Enhance Your Home This Spring With Foundation Plantings

Westlake Hardware provides 10 tips for choosing plants that will add value and interest to your home

Foundation plants like boxwood, juniper and yew can frame a house and make it aesthetically pleasing throughout the year. But these plants are far more than just another pretty face; they should be considered an investment in your property that will help reap long-term benefits when properly planted and cared for.

10 Tips for Successful Foundation Planting

1. Work with the architecture and overall style of your house when developing a plan. If your home is symmetrical, with a centered door and equal windows, consider planting a mirror image on each side. Or, if your home is more informal or a ranch style, you might go with a more casual, asymmetrical plant scheme.
2. When planning plant groups, place them in odd numbers of three or five, which will add more visual appeal than even numbers. Also, plant items in triangular patterns rather than straight lines.
3. Carefully read the plant’s label to determine sunlight needs and look for plants and shrubs that carry a guarantee (one year is typical).
4. Choose plants that have non-intrusive root systems such as boxwoods and yews, as opposed to lilac or spirea.
5. Add seasonal color with flowering bushes such as azaleas and rhododendrons. Ornamental grasses are also a good choice and can also add interest during the winter months if not trimmed back.
6. Avoid planting directly under eaves of a home due to reduced rainfall, air circulation and sunlight. Likewise, be careful not to plant too near downspouts, which could result in excess water for a new shrub.
7. If you have a large area to fill, perhaps a bare wall between windows, consider adding a small tree such as an evergreen or Japanese maple to fill the space.
8. Soften the edges of a home by placing tall plantings at the corners. This will also give an illusion of enlarging the home.
9. Soil prep is key. Understand that different types of plants often like different types of soil: sandy, loamy, acidic, or alkaline. Do some research and prepare the soil based on what your plant likes.
10. When your plan is set and the soil is prepped, properly plant shrubs by digging a hole twice as wide as deep as the root ball. Loosen the sides and bottom of the hole with the shovel and add an amendment like composted manure to the soil. Carefully lower the plant into the hole, backfill with soil, firm the planting mix around the root ball and water thoroughly.