Rejuvenate Your Used Spaces

Dress up the family’s day to day entrance way. When it comes to landscaping, the most used parts of the property are often times the most neglected. Your walk from the garage or driveway to the back door of the house, is just such a spot. You make the journey numerous times each day, so why not make it as pleasant a trip as possible? A simple design can transform a space quickly, making it more inviting and more functional.

In a high traffic area frequented by ball-bouncing, bicycle-riding children as well as by busy adults, there is no place for delicate, or easily damaged plants that do not hold up to the traffic.

If you have the space try to incorporate some dense, upright growing arborvitae. It can form a narrow meandering hedge, a living wall that links the house and the garage, while screening the more private backyard from the busy driveway. By leaving a space between them, you can make a wide opening that can serve as an informal gate leading into the backyard.

You can also add some plants for color. Try adding some golden yellow day lilies and white phlox to the edge of the driveway. These two plants alone will add color throughout the summer months. Day lilies and phlox are plants that are very easy to grow and will require little maintenance to keep them going. You may also try scattering some other type of bulbs around the day lilies for color in the early spring. These could be hyacinth, daffodils, or tulips. In the fall, a large clump of boltania will brighten the view from the drive with another dazzling display of white flowers. If you have any bulbs left over, drop them in the ground next to your patio or picnic table for a splash of color there also. Another great idea is to add wall decorations to your patio area that mimic the plants that you choose. Adding vinyl wall decals of the same flowers can be an easy and striking accent.

If these particular plants will not work for you, find some other plants that might be more appealing to you. Just remember to choose several of the same varieties on each side of the walkway so that it will look like an opening. The other plants should be chosen according to their bloom time. It is quick and easy to look up plants that will work for your planting area. Tips and ideas by yard and garden rescue.com