How To Create A Massive In Front Of A House Worthy Of Envy?

It's the first impression that counts! This famous statement concerns both our appearance and that of our home, more precisely the green end between the facade and the street. Often overlooked and underrated, this green space is the first thing visitors and passers-by notice. Having a modern and well-groomed front garden layout will not only leave a good impression on others but will also create a feeling of comfort and well-being for the owners. And this is the reason why a good bed in front of the house is always welcome. However, creation requires reflection and respect about a few more or less strict principles that we will examine in our article.

What factors should be taken into account in order to have a successful front house?

Carried out without thinking and without a well-designed plan, the layout in front of a house can become a real headache and turn into a major disappointment. But do not panic ! The editorial staff is always at your side to provide you with the steps to follow in order to design a bed of flowers worthy of envy. As mentioned above, there are a few important factors to consider before tackling the plantation. Let's decipher them in the following paragraphs.

Choose location

It is no coincidence that we start with the choice of location. This is crucial because it determines the other factors to remember such as size and shape of the bed, style, plants and so on. So back to the location. We recommend that you choose the latter accurately and make your front house flower bed accompany another element of green space. We are talking about the garden path, the entrance, the space around a veranda or under the windows, at the foot of trees, etc. Then, observe the level of sunshine and determine if it is a position in the sun, in partial shade or in shade. Finally, all that remains is to assess the type of soil and its pH. These two steps will be of major importance when choosing your plants.

Determine the size and shape of the front house

Once the location has been chosen, determine the size of your bed in front of the house. Typically, the perfect size for such an installation is somewhere between extravagant and reasonable dimensions. In other words, neither too small nor too large. However, this depends on the surface you have available. Experts recommend the composition of a flower bed accessible from at least both sides in order to facilitate its maintenance.

Regarding the shape of the massive in front of the house, all daring is allowed but be careful not to overload the whole. Think of a harmonious and natural design with square or rectangular relief where perennials blend with grasses for a rhythmic rendering.

Which style to favor?

In terms of the style of the massif in front of the garden, everything is a question of taste. However, there are a few small rules to remember in order to avoid mess. For example, having a house that promotes rustic design and arranging its outdoor space in Japanese style is not a good idea at all. The essential lies in the creation of a very harmonious and coherent whole. And in this context, it is also important to adapt the plants to it. Japanese maple and bamboo are ideal if you are aiming for a Japanese design while the Italian style glorifies cypress, lavender and jasmine. And for an exotic garden, palm trees are essential.

How to choose the plants?

And this is one of the most important topics that deserves special attention. Because in the end, it is especially the pretty flower arrangements that count and that promise to transform the space between the street and the facade into a true fairy tale. To design a harmonious whole, worthy of envy, we choose the plants according to the exposure and the type of soil, as we mentioned at the beginning of our article. The right plant in the right place!

Massif in front of the house with seasonal flowers

Having a flower bed throughout the year is a rather illusory task even if you favor perennials. Here's why, gardening experts recommend choosing flowers based on the season. So you could enjoy a spring, autumn, etc. Whatever flowers you choose, take into account that you will also need filling plants whose objective is to structure the bed in front of the house while giving it a dynamic touch. This results in a splendid composition which cannot go unnoticed! But what is it exactly?

So, when talking about filling plants, it is essential to mention ornamental grasses whose very attractive air will transform the green space into a pretty natural cocooning. As for the species, think of the blue fescue, the pennisetum alopecuroides and its majesty the pampas grass which blooms in several colors. Then, we move on to plants with remarkable foliage whose original shapes and colors will amaze passers-by and your visitors. In this group, we distinguish Atriplex halimus, the hostas also known as the king of foliage, iresin, etc. Finally, do not neglect the shrubs whose evergreen foliage will embellish the massif in front of the house before the flowering of the other flowers.

Play with heights …

The charm of a massif in front of a house lies mainly in its diversity as in its volume. So playing with shapes and heights is more or less compulsory. Here is why we have paid special attention to grasses. These ornamental plants tend to drive away monotony while energizing and balancing green space. You can use either tall grasses to give volume to the bed, or low grasses to dress the front of the bed.

… And with colors

When it comes to colors, you are spoiled for choice. So give free rein to your creativity and compose a massive front house that reflects your personal taste. Be careful not to overload the whole with too colorful scenes. Favor a harmonious and well-balanced design and do not neglect plants with colored foliage which very often outlast flowers.

Create a project

Once the listed steps have been well discussed and thought through, it's time to imagine your massive in front of your house so that it can take shape on paper. Why ? So, specialists recommend to develop a plan before tackling the plantation in order to avoid a possible mess. Thus, you will be able to get an overall idea of your future flower bed as well as a guide to avoid two very common mistakes such as planting too tightly or planting few flowers. To make such a plan, you can take advantage of one of the following three options:

• Draw a plan yourself on paper: this is the easiest and most accessible option and only requires sheets of grid paper and pencil.
• Use a free garden plan software: thanks to contemporary technologies, garden planners are at your disposal to show you a very real visualization of your future massif in front of your house and not only.
• Seek help from a professional: If you don't have the right knowledge and want to avoid nightmares in the garden, professional advice and ideas are always welcome. However, remember to ask these 10 questions of the landscape architect before hiring him!

Prepare the ground for the massif in front of the house

Preparing the soil before planting is a crucial step that should never be overlooked. After all, planting your plants in poorly maintained and uncleaned soil is a doomed task. Beginners or professionals in the garden, this essential step is known to everyone and is called weeding. There are three effective methods of doing the latter:

1. Weeding with a hoe - this is the easiest and most popular process. It consists of removing weeds from the root.

2. Suppress weeds by blackout - this method involves covering the ground with a tarp in order to smother the weeds. Deprived of light, the weeds germinating under the cover are destroyed. Known for its action that respects the soil, the occultation takes longer but guarantees easier planting.

3. Traditional digging - this popular technique involves turning the soil over to bury the weeds so they can die. However, this method is not ideal and can cause soil problems as undecomposed organic material can be buried there.

Plant the plants and take care of the final touches

Once the land has been weeded and cleaned well, move on to the most enjoyable step in creating a bed in front of the house: planting plants! Fall and spring are the ideal times to do it. So, don't forget to follow your plan and respect the distance between the flowers. Keep the soil moist by watering regularly for the first few weeks.

To accentuate your plants and give a neat appearance to your flower bed in front of the house, two finishing steps are necessary. The first is to delimit the space between the parterre and the lawn. To do this, we rely on the edging for the garden, the materials and models of which are infinite. You will undoubtedly find the border that best suits your style. The second step is to use mulch. In addition to structuring the massif, this technique protects and nourishes the soil.