Hi there! Today I am sharing the updates we made to the front yard design this year. We added more hardscape and plantings, which has really brought the whole space together. We are super happy about how it looks, and I am excited to share it with you today.
You can see the updates we made last year here {front yard remodel updates}. I also shared more posts related to the entire front yard remodel at the end. This has been a work in progress for the last few years and every season we add or improve something else.
We have done most of the work ourselves. The Masterpiece boys have done most of the physical work, while I have done more of design and plant choices. Although Mr. M has many opinions and many good ideas as well. We have brought our vision to life and find ourselves inspired by what we created.
Overview of the Current Front Yard Design Updates
We added more hardscape to the top part of the front yard by the curb. We added casual walkways and landing pads using more DG (decomposed granite) and rustic bricks.
These hardscape details gave the areas a more structured design, which helped determine plantings placement. Although we will probably add more plantings in the future we are set for the season. Adding the mulch completed the area and gave it a finished look.
Details of the Front Yard Design Updates
Walkway with Birdbath focal point
The walkway connects the secondary driveway to the main walkway of the house. You can read about these improvements here {as 2020 unraveled} when we started the front yard remodel project back in 2019. A rustic birdbath is the focal point centered in the pathway.
The walkway was an easy treatment, relatively speaking, composed of mainly DG, edged by rustic bricks. A painted design on the dirt was easily followed by lining the bricks. Trenches were dug to settled the bricks into the ground using a mallet. Once the bricks were in place the pathway was filled with decomposed granite. The DG ties into the secondary driveway and the {front yard sitting area} design.
I wanted a curved pathway here for various reasons. {1} I wanted to add curves since many of the design elements we incorporated into the yard design involved straight lines, {2} the DG and bricks are easy to form into curves {3} it allowed to connect the back of the driveway to the front of the top walkway.
Landing with Urn
As I have explained before, the top of the front yard area is divided in two by the main walkway. Although not totally symmetrical I do want both sides balanced, if that makes any sense. The focal point on this side is a vintage urn, which you can read about here {birthday wishes}.
We created the same type of treatment as the pathway on the other side by adding a landing pad around the urn. Once again we used the DG and rustic bricks to bring the two sides together in design.
We added a cypress arborvitae to the urn, which I have more details below, so we ran irrigation underneath before building the landing pad. The irrigation line runs up into the urn for proper watering.
Cypress Topiary Shrubs
I love topiaries and the manicured feel they provide in gardens. We found these cypress topiary spheres at a local nursery. We added one to the urn and to balance things off, we included two more around the birdbath path on the other side.
I love the order and tidiness English gardens provide. The Cypress topiaries remind me of English gardens, but I like that they mimic each other on each side but it’s not a mirror image.
One of the reasons I have had such a hard time to complete this part of the landscape is that I did not know how to reconcile English gardens, cottage vibes and farmhouse feels all in one area.
Plantings
Along with the cypress plants we added more plantings around the area. We are maintaining the silver foliage along with white flowers, which is my ultimate vision for this space.
We added white geraniums flanked by a variety of lavender. The lavender is Lavandula ang. SuperBlue. Mr. M promised me he would prune the blue before it showed since I want to keep this to mainly white flowers with some soft lavender blooms. Time will tell. I will keep you all posted. {wink}
We also included white salvia, which I love the tall, thin profiles. Many of the blooms I wish to include in the future include delphinium, hollyhocks, stock, etc, which all have tall, spiky profiles.
Mulch Topping
The mulch was the final touch which brought everything together and finished off the space. It’s much better than the bare dirt we’ve had for a few years, and I am sure our neighbors are super happy!
We opted for black mulch since I think it blends in and lends itself to the aesthetic we have going on. We (and once again I used the term “we” loosely) poured a healthy layer of the mulch throughout.
Eventually I hope to plant other blooms in this area, but for now we are done. It’s under negotiation with Mr. M since he does most of the physical work. He wants it clean and uncluttered, which I totally understand, but it needs more in my opinion and Miss M agrees.
If you have seen the before we remodeled the area then you understand his sentiments. And I agree 100 percent, but I have a bigger vision. Stay tuned.
Final Thoughts on the Front Yard Design Updates
I think we’ve brought together some different landscape aesthetics. There are some English garden vibes with all the topiaries and formal lines in the garden design.
There are also cottage feels with the wilder flowers like the Russian sage and the silver shrubs, which we cannot remember the name. I will do my homework for the next front yard post and hopefully can share the proper name.
There is also farmhouse feels which is definitely spear headed by the livestock fence, which was also built by the boys here {the hogwire fence project}.
Remember gardens are always work in progess. For now, we are happy and we love how it has grown and settled.
How the Front Yard Design has Evolved and Progressed
“The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.”
Gertrude JekyLl