Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Nov 24, 2008 9:30 pm Ok please everyone don't laugh at my lame photobucket attempts. I would have just drawn all this on by hand but I don't have a scanner, so had to make do with my terrible photobucket skills.
We are trying to work out what to do with the front yard. A bit of background info: We want to fence the whole front off, and will have a remote control gate system opening the driveway gates. Then a little pedestrian gate next to that with a high latch. (We don't want the pedestrian gate to go in line with our front door as we don't want to split the front yard in two.) The fence will be stained horizontal timber slats in between vertical wooden posts in Woodland Grey. On each side of the driveway will be a brick pillar - one housing the letterbox. So we have two options for the pathway - right next to the driveway and leading up to the verandah, or cutting through to lead up to the front door (the bit in between the path and driveway would then become garden). Here are my lame pictures to help explain. The driveway is outlined in the picture. Green bits - brick pillars Purple dots - Woodland Grey posts - timber slats running horizontally in between Mustard lines - rough pathway red - front door path to verandah Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ path to front door Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ So I have two questions: 1. Which would look best? 2. What should they be made of? If we do the pathway to the front door, it would probably be done in the same material as the driveway (which is still undecided), but if we do the path NEXT to the driveway, I would want something to differentiate it to the driveway as a path, so need ideas here. Here is my facade which may help. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I hope this has not been too hard to read and that you all can help me. thanks in advance! Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 2Nov 24, 2008 9:50 pm I think option a, but bring the door side of the path a little closer to the door, to make sure you have enough paved area. Perhaps if you got a stencilled driveway, you could stncil the path a different color? Adrian B Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 3Nov 24, 2008 9:55 pm thanks Adrian for understanding my post first of all! And not laughing at my drawings.
Do you mean, make the path a little bit wider? We are thinking of either coloured concrete or exposed agg for the driveway, so I guess we could get a slightly different colour for the path? Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 7Nov 25, 2008 8:45 am thnaks Fu. Funny I was beginning to prefer option 2... but I guess option 1 is the most practical? I am also thinking if I do option 1, will just extend the driveway out and make the path bit part of the driveway. I don't think I want ot introduce another concrete colour.
I wonder how else I can visually segregate the path bit from the driveway bit? Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 8Nov 25, 2008 9:33 am I have to say, I'm with you donuts. There's something always a bit weird to me about the entry to the house being via the driveway. I mean, it always looks quite effective and it's ultimately probably cheaper, but I get what you're saying about visually separating the two.
Does the entry point of the pathway HAVE to be with the driveway? I think your second option would be good if it wasn't curved towards the driveway... But then, option 2 could look really good depending how you plant it in too. PS I really love the bricks you've chosen on the outside - they look great! Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 9Nov 25, 2008 9:38 am thanks karol. So you would prefer option 2, but with a straight path to the pedestrian gate in line with the front door? Maybe we should do this. Originally we didn't want to split the front yard in two and have two piddly bits of grass either side of the path, but I am sure there are other nice things we could do instead of that...
I saw your front yard dilemma too karol, sorry I have no good ideas. It's so hard isn't it!! Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 10Nov 25, 2008 9:42 am I started writing before but didn't want to confuse you so I didn't post!
I really think straight in front of the front door will be much much nicer than either of your two options, I think it would look lovely to have a gate with a straight path to your front door. Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 11Nov 25, 2008 9:56 am donuts thanks karol. So you would prefer option 2, but with a straight path to the pedestrian gate in line with the front door? Maybe we should do this. Originally we didn't want to split the front yard in two and have two piddly bits of grass either side of the path, but I am sure there are other nice things we could do instead of that... I saw your front yard dilemma too karol, sorry I have no good ideas. It's so hard isn't it!! mine is hard because it's someone else's mess to fix and I don't know anything about landscaping! I see things in my head, but really have no idea how they'll look when done.. and also limited funds due to the tenants continually refusing to pay their rent... Yes, I think Rachelle's point is what I was trying to get at. Hrm, I get what you say about the splitting of the yard into two.. but you wuold have put some kind of garden in option 2 anyway.. I guess? Could that be extended down or would that be weird? Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 12Nov 25, 2008 10:01 am thanks Rachelle, I am already confused!!
