As a homeowner, you most likely understand the importance of maintenance. From washing the exterior siding and repairing lost roofing shingles to cleaning the interior regularly, these tasks will all improve the look and function of your home. One area that many homeowners fail to make a priority is their landscaping. Good landscape design can increase your home's value between 5.5 and 12.7 percent, making it a great investment. Of course, knowing what changes and updates to make to your landscaping can be challenging. This guide will offer a few smart ideas for landscaping your front yard.

Love Your Lawn

A healthy and appealing lawn is one of the most important parts of the landscaping in front of your home. If you have a lawn established, consider showing it some love. Be sure you are applying herbicide to control and prevent weeds and fertilizer to ensure the grass and underlying soil are strong and healthy.

If you have struggled to grow grass, invest in sod installation for the most efficient establishment of a lawn. Choose the right type of sod grass for your yard and local climate for the best lawn possible.

For example, if you live in a warm climate or your front lawn is exposed to full sunlight, install Bermuda sod or another warm-season grass. If you live in a cooler area or your yard has a lot of shade, install a cool-season grass, such as fescue.

Walk the Walk

Another great addition you can make to your front yard landscaping is to install a functional and attractive walkway. The walkway should connect the driveway to your front and side doors, giving you and guests a surface to safely walk on. However, the walkway can also be an appealing hardscape that enhances curb appeal and adds value to the home.

Many people choose to use the same material used to construct their driveway. Therefore, if your driveway is concrete, you may want to use concrete for your walkway. On the other hand, your walkway can be made out of a completely different material. Flagstone, for example, is a good option for your front walkway because it will complement concrete or asphalt driveways well.

To add even more appeal to your front landscape, consider designing the walkway with more curves instead of straight lines and angles. Also, flowerbeds filled with small shrubs and flowers along the walkway can be a great way to add color and texture to your landscape design.

Light Up the Darkness

Landscape lighting can also improve the curb appeal and total value of your home. Most homeowners are surprised to learn there are many ways to illuminate their landscaping and home's exterior than just with simple porch lights. Some recommend incorporating 3 different types of lighting into your landscape: ambient, task, and accent.

Ambient lighting consists of the traditional light fixtures usually installed on the exterior of your home. Also, lamp posts and hanging lights on porches would be classified as ambient lighting.

Task lighting would provide you with light while completing tasks. For example, task lights would be light fixtures along walkways, lights around a deck or patio, and even security lights.

Finally, accent lights do exactly what you would expect them to do – they accent different areas of your home's exterior and landscape. Consider uplights in the flowerbeds directly in front of your home. Also, spotlights and focal lights that illuminate parts of the home, trees, flowerbeds, and water foundations would be considered accent lights.

Enhancing the front landscape of your home does not have to be challenging. This guide will help you start updating your landscape design, curb appeal, and home's value.

Reach out to a landscape design company to learn more.