The Art of Foundation Plantings

Foundation plantings are essential elements that tie a house to its surroundings, creating a harmonious transition between architecture and landscape.

Much like interior decorations complete a room, these strategic plantings complete the exterior appearance of a home. “A new home without an effective planting is almost as incomplete as the interior without the draperies or the pictures on the walls.” Neither is absolutely necessary for physical comfort, but both are needed for complete mental enjoyment and aesthetic satisfaction.

Foundation plantings should be installed as soon as construction of the house is completed to immediately establish the visual relationship between the structure and its site. This initial landscaping investment pays dividends in both property value and visual appeal from the earliest days of occupancy.

Principles of Effective Foundation Plantings

Simplicity is Key

The most successful foundation plantings embrace simplicity rather than complexity. Many landscapes are compromised by the desire to include too many plant varieties, resulting in what resembles “a botanical collection rather than a landscape garden.” Select fewer plant types but use them thoughtfully to create cohesive designs. A successful foundation planting might use as few as six carefully selected shrub varieties to achieve a harmonious effect, as demonstrated in many well-designed Colonial entrances.

Create Variety and Harmony

While simplicity matters, variety and harmony in shrub selection are equally important. Choose plants that blend well together to form a unified mass effect while still offering visual interest through different heights, textures, and seasonal characteristics. The texture of the twigs – whether coarse like Physocarpus or fine and glossy like Spiraea Van Houttei – makes a significant difference in the overall appearance, particularly in winter when deciduous plants have shed their leaves.

Consider Contour and Form

The form of the planting deserves careful attention. Create visual interest by placing taller shrubs at house corners and flanking entrances, then filling remaining spaces with lower-growing varieties. When planning such a border, it’s advisable to draw both a plan showing the shapes of the masses on the ground and an elevation showing the heights or sky line. As a rule, the greatest thickness on the plan will correspond to greater height in the elevation. This varied silhouette prevents the monotonous “hedge-like effects” that should be avoided in foundation plantings.

Design Pleasing Bed Outlines

Shrubs should be planted in thoroughly prepared and fertilized beds with pleasing outlines. Long, smooth curves generally create the most attractive bed edges, avoiding straight, rigid lines that create an artificial appearance. The bed outlines should complement the architectural style of the home while creating a natural transition to the landscape.

Design for Year-Round Beauty

Select shrubs that provide interest across all seasons:

• Spring and early summer flowers (like Persian lilac, flowering almond, and pearl bush)
• Attractive summer foliage (such as Aralia pentaphylla and English privet)
• Brilliant autumn leaf coloration (including sumac, witch hazel, and barberry)
• Colored bark and persistent fruits for fall and winter (snowberry, Indian currant, high bush cranberry)

Consider Maintenance Requirements

The spaded beds should be kept cultivated during the growing season until the mass of shrubs occupies the entire area. This ongoing care ensures healthy establishment and prevents weed encroachment. Plan for maintenance access and consider the mature size of plants to minimize pruning needs.

Recommended Shrubs and Planting Distances

When selecting plants for foundation plantings, consider not only their aesthetic qualities but also their mature size, growth habit, and spacing requirements.

The following recommendations from the source document provide a solid starting point for both tall accent shrubs and lower facing plants.

Tall Shrubs (3-5′ spacing)

• White kerria (3½’) – Excellent for flanking entrances
• Aralia pentaphylla (3′) – Provides good textural contrast
• Spiraea van Houttei (3½’) – Offers cascading white flowers in May and drooping habit
• Regel’s privet (3′) – Dense foliage with good year-round structure
• English privet (3′) – Adaptable to various conditions
• Persian lilac (4′-5′) – Fragrant spring flowers and reliable growth

Low Shrubs (2-2½’ spacing)

• Japanese barberry (2′-2½’) – Excellent facer, provides vivid autumn red color, red berries persist through winter
• Snowberry (2′) – White berries provide winter interest
• Indian currant (2′) – Also known as coralberry, with persistent colorful fruits
• Spirea Anthony Waterer (2′) – Summer blooming with deep pink flowers
• Deutzia gracilis (2′) – Covered with dainty white flowers in spring
• Spiraea callosa alba (2′) – White summer flowers and compact habit
• Stephanandra flexuosa (2′) – Fine texture, good for facing taller plants

Trees and Accent Plants

For larger properties or to create architectural interest:

• Betula populifolia (Gray birch) – Small tree useful for immediate height (4′-6′)
• Acer Ginnala (Tartarian maple) – Small tree to 20′, with red stems and fall color
• Salix pentandra (Laurel-leaved willow) – Dark glossy foliage, useful for quick screens (5′-6′)
• Cornus mascula (Cornelian cherry) – Very early yellow flowers, red fruit

Hedging Options

Several shrubs mentioned in the document make excellent hedges:

• Japanese barberry – Best for low hedging along paths and driveways
• Buckthorn – Hardy, tall-growing, and dense when properly pruned
• Arborvitae – Superior evergreen option for windbreaks or privacy screens
• Multiflora roses – Excellent flowering hedge where formality is not required
• Privet – Versatile and reliable, with newer forms being more cold-hardy than the California variety

Planting Techniques and Seasonal Considerations

Bed Preparation

Foundation plants should be arranged in thoroughly prepared and fertilized beds with pleasing outlines. Long, smooth curves generally work best for creating natural-looking transitions. The specific planting distance varies by species (as noted below). Proper soil preparation is essential for the long-term health and vigor of the plantings.

