Foundation planting refers to the plantings, usually bushes, that are arrayed up close to the house. It is a term that started when many homes were pier-and-beam construction and homeowners needed landscaping to camouflage that visual distraction. However, foundation planting need not be a series of stiff bushes hugging the house. Instead these plantings can be an elegant part of your Houston landscape.

The best place to start in planting gardens of any location is to plan first. You want to choreograph the layout on paper to determine how much to plant and where. You thus establish a thoughtful approach to your landscape design, including foundation planting, that truly enhances your home.

A pre-planting planning session is particularly helpful if you use the landscape phasing approach to your landscape design. Landscape phasing develops your landscape design over time, sometimes during the course of several years, using incremental steps. The more expensive undertakings are spaced out to help manage your cash outlay. If you use landscape phasing, you could do your plantings first to allow more time for them to develop to their mature shape and size.

In your planning process, be sure to work with the architecture of your home. If your home contains elements of formal symmetry, such as a Georgian, Federal, or Colonial Revival, then you may want to consider a landscape design that has formal aspects. Perhaps close-cut shrubs at the main entrance. As another example, a contemporary generic cialis fast delivery home could benefit from asymmetrical plant schemes.

Consider also the landscape features of the surrounding area because you want to design foundational plantings Cialis Professional that Kamagra Gold are appropriate for the entire site. These elements include the driveway, sidewalks, streets, large trees, adjacent bayous and woodlands, fences and hedges.

As mentioned, bush planting is the most common plant chosen for foundational plantings, but other choices are appropriate and even luscious. For instance, small, flowering trees add height and color. You can also create interest in your landscape master plan by incorporating layers into the garden beds, with taller plants along the back and moving forward with shorter and shorter plants all the way to groundcover.

Choose plants that are the right size and scale at their mature size. Forgetting to take into account a plant’s ultimate size is a common mistake of the amateur gardener. (Who hasn’t had to dodge the low-hanging crape myrtle branch across a sidewalk?) Making the right choice in this arena also helps keep pruning to a minimum.

In all your foundational plantings, be cognizant of yard drainage, an issue of particular importance in Houston. You always want water to flow away from the house. One idea to consider is a raised bed. Your plants will love them, because it will keep their root systems from staying wet too long.

Use the latest landscape techniques to give your foundation planting the look of a professional landscape. When green plantings are unified with a house, the overall impression is one of a luxurious, highly personalized signature design. Your property conveys a welcoming impression to visitors, friends and family, from the curb right up to the front door.

Author Bio: Jeff Halper has a passion for landscaping and Houston Landscape Design. For more information on Houston Landscape Design or Fountdation Planting

Category: Home/Gardening/Landscaping
Keywords: Fountdation Planting