Best 12 Ideas of Foundation Planting Beds

While there are quite a few ideas of how to hide the ugly foundation, you may prefer a foundation planting that not only hides an otherwise unattractive foundation but also enhances your home, makes it more welcoming.

Consisting of trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, and ground covers, foundation beds create a soft transition from the hard vertical architecture of a home to the terrain of the earth. Otherwise, it will be abrupt and jarring. With imaginative and harmonious foundation planting plans, the front of your home can become a dynamic garden space to be enjoyed.

You need to pay attention to the following points when planning your foundation plantings:

#1. Choose the right plants according to your home’s architecture and and overall style, such as, sheared shrubs are ideal for formal homes while casual plant schemes look better with cottage-style homes.
#2. Consider combining perennial flowers(tulips for spring color, hydrangeas for summer and mums for rich fall color.) with evergreen shrubs for year-round interest.
#3. Is your front house shady or sunny? Selection of foundation plants should consider needed light requirements as well.
#4. Avoid positioning tall plants along the front of the home, as they obstruct the house. Their right position is corners of your home.
#5. Avoid choosing plants with too strong root systems. They will cause damage to the house foundation, resulting in a leaky basement.

5 Low-Maintenance Foundation Plants for Enhancing Your Home’s Curb Appeal：

#1. Catmint – a perennial plant that thrives in full sun and poor soil. Cut it back after its first round of blooms for even more flowers throughout the summer. ‘Cat’s Pajamas’ grows 12-14” tall; ‘Cat’s Meow’ grows 17-20” tall. Both are perennial in zones 3-8.
#2. Ornamental Onion – ‘Serendipity’ is a popular choice with blue-green foliage and rosy purple, 2” globe-shaped flowers in mid to late summer. This perennial thrives in full sun to part sun in zones 4-8.
#3. Hosta – an easy solution for shaded areas, comes in various sizes. ‘Wheee!’ is a medium-sized, variegated hosta that grows 11-18” tall and matures to 28-30” across. Perennial in zones 3-9.
#4. Juniper – a low maintenance evergreen that easily withstands extreme cold, all-day sun to part sun, drought, air pollution and black walnut trees. It grows 2’ tall and 3-4’ across and is hardy in zones 2-7.
#5. False Cypress – for a shade and deer-resistant option, try Soft Serve or Soft Serve Gold (6-10’ tall) or Pinpoint (15-20’ tall with a 5-6’ diameter at the base). Soft Serve is hardy in zones 4-8; Pinpoint grows in zones 5-7.