Not Every Foundation Needs To Be Hidden
This homeowner has taken the past few years to restore and upgrade this house. You can see the newer fieldstone foundation where an addition was made.
This is real stone, just like the original foundation, and should darken in color over time to match.
A new detached garage was added just past this part of the house.
By keeping the driveway in line with the new garage entrance, the result was a narrow planting area between driveway and house.
We knew this result from the early planning stages, but relaxed with the notion that the exposed fieldstone foundation is quite nice and not something that needs to be hidden.
In our area we do have our share of concrete plastered foundations, and these certainly should be disguised and softened with plantings.
But there are those foundations done in brick, stone and other decorative materials that are part of the beauty of the home. This is where plantings should complement and not hide.
Plant Size Is Ultra Critical In Tight Spaces
Of course I’m talking about the mature size of the plant and not what it is when you buy it at the nursery.
So do your homework and as you consider all the design aspects in choosing your plants, know what these plants will do in the years to come. Don’t build high maintenance and obsolescence into your designs.
In this foundation planting I used Fastigiate Boxwood as the upright evergreens, Sarcococca as the low evergreens, Liriope, and Astilbe. All should mature nicely in this space with little maintenance.
Also, one thing to note, we used drip-irrigation in this narrow planting space to overcome any concerns about coverage and any overspray from above-ground spray heads.