New walkway and interesting plants transform curb appeal at this John’s Creek home

After

Soft textured plants and meandering walkway create a welcoming entrance

There are many things to consider when designing a new entrance walkway. Orienting guests, slope of the land, ease of use and architectural style are all very important. The most special entrances, however, are the ones that create an ambiance that reflects the owner's personality thus truly welcomes guests to the home. Given the style of the house, the walk could have been very linear and formal however we chose a more informal design. The owner wanted a much softer and more welcoming look that would incorporate low maintenance Southern color and texture. Tops on her list were old fashioned favorites such as forsythia, gardenia and daylilies.

On my first visit to this home, I was shocked to see that the builder had provided only a stepping stone path to the front door. It was difficult to walk on and completely too small as the approach to this huge front porch. The landing that made the transition between the path and porch was settling and of mismatched materials. This all needed to be replaced.

Before

Before

The goal was to have the existing porch, landing and walk match. Since the porch paving had several issues, we initially planned to redo it plus all new paving in matching bluestone. This became far more complicated and costly due to the manner in which the builder had installed this porch. The contingency plan was then to renovate/refinish the existing porch’s colored, stamped and patterned concrete then match it on the new surfaces. To my surprise, it’s not always easy to match 20 year old architectural concrete! What initially appeared to be a very typical slate pattern ended up requiring an obsolete proprietary tool. An exhaustive search led to a pioneer in the industry who still had the tool needed. The project was underway!

After

I oriented the new, wide meandering walkway so that there would be a view of the front door as guests approached. All grass between the walk and the house was eliminated. A new large bed was added in front of the landing to soften it and to balance the porch. Large French urns were placed on the porch as focal points.

After

Before

After much deliberation, I decided to keep the old clipped ilex bushes because the house really needed the massiveness of these shrubs. Reclamation pruning has begun on these to equalize the heights, remove dead limbs and encourage healthy, interior foliage.

To soften the look, we added 8’ tall forsythias on the corners of the house behind the old shrubs. More softening was achieved by adding daylilies and perennials in front of the old shrubs. We also introduced evergreen Indian Hawthorne ‘Eleanor Tabor’ and Crown Jewel dwarf gardenias with the intent that these shrubs would grow together forming soft masses.

On the left side, we started reclamation pruning on the large sasanquas. We reshaped the one by the chimney, deciding to keep it shrub-form as a backdrop for all the perennials in the butterfly garden. The other sasanqua by the garage was limbed up into tree form.

After

This project is an example of how existing plants can be revitalized and used in a new design that balances the architectural features of a home. If your home is in dire need of a makeover, I will work with you to develop a concept that will achieve your goals. Start the process by completing this short form

Danna Cain, ASLA
Home & Garden Design, Inc., Atlanta
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