A Bigger Entrance and Foundation Planting

The home owners called me to fix a drainage problem, the steep driveway was asphalt and curved toward the entrance of their home, the result was constant washout which meant mud at their doorway when ever it rained. They mentioned that they never really liked the landscaping one of our competitors installed plus it was doing poorly. They allowed me to have a go at a new concept and I was more than happy to accommodate them with a few ideas.

Besides the obvious need for new plantings one of the things that I could not wrap my head around was the way the porch returned with a railing essentially boxing in the porch and making it uninviting. I suggested we revamp the steps and open up the entrance, boy what a difference that made and the home owners were thrilled. We added a new foundation planting, lighting and irrigation that ensured watering since the home was used mainly for weekends.

The photos at the top of the page show before and after shots of the project while the pictures at the bottom provide some details of the project. The drainage problem was resolved by building a berm down the driveway, connecting the downspouts to 4" tile that was routed away from the wash out area and reseeding the yard. Glacial stone curbing was installed as a border.