A beautiful home is not complete without a thoughtful and well cared-for array of plants surrounding the foundation.
Gardens and flowerbeds like these, however, do not occur by chance.
A landscaper must know the personality of the earth around which he or she is working, what will grow and what won’t.
The landscaper must have a keen eye for design and choose what will be the most attractive combination of colors, textures, and sizes.
He or she has to also understand what the house in question needs because not all homes are identical in what flora they need surrounding them.
Why Plant Near a House Foundation
Necessity
One common problem for homeowners is erosion. This is especially problematic around the foundation of homes.
A well-planned system of healthy plants surrounding the foundation of your home can improve the resiliency of the soil tremendously. Plants with roots that are too deep cause problems to your home’s structure.
However, plants with a medium sized root system help to hold soil in place.
Most beds surrounding also have some sort of mulch covering the surface surrounding a house’s foundation. Mulch is a great way to keep dirt in your bed by preventing runoff. An added bonus is that it acts as a weed deterrent!
A professional landscaper will know whether or not a certain tree or shrub has a root system that’s too deep for your bed.
Aesthetics
The beauty of plants around a foundation is just as important as their functionality, if not more important.
Neighbors and passersby will marvel at your home only if it is crowned with a vibrant array of plants surrounding it.
So, what are the best plants to put around your home?
We’ve broken our answer into three categories:
- Plants for Your Entryway
- Corner Plants
- Plants for the In-Between
Plants for Your Entryway
The door to a home is the center of attention for a house, so the plants leading to and surrounding the entryway will be the center of attention for the flora around the house.
Our eyes are driven by symmetry and patterns, so a landscaper will want to design the entryway plants symmetrically to push the viewer’s focus there.
Plants that can be very effective for this are:
- Dwarf Alberta Spruces
- A beautiful evergreen conifer that can thrive in a pot or in the ground. It also gives a landscaper an ideal canvas to trim into an intricate design.
- Ferns
- Ferns are an easy and exciting way to liven your entryway. With so many varieties to choose from, you can ensure that the path to your home is unique!
Corner Plants
Entryway plants take the focus of the viewer. Plants in the corners of a bed are the foundations upon which the rest of the bed is built.
So, it’s very important to choose the correct plants for the edges of your garden.
Trees are often the plant of choice for corners. These will functionally help to preserve your home’s structural integrity. They can also help to balance the geometry of your house.
The choice of tree will vary for the purpose that you want it to serve. Here are a few trees that are great for any home:
- Crepe Myrtle
- One of the most beloved flowering trees in the South and for good reason. These trees usually bloom twice a year and keep their flowers for months.
- Crepe Myrtles also are easy to prune into the shape and size that you want them to be.
- Dogwood
- Though not as common in the South as they were in the past, these are still great trees to plant.
- If planted in full to partial sun, they will flower in late spring.
- Oakland™ Holly
- This is a wonderful holly tree that thrives in the south and can add a bit of variety to your home.
Plants for the In-Between
The plants “in between” your corner trees and entryway plants are arguably the most important plants surrounding your home. These are the glue that holds it all together.
There are countless choices a landscaper can make when populating a bed. So, we have only listed a few of our favorites here:
- Azaleas
- A bed surrounding a building foundation would not be complete without this dynamic bush. Azaleas come in numerous colors and sizes and are extremely resilient to heat and drought.
- Dwarf Loropetalums
- This low shrub can add a deeper hue to your vibrant garden year round. It flowers from late winter through early spring.
- Mountain Laurels
- These bushes bloom with beautiful white flowers streaked with deep maroon and grow well alongside azaleas and loropetalums.
