Landscaping is a surefire way to boost your home’s curb appeal. Whether you want to plant colorful flowers or trees around your house’s foundation, your goal is to enhance the look of your home.
When done correctly, landscaping can do more than provide aesthetic value to your house. It can also protect your house’s foundation, adding more years to your home.
On the other hand, improper landscaping can be disastrous to your investment. You don’t want to put your house foundation in jeopardy. Here’s everything to consider to get the best results when landscaping around house foundation.
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What To Consider Before Landscaping Around Your Foundation
Every landscaping project requires proper planning. If you wish to create that landscape you have in mind, here are the factors to consider before starting your project.
Current Slope
The slope around your house’s foundation plays a significant role in determining the natural flow of water. Rainwater can damage your foundation if you’ve not installed proper drainage. Ensure water flows away and not towards your house before anything else.
You can level your soil to address this issue by uprooting any shrubs or bushes where drainage is a problem. Then, fill that area with more soil to raise the level.
Budget
Determine the cost of each item you’ll require when landscaping around the foundation. Whether it’s labor, trees, flowers, drip edges, mulch, or paving features, having a budget will help avoid financial surprises during project implementation.
Where To Place Your Plants
Are you planning to freshen the looks of your front yard, backyard, or around the perimeter of your house?
Most homeowners prefer redesigning their homes with a variety of plants and designs. You should consider where each type of plant and design will fit around your house’s foundation.
Landscaping Style
Not all landscaping styles can match every house foundation. The budget, current yard, and the style of your house will determine which technique you use for landscaping.
Type of Landscaping Plants
The plants you choose will determine the appearance of your house’s foundation. When choosing your plants, consider your climate zone, required maintenance, and the root system.
The best plants to grow around your house foundation include:
- Shrubs: For example, camellia, oakleaf hydrangea, abelia, lilac, arborvitae, juniper, yew, holly, wax myrtle, or cherry laurel.
- Vining plants: For example, periwinkle, ivy, liriope, creeping juniper, and sweet woodruff.
- Ornamental trees: For example, Japanese map, dogwood, redbud, star magnolia, and crepe myrtle.
- Low maintenance plants: For example, stonecrop, catmint, hosta, ornamental onion, switchgrass, false cypress, and rose of Sharon.
Landscaping Ideas Around House Foundation
Here are tips to consider when landscaping around house foundation:
Plant Large Trees Away From Your House Foundation
A serious mistake some homeowners make when landscaping is planting large trees near their house foundations. Large trees and foundations don’t go hand in hand.
While trees can be a great way to offer shade and prevent erosion, their invasive root system can damage your foundation.
Some trees to avoid near your house foundation include:
- Black locust
- American elm
- Black alder
- Willows
- Silver maple
- Norway maple
- Aspens
- Cottonwoods
- Poplars
The root system of these trees can be as large as their branch system. When they grow near the house foundation, their roots will damage it and bring unwanted moisture.
Improve Your Gutter System
Water from the gutter can flood and cause runoff on your foundation. The best way to avoid issues caused by rainwater from the gutters is to direct water away from your foundation.
You can install gutter extensions and underground downspouts to carry water further from your foundation.
Inspect your gutters regularly to clear debris and fix any gaps or leaks. Dirt and leaves can clog your gutters, causing water to overflow and damage your foundation. You don’t want runoff water to erode your slope and reduce the value of your house foundation.
Water Your Property Uniformly
Some homeowners tend to water the landscaped sections and ignore the rest. If you’ve landscaped your front yard or backyard, ensure to water evenly the entire property. Watering one side of your foundation will cause soil to expand on areas watered more often.
When the soil expands on different parts around your house foundation, it may result in foundation cracks. Watering around your foundation ensures the soil stays even and minimizes the chances of foundation cracks.
Mulch Your Flower Beds
Mulching your flower beds is an ideal way to maintain the required moisture, especially during dry times. Retaining water on your flower beds will benefit your plants and the foundation. Excessive heat can cause the soil to dry and lead to foundation movement.
Ensure Your Flower Beds Slope Away From the Foundation
When creating flower beds, ensure they slope away to avoid water collecting near your foundation. Excess water is one of your foundation’s worst enemies. You don’t want moisture to accumulate under your foundation or excess rainwater to cause erosion on your foundation.
Install a Proper Drainage System
A drainage system helps direct excess water away from your foundation. If you have a pre-installed drainage system, avoid planting trees above. Tree roots can damage the drainage system.
Hire a Professional Landscaper for Advanced Designs
If landscaping around house foundation seems overwhelming, a professional landscaper can come in handy. A professional landscaper will inspect your foundation and the slope and recommend the best landscaping styles.
A professional will also make the best use of your money, space, and time to transform your home completely. In the case of any unforeseeable errors, your professional landscaper will see them beforehand and rectify them appropriately.
Final Thoughts
Creating a beautiful landscape around the foundation of your house can be a great way of breathing new life into your home. Ensure you have everything looked into before, during, and after landscaping around the foundation of your house.
When you landscape the right way, you will add visual appeal to your house and avoid landscaping issues that can damage your foundation and cost you a lot to fix. However, if you don’t want to go through the rigorous task, hire a professional landscaper to do the job in real-time.
Hello! My name is Chris, and I am the founder of Yard Floor. When I was a toddler, my family had a lush green lawn. I was at the center of caring for and maintaining this lawn and even proceeded to take an associate’s Degree in landscaping. I am here to share my years of experience with you – be it repairing your mower/tractor or caring for your lawn.
