Curb Appeal

The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA, Jul 3, 2010 | by NORA FIRESTONE

CURB APPEAL’S an all-American endeavor any day of the year. At the heart of it is the home; at the root is a vibrant landscape that piques the senses and readily welcomes. // And the value, experts say, extends from a simple everyday appreciation to gains in eventual resale. // But how does a homeowner achieve it, quickly or over time, on a small budget or large? Local landscape designers dropped their seeds of wisdom during the busy selling season. Harvest the fruits of their labor:
Key elements
“The key to curb appeal is to nestle the home in an attractive setting that showcases the home’s architectural style,” said Tami Eilers, a horticulturist and landscape designer with McDonald Landscapes, a division of McDonald Garden Center.
Achieve this with the use of focal points, the right choices in color, scale and structure of plants and materials, and coordinating the “jewelry,” she said.
From the curb, determine a primary focal point, “usually the front door,” and one or more secondary focal points, Eilers advised.
Note what needs to be “announced” as guests approach, including the main entry and driveway and walking path entrances. These areas will be framed with colors, textures and shapes that make statements and compl ement the home.
“The colors you choose should be harmonious with the home’s exterior and the garden style should represent the architectural theme,” Eilers explained.
Outside a Virginia Beach house , Eilers noted techniques she’d implemented in its expansive landscape design. To honor its classic Southern architecture, Eilers used traditional structure plants, like boxwoods, hollies and magnolias, in orderly beds.
She echoed the home’s white exterior with the use of flowering plants that bloom during different seasons for year-round interest: varieties of white camellias for autumn and winter show; doublefile viburnum, white dogwoods and azaleas for spring; and magnolias, gardenias and varieties of white hydrangeas for surprises throughout summer. Fragrant blooms bear a double-sensory treat, and white’s echoed, too, in the leaves of variegated pittosporum and iris.
Potted evergreens flank the front door, framing the main entry. The conical shape allows the eye to move up where the architecture climbs visually, as it does in columns and corners.
Keeping foundation shrubs below windows and from crowding entryways will make a house “look newer and well-loved,” Eilers said. That’s especially important for resale.
Smaller color pockets of annuals help frame the front door and also showcase secondary focal points such as specimen plants, seating areas and statuary throughout the yard. In general, stick with one pocket color for highest impact, she said. But it’s fine to add more for holiday flair.
Here, Eilers added Patina Blue ageratum and small American flags for the Fourth of July. Other options include Victoria Blue salvia and Carita Cascade Deep Purple angelonia.
Mixed textures and heights add interest and all of these themes- color, structure, texture and scale-are repeated several times between curb and home for a sense of unity and depth and the perception of a larger lot, which also adds perceived value, Eilers noted. The entire landscape meanders, sweeping the eye toward the front door and whispering, “Welcome.”
Don’t use prickly shrubs along the welcome path or in sight of the curb , Eilers warned, adding, “They say, ‘Go away.’”
Consider house numbers, shutters, lanterns, door mats, handles and knockers the home’s jewelry,” Eilers added. “You want them all coordinated with the facade and in good, maintained condition.”
High impact on any budget
Great curb appeal need not elude thrifty homeowners, insists landscape artist Larry Sarosdy of Landscape Redesign Services.
Sarosdy, who attributes much of his success to great company/ client communication “right from the beginning,” said folks on a budget have oft-overlooked options that, when customized, respect their needs, desires and wallets alike. It’s about proper funds distribution.
“The most critical element is having the design,” Sarosdy said.
Once that’s selected, consider working in phases, paying as you go.
“Foundation work is usually the most expensive part because it’s so labor intensive,” he said. That includes tilling and amending the soil and installation of larger plants . For many, it’s worth the money.
To conserve funds, “work with what you have and blend in the new elements,” Sarosdy advised.
When purchasing new plants choose low-maintenance evergreen perennials that offer colorful leaves and blooms year-round. Decide how long you can wait for a plant to mature, he added. A smaller tree costs less than a larger version, but will have a different visual impact until it grows. Prioritize.
At the home of Lyle and Marilyn Littlewood of Virginia Beach, Sarosdy helped the couple establish a combination of existing and new plants that updated the property they’d re-occupied after 25 years away.
“The yard was in sad shape – and it needed help badly,” Marilyn Littlewood recalled. The house’s L-shape and corner lot presented unique challenges . “We needed professional help on a budget.”
Lyle Littlewood killed a lawnful of weeds and replanted soft grass. The trio pruned existing nandina, daylilies and boxwoods. They framed different elements of the home from different angles.
Near the curb two purple Catawba crape myrtle trees frame the walkway to the front door. Across the lawn, a lower-growing, “treed- up” purple chaste repeats the look. Softening the lot’s corner is a multi-level montage of evergreen “Andorra” junipers; Knock-Out roses (which bloom spring to frost), Shasta daisies, black-eyed Susans, Stokesia and ice plants for spring and summer blooms; and a hedge of chrysanthemums for autumn show. Installed strategically, the arrangement’s as attractive from the front door as it is from the curb, offering what Eilers calls “reverse curb appeal.”
Visual interest builds near the door with gradual heights of variegated and solid evergreens surrounding a specimen red dragon Japanese maple, whose branches weep with lacey leaves of burgundy, tying nearby purples and reds into a picture of unison.
Sarosdy also taught the Littlewoods how to prune and maintain the landscape themselves.
All told, the Littlewoods spent about $5,000 on their curb appeal.
“It set us up for a lifetime of enjoyment,” Marilyn said. “And when people drive by, they tend to slow down and look.”
Nora Firestone, nfirestone@verizon.net
For information about landscape design, free seminars, architectural style guides or to contact Tami Eilers, visit www.mcdonaldgardencenter.com.
Contact Larry Sarosdy at (757) 735-4273, or visit Landscape Redesign Services on Facebook.
Colonial Williamsburg also offers 18th-century-style yard items in its line of decorator accessories, found in several Williamsburg stores and at www.williamsburgmarketplace.com.

Copyright 2010
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