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Front Yard Infographic

Having trouble remembering the width of a driveway gate? Not sure how much space you need for parking? Wondering how wide to make your front walkway? Find all these dimensions and more on this handy infographic featuring common front yard elements.

Front Yard Dimensions (PDF)

Traditionally, front yards serve two main purposes: providing an entrance to your home and creating curb appeal. A well-designed front yard landscape, with appropriately sized and placed elements, will indeed increase the curb appeal of your home. The landscaping should put your home on display by complementing its architecture and welcoming visitors.

Landscaping options for enhancing the front of the home abound. You can choose a formal look with a courtyard circling a fountain. Or you can go more natural, with a meandering pathway lined with native plants. You can even create a private space for outdoor entertaining. Whatever you decide, be sure to spend plenty of time determining the look you want and planning how to achieve it. With the help of a landscaping designer to guide you, you'll be sure to get a front yard landscape you love.

Get these tipsIn this section, you'll find tips from landscaping professionals on:

Is your front yard overgrown? Do you dread mowing your large lawn? Are you wishing that your home had more curb appeal? Sounds like it's time for a front yard makeover. With creative landscaping ideas, front yards can be more than just a pathway and some plants.

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Front Yard Landscaping Ideas - Landscaping Network

To the editor:

I own a local contracting landscape company, requiring me and my staff to frequent the Glenmore dump often.

On a recent trip to the dump with the clippings from a job-site, I was shocked to see the RCMP had a man with a pickup truck and trailer pulled over to the side of the road near the entrance.

I entered the line up to go in, and was waiting along with everyone else, when another man with a pickup truck and trailer was pulled over on his way out of the dump.

So, I watched as the police questioned the man driving. It was apparent that an argument was occurring with waving of arms.

The mans passenger was ordered out of the vehicle and the police called for assistance. Within seconds a second police cruiser pulled up with sirens blazing. Another minute passed and a third cruiser came, again sirens blazing.

As you can imagine, quite the show for the people waiting in line to go into the dump.

As I was unloading my trailer, the man that had been pulled over at the entrance came beside me. He told me that the police had pulled him over because his brake light didnt come on. Upon investigation, he wiggled the wire at the back, and behold, there was light. Lucky him.

My thoughts went back to the man leaving the dump. Were his lights not working?

This man, as it turned out, got angry and defiant. Not a great idea to do when confronted by our valued RCMP, but understandable.

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Letter: Police nab yard workers at landfill bottleneck

Published on July 15, 2014

Sustainable gardening: how to get started with rocks, native grasses

Ripping out the front lawn and its bordering rhododendrons and replacing them with a landscape of native grasses, groundcovers, succulents and rocks once seemed an unfathomable act of defiance. No longer.

As many parts of the United States grapple with drought and rising water bills, "The thought of an English garden in the Central Valley of California is sheer madness. It wasn't meant to be, and it's sucking up precious groundwater we need for agriculture," said Ann Savageau, a design professor at the University of California at Davis, who recently traded in her lush green lawns for a desert look.

Instead of scoffing, neighbours stopped to ask her landscaper for his business card. Other California towns, including Sacramento and Menlo Park, have begun offering rebates to homeowners who remove their lawns.

Gardeners nationwide are feeling the effects of climate change. In the East, and other areas where heavy downpours have become more intense, a sustainable garden might include native grasses and other plants that do well in heavy rain and the dry weather that can follow.

"Awareness is changing in a way that is here to stay," said Brian Sullivan, a vice-president for landscapes at The New York Botanical Garden. "Yard by yard, region by region, the overall environmental impact of this trend, which I think is very positive, is substantial."

Mowing and watering a traditional lawn requires a lot of time, money, water and fertilizers. Increasingly, many home gardeners want to focus instead on edible gardens, and rethink the rest of their landscaping in a more environmentally sustainable and low-maintenance way.

It's sometimes hard to know where to begin, however, and few people have the funds or time to tackle a total garden makeover all at once.