DH really wants artificial turf in the front yard, but we both really don't want the 2 piddly circles of grass as mentioned above. If I do have a path straight to the front door, what interesting things could I do with the 2 separate sections it would make? Put grass on one side maybe, and just a great big garden bed on the other side? Would that look unbalanced? I have no clues about this stuff... Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 13Nov 25, 2008 10:06 am The thing is though how often will you enter any home from the road? It will almost always be from visitors getting out of the car at the driveway. The only folks who generally enter from the road would be hawkers Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 14Nov 25, 2008 10:15 am True Fu, but for us, we will probably use the garage for one car plus storage, so the other car will probably always be in the driveway. So visitors will have to park on the street and enter like hawkers
Actually I just thought of something - the gate I want (because there will alwyas be a car in the driveway) - will have to be one of those slide across behind the rest of the fence ones - which means I probably can't have a pedestrian gate next to driveway gates - which probably makes my decision for me (ie a centre pedestrian gate) I wish I wanted no gates! Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 15Nov 25, 2008 11:55 am hmm I don't think the grass areas would be that piddly, I'd do grass on either side of a center pathway... but if one car will often be in the driveway will you also need a path from the driveway to the porch? sorry! Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 16Nov 25, 2008 12:48 pm What about usung pavers or a "stepping stone" type of path from the centre, straight to the door so that you don't have a solid line breaking your yard? These could be set into the grass. Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 17Nov 25, 2008 1:04 pm Don't forget to put some 50mm pipes in the ground under the drive and paths for irrigation pipes and any cabling for garden/driveway/path lighting, water features, intercom, gate release, you may want/use in the future.
My 2c worth is I'm not a fan of multiple gates/entrances so I'd have the path running from the driveway. Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 18Nov 25, 2008 1:28 pm Rachelle hmm I don't think the grass areas would be that piddly, I'd do grass on either side of a center pathway... but if one car will often be in the driveway will you also need a path from the driveway to the porch? sorry! ok, so if I do grass on either side, where do you think should I put some garden? Withiut making the grass piddly? And yes you're right, I'd need a little path from driveway to verandah -- if we go this way I'd just get the driveway concretor to add a little extra bit there, no worries artstitches -- thanks for the paver suggestion, we will consider that too I just wondered if it would be hard to mow in between them, then I remembered we were planning fake grass LOL! kiwi - always good with the electrivcal suggestions, thank you! But where would I plug it all in? I have no outdoors powerpoint there's heaps in the garage though, would that be feasible to run the cable from there? Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 19Nov 25, 2008 1:39 pm donuts kiwi - always good with the electrivcal suggestions, thank you! But where would I plug it all in? I have no outdoors powerpoint there's heaps in the garage though, would that be feasible to run the cable from there? You're welcome. There are several methods depending on what you end up using/wanting to do. You can get weatherproof powerpoints installed with remote switching from a convenient place or via a time clock, sensor and or daylight switch, or alternatively get a weatherproof junction box installed for connecting to a low voltage weatherproof transformer for low voltage lights/pumps etc. Having some conduits under your driveway & paths ensures that if you desire to install any of this at a later date it makes it relatively easy. You'll find once you live in your new home, all sorts of ideas start to evolve, not all of them feasible or affordable mind. Re: Front yard - driveway/pathway options - advice? 20Nov 25, 2008 2:05 pm But where could I put a weatherproof powerpoint now that all the bricks and stuff are there? Or a junction box?
Is conduit just a long tube for cables to be passed through? If so, could I just put it in under the driveway empty, and stuff cables through there later when I decide what the heck I'm doing? (Have I just repeated what you told me to do kiwi?) thanks again! A person needs to be licensed to offer financial advice. Surely the accountant you use would have been chosen for his/her expertise in this field. Have you asked your… 1 6681 there should be ss cable so you can pull up bore pump for service 1 3118 can someone with more experience give me their insight? land is pretty much flat its pretty much at the top of a hill. left and right neighbours are flat in line with my… 0 7445 |