garage door screen. Move aside, patios. Garages are the new spot on hazy August nights.
Plant Low Maintenance Grass
Grass takes up most front yard space, but the least of our mental consideration. And isn’t that the way it should be? Who wants to worry about grass? And yet, the easiest way to become the neighborhood shrub schlub is to let it fall by the wayside and let it overgrow.
If you’re investing in laziness as a long-term strategy for front yard maintenance, consider looking into lower maintenance grass types. The upfront expenditure of effort this tip requires in replacing your grass with a less needy varietal is worth it in the long run, as you’ll ideally only have to mow your lawn once or twice during the growing season.
One way to accomplish this is by finding and planting a good blend of fescue seeds for your new lawn. In addition to being slow-growing, fescues are considered drought resistant, so watering your little slice of low maintenance heaven will be a thing of the past.
After growth, maintenance is confined to seasonal mowings and varying degrees of weed control, as the need presents itself.