Some strategies:

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Sustainable gardening: how to get started with rocks, native grasses

Chantilly, VA (PRWEB) July 14, 2014

Saunders Landscape Supply, located in Chantilly, Virginia, wants to remind homeowners this season about the benefits of lawn renovations and landscaping before the fall season starts.

In the past 12 months, roughly 164 million people have gardened or performed some sort of yard work on their homes, and Saunders wants to make sure that everyone gets their property prepared for the fall and winter months so that they can enjoy their outdoor view next spring.

Various materials, along with a mix of different wood, are used to make mulch. Mulch is used to retain soil moisture, regulate soil temperature, suppress weed growth, and for aesthetic appearances. Saunders Landscape Supply recommends mulching when the soil temperatures have risen enough that the ground has settled, which is usually in late summer or early fall.

The company offers organic topsoil, which is a mix of compost and topsoil. The topsoil provides ample space for grass to grow, while the compost provides it with nutrients. Saunders recommends at least a one inch thickness of mulch for planting grass. One cubic yard of topsoil, also supplied by the company, can cover about 300 square feet at a one inch thickness. Because the soil is easily spreadable, homeowners have the option to easily and affordably plant grass.

"The best time to renovate your lawn is during the early fall because any grass seed that is planted will have 10 months to germinate before the hot months of July and August," said Donald Saunders Jr., President of Saunders Landscape Supply.

By laying new grass seed in the late summer or early fall, customers will benefit from the new grass having time to germinate and grow to its full potential the following spring.

"Some homeowners will conduct a core aeration, and this helps relieve the compaction in the soil. This is typically completed by a machine that penetrates the soil by two inches," explained Saunders. "By relieving the compaction in the soil, the roots of grass can more easily expand and grow, and this makes way for a healthier, thicker lawn."

Saunders Landscape Supply has served residents of Virginia and Maryland since it was founded in 1994, and provides the materials that homeowners need for any lawn renovation or maintenance plan. The business is located at 14016 Sullyfield Circle in Chantilly, VA. For more information, call 703-764-4831, email marketing (at) saundersls (dot) com or visit saundersls.com.

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Saunders Landscape Supply Talks Benefits of Lawn Maintenance This Summer

Two men were arrested for allegedly stealing landscape equipment from maintenance crews, Roseville police said Saturday.

Shafeeq Jamal Purdy, 32, and Christopher Darnell Ross, 20, were taken into custody in connection with the thefts Friday, officials said.

Roseville police were looking into a recent increase in thefts from landscape maintenance crews and were on a stakeout just before 11 a.m. on Friday on Park Regency Drive.

Officers said they saw a vehicle cruising slowly through the neighborhood and watched two people get out of the vehicle and take tools from a landscaper's trailer.

The officers stopped the vehicle and detained the driver on Junction Boulevard, but the passenger got out of the vehicle and ran away. He apparently jumped over a retaining wall and through yards in the neighborhood before officers found him in a yard on the 1800 block of Grouse Run Circle, police said.

The stolen property was recovered and returned to the victim.

According to police, Purdy and Ross were arrested on suspicion of grand theft, conspiracy and possession of burglar's tools. Purdy also faces charges ofdelaying or obstructing police officers.

Excerpt from:
Roseville PD: 2 arrested for stealing landscape equipment

As I look at many lawn and landscape problems in the summer, it occurs to me that many of these are the result of poor plant selection and poor planting techniques. Although now is not a great time to be planting, it is a great time to review the proper steps to avoid plant stress and later problems.

To plant right it is important to know the conditions in your yard and how you use that information. Identify the areas with sun and shade. Take soil tests to determine soil pH.

Test soil drainage by digging a hole 18 to 24 inches deep. Fill the hole with water and let it sit overnight. Refill hole to within a few inches of the top. Use a ruler or measuring stick to determine the drainage over time. If soil drains less than one-half inch per hour it is poorly drained. Choose plants tolerant of wet conditions. If the water drops between one-half inch and 1 inch per hour, the soil is moderately drained and most plants including some tolerant of wet conditions will do well. If the water drops more than 1 inch per hour drainage is great and most plants can be used except for those suited for wet conditions.

