Flowing Leaves

Site Conditions

The homeowners felt the entry to their home was hidden and uninviting. They had struggled with a planting area that was nestled beneath the kitchen window. The landscape had become overgrown, overwhelming and blocked the view of the front entry. The family wanted to create an open and welcoming atmosphere. They wanted the eye to be drawn to the home rather than the garage and an interest was expressed in reducing the driveway size. In my assessment of the home and family, they enjoyed diversity, color and accents.  They also wanted a landscape that was easier to maintain than the current landscape.

Project Description

The design, materials list, and product samples were presented. The overall design carried the eye, up the driveway, through the landscape, and to the front entry.  I was able to reuse the existing sidewalk and jazz it up with paver accents. As requested the driveway size was reduced. A paver driveway was installed with a flowing leaf pattern that guides the eye to the front entry. The driveway was contoured to direct all water flow into the newly created rain garden and swale areas. A rain garden was installed to the south of the driveway capturing 65 percent of the driveway runoff.  The remaining 35 percent of the driveway runoff was directed into the front yard via the swale.  A free standing dry-stacked stone wall was constructed from iron range stone. The wall was kept low to creating an accent and a barrier without blocking the view or distracting one from the path to this now inviting front entry.  A raised kitchen herb garden was installed in the area below the kitchen window and now allowed for easy access to fresh herbs. Large colorful accent planters were added near the front entry for seasonal interest plantings, which included, container vegetables.  Plantings within the landscaped area were selected for color, texture, scents, food value and beneficial creature attraction.