About Curb Appeal
By Ken Lain, The Garden Guy

A home should make you feel good when you drive up to it. A home whose every angle is visible from the street gives an open feeling and strategically placed plant color conveys a warm sense of welcome. Some homes have front landscapes with zero curb appeal. It doesn't take much to figure out why some homes just don't sell even though they are priced right. They’re the houses with bedraggled junipers engulfing the entry, that are overwhelmed by red-tipped photinia that looked good before they grew to 12-foot masses, or that have untended cypresses overpowering roof lines.
Simply clearing out old landscape plants and replacing them with younger, more vibrant specimens can make an amazing difference to the visual appeal of any home. Maybe all that’s needed is the addition of a few window boxes, the zing of colorful annuals to established containers, or a new welcome mat at the front door. Flower color is especially important if rock is the only front lawn color. With rock lawns so prevalent in Yavapai County color is essential to break their monotone effect, and it doesn't take a lot of color to do so.

I like the work of Common Ground Landscaping so I interviewed lead designer Marc Vetere to ask his definition of curb appeal. "Curb appeal”, said Marc, “is that feeling that makes you smile when you come home. Exactly what that something is differs depending on the home and owner, because different elements can trigger that feeling in each of us.”

The greatest challenge for most of my garden center customers is where to begin. Marc’s solution to this issue is simple. "Having a plan is important. Then you want to make sure visitors know where your front door is, and work on drawing people toward that focal point."
The entrance is an important part of a home’s curb appeal. It defines visitors’ entire experience from the time they pull into the driveway until they pass through the front door and, just as importantly, their last impression as they leave. At our home I created an outdoor foyer to welcome visitors and then directed attention to the front door with strategic placement of a bench and some potted plants. I like to think I’ve created the feeling of having arrived at a resort.

Trees are meant to frame, accent, and draw visitors to a part of the yard. However, because trees can become huge, they are the most misused plants in many landscapes. If they’ve grown to block the front entrance, impede a vista, make it difficult to get down the driveway, or encroach on the roofline it's time to relocate them or break out the chain saw.

Shrubs are the celebrities of any landscape and just like celebs they look their best when they are young. So, as time passes and plants lose their vibrancy, some should be removed from the landscape and replaced with younger, newer shrubs. Roses are a classic case in point. Young rosebushes bloom better, becoming less productive as they mature. A rose gardener knows that fresh new roses should be added each year to keep the garden looking its best. Not only roses but every expanse of shrubs in the landscape also benefits from this tactic.

I love to entertain friends and family so I make sure something is always in color in our backyard. Guests who visit our home seem to gravitate to the backyard. The setting I’ve created with perennial flowers, carpet and knockout roses, plus lots of colorful container gardens, simply put, is irresistible. Twelve months out of the year my back yard presents an inviting, seasonally changing beauty.
You can create the same allure in your own yard. If you don't know how, ask for help. Bring an 81/2 x 11 photo of the project to your favorite garden center and let its designers guide you in accomplishing your objectives. Each day garden center staffers enjoy spending most of their time providing this kind of assistance. It is a huge benefit to DIY homeowners and is absolutely free. It is a wise gardener who takes advantage of local gardening expertise.

My summary of all this advice is to focus on the front door, move to the back patio or entertainment areas, then work your way down paths and driveways. Focus on one project at a time or you may become overwhelmed physically and creatively. Always have a completed garden project, no matter how small, that you can look back on for encouragement.

Don't forget that my radio program has changed stations and now airs at an even better timeslot. "The Mountain Gardener" is on every Saturday from 11 to noon on KQNA 1130AM. I am really pleased with the positive response to last week’s show, the first at this new time. Listen in and let me know what you think of the new format.

Until next week, I’ll see you in the garden center.

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