If you have an existing landscape, determine if there are problems with any plants. Take a look at the lawn. This is usually the highest maintenance area of a landscape. Determine how much lawn you really need. Locate areas for privacy, play and work.

Next choose the right plants for the right place. Grasses grow best in full sun. Choose drought-tolerant plants if soils are moderately to well drained. Think about how plants will look once they grow to mature size not how they look when planted and give them the appropriate space.

Avoid plants that have problems if you are looking for a successful long-lived landscape. Bradford pears may split in 10 to 15 years due to their growth habit. Japanese hollies and boxwoods dont do well in poorly drained soil. Red maples planted as lawn trees in well-drained soils decline when attacked by gloomy scales. Leyland cypress is easily destroyed by bagworms. Azaleas are damaged by lace bugs. This list can go on and on.

When planting make sure to give plants a good start. Planting in groupings works well. Prepare the soil by tilling. Add 2 to 4 inches of compost, then till again. If trees are not in groupings or planting beds, do not mix anything with the soil on the site. What comes out of the hole goes back in. Do not plant deep. Dig holes no deeper than the root ball and at least three times the width in unprepared soil. In fact, it is better to plant shrubs with 1 to 2 inches of the root ball above ground and trees with 2 to 4 inches of the root ball above ground. Pull soil up to the edge to cover the sides but not the top of the root ball. Make sure to loosen roots of container-grown plants or score the root ball with a knife to promote root branching. If plants come with burlap and wire basket, remove as much of both as possible after they are in the hole and steady.

Mulch correctly after planting. Two to 4 inches of organic mulch is a good thing around trees and shrubs. Pull it up to the edge of the root ball. Less is needed around perennials and annuals. Do not pile mulch against the trunks of any plant. As trees grow, widen the mulched area underneath them to ensure good growth and prevent tree/grass problems.

If you have questions about your garden, lawn or landscape, give the Pitt County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers a call at 902-1705 or email pittcomgv@hotmail.com.

Danny Lauderdale is an agricultural extension agent with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service-Pitt County.

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Lauderdale: Plant right for success

Your landscape is very much like your home's interior decor.

It grows old, sometimes tattered and torn, and needs updating from time to time. Sometimes, plantings need to be completely torn out and totally replaced. Sometimes, old porches, patios and decks just don't work any longer.

Landscape design classes typically teach that a landscape lasts for 10 to 15 years before it needs at least a partial redo. Sometimes, it's best to just start over from scratch and get the look you've always wanted and never achieved because there was never enough advance planning and an overall plan.

Landscape designers agree.

"When I started my business 21 years ago, there was a housing boom in Williamsburg, Va., and the bulk of my business was landscapes for new construction," says Peggy Krapf of Heart's Ease Landscape & Garden Design, http://www.HeartsEaseLandscape.com, and a certified designer through the Virginia Society of Landscape Designers, http://www.vsld.org.

"As time passed, it has now become primarily renovating old, existing landscapes."

Most landscapes need renovation for one of the following reasons, according to Krapf:

Poor initial design, which becomes more obvious as years progress (wrong plants in wrong places).

Bad workmanship and poorly chosen hardscaping/materials that don't stand the test of time.

Old age of plants and bad or improper regular pruning through the years.

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Landscapes need renovating just like homes

A moon-like birth mark on the left chest. The knowledge of the landscape of the family home and location of the coal box in the yard. Information about the year their father left and where he died.

Raul Makhubu says these details should be enough proof to identify the mysterious man languishing in immigration detention in Canada for 10 years as his long-lost elder brother, anti-apartheid icon Mbuyisa Makhubu.

This man gave information that only a member of our family can be aware of, Makhubu said in an interview from Johannesburg.