Planting Season

Autumn is the generally recognized ideal season for deciduous shrub planting. “Bushes set then become thoroughly established before any demands are made upon them by the growing season.” This head start allows roots to develop during the dormant period, preparing the plant for vigorous spring growth.

However, spring planting can be equally successful if done “as soon as the ground can be worked.” With proper timing and technique, there is no reason for failure with spring planting, making it a viable alternative when fall planting isn’t possible.

Ongoing Maintenance

Maintain cultivated beds during the growing season until the plants fill the entire area. This cultivation keeps weeds at bay, conserves moisture, and promotes healthy root development. As the plantings mature, the need for intensive maintenance will decrease as the shrubs naturally suppress weed growth by shading the soil.

Design Approaches for Different Settings

There are several distinct approaches to using deciduous trees and shrubs in landscape design, each suited to different property types and aesthetic goals.

Suburban Settings with Definite Bed Lines

In suburban landscapes with clipped grass, foundation plantings require definite bed lines where shrubs present an unbroken line of green that visually connects with the lawn. Such plantings need careful arrangement with attention to height, form, and texture of the mass, keeping individual features subordinate to the overall effect.

The inner margin of massed shrubs should have varied contour that “half reveals, half conceals” enticing glimpses of the landscape. This technique makes the property appear larger than a uniform border would, as the latter would allow the entire vista to be “perspected at a glance.” When planning such a border, draw both a plan showing the shapes of the masses on the ground and an elevation showing the heights or sky line.

A comprehensive plant palette for this approach might include:

• Small trees for immediate height (Gray birch, Tartarian maple)
• Flowering accents (Hybrid lilacs, Double pink flowering almond)
• Structural shrubs (Van Houtte’s spiraea, Pearl bush, Japanese bush honeysuckle)
• Ground-level interest (Fragrant dwarf sumac, Japanese barberry)

Country Settings with Woodsy Plantations

For country properties, a more informal, woodsy approach works well, using mingled trees and shrubs. This style can be adapted to suburban or large city properties but requires skilled execution to maintain the desired informal appearance without looking unkempt.

In this approach, trees are set close together as they would naturally grow in the wild, even though this might hinder their optimal individual development. Rather than creating an unbroken wall of foliage, the effect is “more mixed, twiggy, and open, with deep shadows and leafy undergrowth.”

No definite bed line is desirable in this style, though the transition between turf and shrubbery presents maintenance challenges. In truly rural settings, allowing grass to grow long around plant bases looks appropriate. In more maintained settings, wild violets can be used to “luxuriantly clothe the bare soil, and quite choke out all undesirable undergrowth.”

Formal Architectural Applications

Shrubs and small trees can also be used architecturally in formal gardens. Options include:

• Close hedges of Lombardy poplars (15′ high) as screens
• Luxuriant green masses of honeysuckle and syringa at the sides, pruned to encourage dense growth
• Fine-textured plants like Stephanandra and Spiraea Van Houttei contributing to the garden’s frame
• Service entrances concealed by arching privet
• Flowering accent trees such as pink crabs, cherries, standard lilacs, or white dogwoods
• Edging of low-clipped Japanese barberry hedge, with higher Spiraea Van Houttei accents at corners

Both Japanese barberry and Spiraea Van Houttei are “very amenable to clipping,” making them excellent choices for formal settings. Japanese barberry is particularly useful “in regions where box is not hardy, and where an evergreen edging is too expensive or slow growing.”

Integrating Existing Site Features

Good architecture always takes into account the existing features of the site, particularly noble trees. “If those features happen to be noble trees, then half the beauty of the finished picture is already accomplished.” In some cases, it may even be advisable to alter house plans rather than destroy significant trees.

Southern Colonial homes exemplify this principle. This architectural style “requires the immediate presence of large trees and the approach of broad lawns” to achieve its full aesthetic potential. By preserving existing mature trees, the home immediately benefits from an established, dignified setting that would take decades to create with new plantings.

Foundation Planting as a Unifying Element

The primary goal of foundation planting is to tie the house to its site, creating a visual relationship between structure and landscape. “The great aim of foundation planting is to tie the house to its site.” With thoughtful design and appropriate plant selection, these plantings soften architectural lines, anchor the home to its surroundings, and enhance the overall aesthetic appeal of the property.

By avoiding rigid, straight-line arrangements and embracing the natural forms and seasonal changes of well-chosen shrubs, homeowners can create foundation plantings that truly elevate the appearance of their homes while providing year-round beauty and interest.

Interior Extensions of the Garden

Indoor garden spaces can further extend the connection between home and landscape through sunrooms and conservatories.

These spaces can feature:

• Ivy on wall lattices of various sorts
• Decorative pots and soil containers as design elements
• Wall fountains and tiny pools for aquatic plants
• Heather varieties and other flowering plants like Acacia Drummondii

These indoor garden spaces extend the connection between home and landscape throughout the year, particularly valuable in regions with harsh winters or extreme climates. Wall fountains and tiny pools add immensely to sunrooms where their use is possible and fitting. Besides permitting the growth of aquatic plants, the water itself helps keep the air moist for other flowers.