Avant Yard: 20 front yard Don'ts
- by Diane Rixon on Jul 18th 2008 3:00PM
- gardening and plants, landscaping, Avant Yard
Your front yard doesn't have to be perfectly manicured or professionally landscaped to look good. It is, however, your public face -- of sorts. Plus, your neighbors are forced to look at whatever you put out there! Be a good neighbor: banish the following items from your front yard.
1. Plastic foliage. I'm talking anything you got from a craft store. Like this, for example. Plastic ivy. Faux dried sunflowers. Silk chrysanthemums. Plastic wreaths. Fake autumn leaves strung into streamers. Shudder.
Plastic flowers are tacky in the garden. They're unnecessary. After all, you have Mother Nature at your disposal! Why choose fake flowers? Finally, they evoke the cemetery. Enough said.










Bamboo is fast becoming one of the hottest green flooring materials. Why green? There are at least two reasons. First and foremost, it's sustainable. If you've ever had any in your backyard, you know how hard it is to contain. Even worse if you don't want it, but it's an under-the-fence gift from a neighbor!
Our fabulous sister site, 

Standing rainwater in your yard poses a serious problem. It can lead to cracked slabs and basement damage, and it can serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes. This situation happens when the lawn isn't graded properly; it's even worse when your neighbor sits on higher ground. But it doesn't have to be that way: installing French drains solves the problem.