He divulged all the information about the landscape in our home, how everything stood like in our yard. He knew our parents names. No one knows about my fathers history and what he was called at home. Yet this gentleman in detention in Canada knows all about this. I know he is my brother.

Now 52 and still recovering from a recent stroke, Makhubu said he is hoping to appeal to the South African and Canadian governments through the Star to release the man in detention and return him to his family as soon as possible.

It has been 38 years since our search for my brother. What is it that is delaying my brother from coming back home? asked Makhubu, who is planning to fundraise for a trip to meet the detainee in Canada.

Mbuyisa is my only brother. With our mother having passed on, I need him to come back home.

Mbuyisa was just 18 during the 1976 Soweto uprising in South Africa when he was photographed carrying the dying Hector Pieterson, a 13-year-old shot by police on June 16 that year.

The image, which captured the apartheid governments brutality against the African majority population, became a symbol of resistance and June 16 has since been marked as National Youth Day.

Mbuyisa, who wouldve been 56-year-old by now, was forced into hiding shortly after the picture was published. His family last heard from him in 1978 in a letter from Nigeria.

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Mysterious man in Canadian jail is Mbuyisa Makhubu, says brother of anti-apartheid icon

POSTED: Thursday, July 10, 2014 - 12:14pm

UPDATED: Thursday, July 10, 2014 - 3:33pm

Thursday, July 10th We have made it through the June excessive heat and our Borderland monsoon is in full swing! I have not done a lawn care and planting advice column since April so I thought there is no better time to get some summertime tips on keeping you plants happy and your yard and landscape looking good.

So I am checking in again with my plant and yard friend Daphne Richards, a County Agriculture & Horticulture expert. She now is Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent for Horticulture. She is originally from Lorena, Texas. She studied botany at the University of Texas (hook 'em), then taught biology and physical science to some amazing ninth graders in La Joya, Texas. She has received an award that recognizes AgriLife Extension faculty and staff members who provide outstanding performance in education or to the agency. She was presented this award Jan. 8th during the agencys Centennial Conference in College Station. She worked 9 years in El Paso County as an Extension agent and 4 years in Travis County and now for Texas A&M. This lady knows her horticulture and plants!

I thought this would be a perfect time to share her summer advice for planting and yard maintenance for the Borderland in today's "Weather Talk".

Remove faded flowers from plants before they set seed-this will encourage them to continue flowering.

Frequent mowing (every four to five days) is best for your grass and helps reduce by preventing seed heads from forming.

Check for insects and diseases on plants, trees and shrubs. Spider mites become troublesome in the hot summer months. Look for tan speckles on lower leaves and/or spider webbing. Plants may turn brown and crisp where severe infestations occur. Hose down with a strong jet of water in a row to wash the mites off. Be very careful if applying any pesticides during warm weather this can lead to chemical burns on the leaves of you plants.

Continue to spray roses for black spots and insects. Funginex, Rose Defense, Daconil and Captan are suitable fungicides for treatment.

If moving house plants outdoors for the summer, be careful not to place them in direct sunlight. They are no longer accustomed to such intense light and plant leaves can be severely burned.

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Summertime Borderland Yard & Garden Care Tips

Economy

Posted on July 10, 2014 10:36:36 PM

Ms. Datukan and Bernadette Fatima R. Puyat, Agriculture Undersecretary for Special Concerns, led the launching of the Vegetable Landscape Project in front of the Agreda familys residence in the city.

Davao Citys government and the municipal government of nearby Polomolok is supporting the activity by providing planting materials to interested residents.

Private companies are also making contributions such as Yellow Bus Line, Inc. which donated old tires for use as plant receptacles.

The gardens here will serve as pilot areas as DA-12 aims to expand the project to the rest of Central Mindanao, also known as the SOCSKSARGEN region. SOCSKSARGEN consists of the provinces of North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani, as well as the cities of Tacurong, Kidapawan, General Santos and this city. -- L. O. Pacardo

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Veggie growing pushed in C. Mindanao