Traditionally, foundation plantings were installed to hide the raised house foundations that were popular at the time in some regions. Many no longer feel that foundation plantings are necessary, because house styles have changed (less house foundation to hide).
But there are still some good reasons to use foundation plantings:
- While a raised house foundation may be unattractive, a long uninterrupted wall of vinyl siding isn’t especially appealing, either.
- Foundation plantings soften the hard lines of a house, even one with attractive siding.
- Newly-built homes are sometimes plunked on an expanse of lawn devoid of mature trees. Foundation plantings can quickly counteract this rather bleak look.
- When landscaping in small spaces, you may just plain need the extra space if you enjoy growing a particular shrub!
- Foundation plantings consisting of evergreen shrubs can promote energy efficiency.
In the next landscaping picture, we'll look specifically at landscaping used to focus attention on front-door entrances....
