The exterior of your home plays a pivotal role in creating a solid first impression. However, rooky landscaping mistakes can make the most modern architecture look dated and old-fashioned.
If you want to elevate your curb appeal and make your landscape a worthy extension of your beautiful home, you need to ease out of the old-school landscaping techniques and embrace the change! Here are six landscape mistakes that are best left in the days gone by.
1. Planting Boxwood Shrubs
Boxwood shrubs have long been a landscaping staple since they are evergreen and versatile. They are usually planted along the garden’s border or hide the home’s foundation. However, caring for these plants is a tedious and meticulous job, as you must constantly shear the stray stems to maintain their pristine shape.
Besides being high-maintenance, boxwood shrubs do not hold the same appeal as before.
They tend to look messy and unkempt if you don't maintain them. Recent trends favor minimalistic and natural landscapes that flow organically. Hence, consider keeping your garden’s edge completely bare to provide sweeping views of your home.
2. Opting for Artificial Grass
Artificial grass rose in fame when it first made its appearance back in the 1960s. The idea of a ready-made grass bed requiring no mowing or maintenance was quite tempting, and many jumped on the bandwagon.
While artificial turf continues to be used in stadiums and sports fields, it is best avoided when planning your modern landscape design for several reasons.
For starters, artificial grass is what the name says; artificial! It does not have the same aesthetical charm as natural grass and installing it is expensive. It can also look hideous if not laid out by professionals.
Most importantly, it can steal the beauty of your natural landscape. When people look at it, they may feel it was designed decades ago when artificial turf first became popular.
3. Going Overboard With Ornaments
The outdoor ornamentation, including garden statues, ceramic fixtures, and plastic lawn décor, immediately makes your lawn look outdated. Too many decorations serve little to no purpose and make your yard look cluttered and crowded.
These days, minimalism and chic designs rule almost every aspect of home décor, whether interior or exterior. Therefore, allow your garden to embrace its natural beauty. Pay attention to the flowers, shrubs, foliage, and trees you install.
Use plants as the focal point of your landscape instead of artificial trinkets. You can opt for a tasteful sculpture or a surface-level bird bath if you want to incorporate a garden feature in your landscaping design. This will not only look great but support wildlife as well!
4. Laying Foundation Planting
For the longest time, shrubs and trees were planted along the home’s foundation to hide the naked underpinnings of the construction.
While people still use foundation planting today, people do it to enhance and frame the attractive features of your home. Unimaginative foundation planting also made home repairs difficult and damaged your property.
Instead of crowding your home’s footing with thorny shrubs and invasive trees, go for large trees and dwarf plant species along the base. You can also leave your plant perennials and grasses to allow the spectators an unobstructed view of your pampered property -- You worked hard so show it off!
Choose trees that will not tower over the property, making it appear smaller. Place them on the corner of your home to add more dimension to the edges; This will also prevent them from blocking the windows.
The overall effect should be of a house nestled in the landscape instead of drowning in greenery!
5. Using Colored Mulch
Colored mulch was quite a trend in the 1960s, but it is another landscaping element that is not in vogue anymore.
While you can best define contemporary architecture as understated and natural, colored mulch is loud, flashy, and garish that dates your property at a glance.
Recycling scrap wood from old pallets, construction materials, and fence posts creates colored mulch. Using chemicals to treat most materials can lead to contamination, seeping into the soil and adversely affecting plant growth.
Therefore, it is best to use the right mulch that looks decent and is beneficial for your garden.
6. Placing Huge Boulders
One of the most common landscaping trends was placing large stones in the middle of the garden to add interesting dimensions to the flat land. However, these boulders look out of place and inauthentic to the land's natural topography.
While you can still use boulders in your garden, their correct placement is of utmost importance.
You can put them in a group and add a light fixture for a nighttime focal point. Surround them with gravel to prevent the stones from shifting or settling.
One way to ensure that the boulders blend into your landscape naturally is by carefully selecting those that match in color, size, and shape with the existing surroundings.
Elevated Landscape Design for Modern Homes
Simple design elements can have a drastic effect on the overall aesthetics of your property.
To make your home a modern-day oasis, you must leave the outdated landscaping techniques in the past where they belong and adopt a more minimalist approach for a chicer outlook.
Which landscaping mistakes make a home look old-fashioned, according to you? Share in the comments below!