How to Design the Entryway to your Property

An Asian Designed Entry

The first introduction anyone sees of your house and home is the entryway to your property. You can set the mood for your landscape and your home depending on how you design that entry. Here are some ideas to get your imagination working.

Instructions

1. 

   Keep it simple with a few carefully positioned pots. If you have a nice doorway, you will want plants to augment the door, not compete for attention. Try pots that blend or contrast with the house colors and avoid those that clash.

2. 

   Set the mood with a Southwestern theme. You can construct a wall or archway that introduces the theme of a landscape. A white picket and lattice entry would herald an informal country garden while big, rounded piers with ropes looped around them might make a wonderful entry for a nautical theme.

3. 

   Make it formal for a formal styled home. It can look contemporary, traditional, or any other version of a formal style. Keep structures clean-cut and balanced rather than random.

4. 

   Create a welcome with a powerful focal point. Make a gate that is a piece of art or makes a strong statement. Or build pilasters that catch the eye to stand sentry on either side of the entry.

5. 

   Use decor for a rustic effect. Or catch the eye with a bold fountain or statue. Make sure your chosen focal point does not overwhelm the whole landscape or house, but also design it so it is sufficiently attention-getting and doesn't get lost. Boulders can be effective for this use, especially when several rocks of different sizes are grouped. If you use an eye-catching focal point like this, make sure to follow through the theme in the rest of the garden so there's continuity.

6. 

   Use color to perk up an otherwise bland exterior. Sometimes simple works best. But simple can also look bland. Try adding a spark of bright color to liven up a simple entryway.

7. 

   Blend in the feel of your house design with the entry landscape. Then use a path or roadway that leads the eye up to the front door. One way to do this is to reiterate colors, materials or textures used in the house itself and incorporate them into driveways and paths.

8. 

   Create a venerable old feeling. You can go old traditional with an ivy covered wall or trellis, or snag some decorative antique-looking pots for a Tuscan feel. Try weathered wood and worn stone and create archways or gates to welcome your guests to your home.

9. There are many more ways to design an entry to your property. Even small properties can be gated, fenced, walled or offer arches to create privacy while presenting an inviting exterior. These are just some ideas to get the imagination working. You can make even a plain house look dramatic with just a few well-placed plants and structures. So, have fun designing the entry to your property!

Resources

• Gates & Croft Horticultural Design Ideas & Info.