Owens Corning

Garden Gate Designing an Entry Garden


Whenever I design an entry garden, I keep a few things in mind: the architecture, the setting, the scale of the garden, it's boundaries and maintenance.

The architecture and setting -- You need to make sure that the garden suits the house and setting. A formal entry garden rearly looks right in front of a contemporary-style home. On the other hand, a loose, informal planting can make a large, formal home feel more friendly.

Entry GardensScale -- In design terms, scale simply means how the size of something relates to its surroundings and to peole. A few low-growing plants in a bed at the base of a large home will most likely look out of place. To keep the garden in scale, consider the hight of the plants and the size of the bed. This town home has a small courtyard garden with plants grouped to one side of the walk. This fits the scale of the yard.

Boundaries -- This terms refers to caliming the borders of the garden. It may be the entire front yard as is the case of Molly and Bruce's garden. The entry garden may be a portion of the yard set aside as a garden, or it may only be the area immediately surrounding the entry.

As a general rule, use a fence, hedge, wall or even a good crisp edging to define where the entry garden begins and ends. This goes a long way in making a guest feel comfortable as it makes the garden truly feel like part of the entrance ot the house. It also serves a practical purpose by limiting the amount of garden to what you can easily manage.

Maintenance -- This is the last item on the list, but it's certainly not the least. An entry garden sets an example for what guests can expect inside your home. In some ways, it serves as an outdoor foyer.

With that in mind, your best bet is to be realistic about how much maintenance you're willing to do. I fyou have limited time, don't plant high-maintenance flower beds that require constant feeding, watering and deadheading. Instead, use evergreens, foliage plants and low-maintenance flowers, like salvia, columbine and coreopsis, that look good even when you don't get around to tending them.

Entry GardenIf you are an avid gardener, and entry planting can be a showplace for your horticultural skills. The rich tapestry of textures and colors in an entry garden creates a living welcome mat for guests that changes throughout the seasons.

No matter how simple or elaborate you care to make your entry garden, remember that gardens are not static. They're made to change. So if you don't like what you have this year, try something different next year. The goal is to have fun creating it and to enjoy taking care of it.

Provided By Garden Gate Magazine
(c) August Home Publishing Co.
All Rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission, HouseNet, Inc.


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