Buying a home in this day and age is super expensive. In fact, most younger people have surrendered themselves to the idea of never owning a home in their lifestyle.
But for those of us who are fortunate enough to make enough to afford both the downpayment and the monthly costs of owning a home, it’s common to want to make use of every single square foot of our property.
And yes, that includes the front yard!
Drive through any suburb and you’ll come across lots of different front yards in varying conditions. Some are completely neglected and run down, while others look absolutely beautiful. You might see an attractive arrangement of flowers lining the sidewalk of a lovely family home–or you might see their trash strewn across the driveway with broken bits of glass and a toppled garbage can.
Look, we’re not going to judge how someone chooses to treat their home, but we think it’s pretty acceptable to assume that most people want to make their homes mildly attractive. It’s not for anyone else’s sake either–we just don’t want to come home after a rough day at work and be forced to tip-toe over garbage and overgrown foliage just to get to our front door.
Aside from coming home to a beautiful property, there are also a number of other benefits to taking good care of your front yard.
Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/-dcznEJPmsk (CC0)
Treat your front yard like a living space and not just a random patch of grass
Some people genuinely get annoyed at the idea of mowing their lawn. They think to themselves something like “I hate mowing the lawn, it’s just annoying upkeep for something I never use!”. That’s respectable. After all, who wants to spend time maintaining something they never use? But that there is the problem–people rarely ever use their front yard these days!
Stop thinking of your lawn as just a random patch of land that separates the sidewalk and your home. Instead, think of the opportunities you have to turn it into something special. Transform it into an extension of your home and treat it like a living space.
Put up some chairs and a solid table and you’ve got yourself a lovely place to relax when the weather is good. Got kids that like to play? Set up some yard games like a basketball hoop or some giant dominos. You’d be surprised at some of the cool and creative things that people get up to on their lawn!
Just make sure that you consider safety too. After all, you can’t really have your kids playing in the front lawn if there’s no fence. Some people like their privacy too, which is why they build nice big fences around their property to keep prying eyes away. You probably wouldn’t want someone staring at you while you’re relaxing in the living room, so make sure to protect your privacy in outdoor living spaces too.
Beat the heat with some strategically-placed foliage
Some people revel in hot summer weather, others simply stop functioning when their body gets too hot. If you’re in the latter camp, then you’ll love the idea of using strategically-placed foliage to create some shade for your home.
Get yourself a tree service or position plants so that they actually cover your home. This will shield your property from the blazing sun and make the insides cooler and more bearable.
Just keep in mind that if you’re going down this route, you really need to maintain those plants so they don’t grow out of hand. The last thing you want is for rodents to climb up trees parachute down onto your roof for easy access to your attic. Similarly, you don’t want overgrown shrubs to creep over your fences and make your front yard look like a rainforest with the insects and all!
It takes a bit of planning to make an attractive front yard that also doubles as natural shade, so get on the phone to some local landscapers and ask if they can help you with the design.
Want to be more sustainable? Start growing stuff!
The idea of growing your own food at home is becoming really popular–and not just for people trying to live a more sustainable lifestyle! Growing your own food is a pretty cool idea that doesn’t take as much effort as you think.
Simply plant some seeds, water it regularly, and just wait for the food to magically appear. If you’re in it for the long term and know you’ll be living in the same house for a while, then you could plant some trees that drop fruits and nuts as well. It’s going to take a couple of years before you see any fruits though, so make sure you take good care of your new fruit trees if you want free food!
If you want to make use of your front yard and turn it into a farm, then you’re gonna need some fencing around it to keep pests away and a bit of basic knowledge. We won’t lie–it’s going to take some research and you’ll need to carefully watch your crops for months before anything exciting happens. You can make things a bit easy with planters, but it’ll limit what you can and can’t plant because of space issues.
For those that are really serious about growing their own produce and living a more sustainable lifestyle, you’ll want to do a little soil testing to see if the ground around you is rich in nutrients. We can’t delve too much into the topic in this basic article, but we recommend checking out some urban farming YouTubers or picking up some books about farming in your front yard.
Just keep in mind that this stuff gets complicated fast and you’ll have to dedicate a lot of time to it. But if you stick with it, you’ll be printing free fruits and vegetables that just taste better than anything from a supermarket.
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