Looking to bring your garden to life or to create a beautiful new one from scratch?
Lee Gray from Lee Gray Landscape Design is here to help. With more than 20 years experience in the industry, and countless unique designs to her name, Lee has a wealth of knowledge for both first-timers and experience renovators.
In this piece for Place Journal, Lee focuses on the importance of the perfect garden entrance.
First impressions are important and it’s no different when designing the entrance to your property. A warm, friendly, and inviting front entrance introduces visitors to your outside living areas and sets the ambience of your home.
The initial engagement with a property is about drawing the visitor off the street and orienting them within the garden. A simple, but effective, idea is to recess the entrance gate from the footpath.
Incorporating stepping stones and tiles will welcome and guide visitors from the street entrance to your front door, while also providing a clear transition between public and private space.
The position of stepping stones should match the stride and pace of any visitor, while allowing at least two people to walk side by side.
SEE LEE GRAY'S WORK AT PENNY'S PLACE HERE
Once inside the garden, plantings and paths should be designed to allow easy navigation of the property. Hedges may guide visitors around certain features, while paths should intuitively direct visitors through the garden.
For gardens with level changes, steps with a gentle riser of 150mm are incorporated into the layout.
Including lights to illuminate pathways is another way to add that wow factor to your entrance and impress your guests while also adding a sense of safety and security.
Finally consider your street verge as an extension to your home. Exiting a vehicle onto a lush surface of green offers a very impactful first impression, while an inviting pedestrian gate with a clear and easy to see house number and intercom will help visitors feel at ease when arriving.
Avoid obscuring the frontage with heavy, thick foliage. Instead, frame your home with well-proportioned trees that showcase your facade and give the impression your home is open and inviting.
A LEE GRAY PROJECT: FRAMING THE HOME
The following showcases a beautiful, renovated Villa where the aim was to frame the home while creating a lush, green expanse of lawn and gardens.
There is a wide welcoming entrance path, drawing visitors towards the front door through a large lawn and layered garden.
Natural stone paving tiles are introduced into the gardens from the threshold of the property. The pedestrian gate is offset from the council pathway, bringing visitors onto the property while waiting for the homeowners to respond to their arrival.
Once in the property, the eye is drawn toward the stunning alfresco area toward the rear while also inviting you through the calm and tranquil front garden.
There is interest at every level from Dichondra running between pavers, paths framed by Buxus spheres to Crepe Myrtle flowering overhead.
For more of Lee Gray's work, and how to get in contact, visit the website here.
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