Skip to content

Top Navigation

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Food
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • Home & Garden
  • Style & Culture
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living Books this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Southern Living

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • The Most Popular Hairstyles of 2021

      The Most Popular Hairstyles of 2021

      The trendy haircuts you’ll be seeing everywhere this year. Read More
    • How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      Learn how to season this Southern kitchen staple in five easy steps. Read More
    • The Right Way to Heat a Pre-Cooked Ham

      The Right Way to Heat a Pre-Cooked Ham

      It's so easy, trust us. Read More
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food
    How Long Do Deviled Eggs Last in the Fridge?

    How Long Do Deviled Eggs Last in the Fridge?

    Best practices for dealing with deviled eggs
    • All Food
    • All Recipes
    • Holidays & Occasions
    • Quick Fix Suppers
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Casseroles
    • Healthy Recipes
  • Holidays & Entertaining

    Holidays & Entertaining

    See All Holidays & Entertaining
    70 Wedding Vow Examples That Will Melt Your Heart

    70 Wedding Vow Examples That Will Melt Your Heart

    Fight writer's block and find ways to express your love with these romantic, funny, and short wedding vow examples.
    • Christmas
    • Entertaining
    • Thanksgiving
    • Southern Weddings
    • Easter
    • Kentucky Derby
    • Valentine's Day
    • 4th of July
    • Mother's Day
  • Home & Garden

    Home & Garden

    See All Home & Garden
    30 Containers for Covered Porches That Will Thrive in the Shade

    30 Containers for Covered Porches That Will Thrive in the Shade

    Some containers have all the sun. These shady planters, though, are having plenty of fun sans sun. We’ve gathered all of our favorite shade-loving containers to inspire your planting this season. If you have a shady yard or want to perk up a shaded spot in your home, at your front door, on your porch, or around your patio, put together a pretty shade-loving container that’s also easy to care for. Plants like caladiums and creeping Jenny will thrive in the shade, and they’ll also add great color and movement to your planters. If you’re looking for the best plants for the shade and great flowers that thrive in shade, also reach for impatiens, coleus, sweet potato vines, mazus, vincas, torenias, violas, petunias, pansies, hellebores (Lenten roses), hostas, astilbes, and trilliums. They look great and will thrive in full to partial shade. Shade-loving flowers aren’t too hard to find. Ask around at your local garden store, and you’ll be able to locate the ingredients and put together any one of these shade-tolerant container ideas. Also, in regards to your container, don’t forget to think vertical. We love pots and planters, but a hanging basket is another great option, as is an elevated planter, which will make a statement and take advantage of any vertical space.
    • Home Decor Ideas
    • Idea Houses
    • Before & After
    • Inspired Communities
    • Curb Appeal
    • House Plans & Builders
    • The Grumpy Gardener
    • Plant Names A-Z
  • Style & Culture

    Style & Culture

    See All Style & Culture
    70 Cute and Funny Nicknames For Your Best Friends

    70 Cute and Funny Nicknames For Your Best Friends

    Let your besties know how much they mean to you with these unique nicknames.
    • Southern Culture
    • Hair
    • Travel
    • Beauty
    • Pets
    • Southern Fashion
    • Healthy Living
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living Books this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

LIVE
  1. Southern Living
  2. Gardening Ideas
  3. Landscaping Ideas
  4. How Landscaping Added Instant Charm to this New Birmingham Home

How Landscaping Added Instant Charm to this New Birmingham Home

By Grace Haynes
April 28, 2019
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet
Birmingham, AL Front Yard Garden with a White House
Credit: Robbie Caponetto
Shapely hedges, bold pathways, colorful plantings, oh my.
Start Slideshow

1 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Birmingham, AL Manicured Garden Design

Shapely hedges, bold pathways, colorful plantings, oh my.

1 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Best Yard on the Block

Birmingham, AL Front Yard Garden with a White House
Credit: Robbie Caponetto

Make it different from every other one on the street. That was the only guideline the owners of this newly built Birmingham-area home gave to landscape designer Todd Dorlon. Brooke Oser and her husband, Allen, bought the house when it was still under construction because they wanted a blank slate. “That’s what attracted us to it. We could basically start from scratch,” she says. Dorlon relied on smart plantings to bring the exterior to life: Climbing roses add instant character to the new white-brick house, and sculptural boxwoods frame the yard from different angles while providing year-round structure. He dialed up the curb appeal by placing key focal points up front, like vibrant flower beds and a diamond-patterned bluestone walkway. Read on for six ways to make your yard say “Come on in.”

2 of 8

3 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Work Toward the Curb

Brimingham, AL Garden Curb Appeal
Credit: Robbie Caponetto

Symmetrical flower beds positioned near the street pop against the all-green backdrop. “I didn’t want everything plastered along the foundation of the house. That was one way I made this yard different,” Dorlon says. Manicured boxwoods balance the wilder shapes and heights of blooms in the beds. Layers of white-and-purple salvias, Joseph’s coat, white lantanas, purple fan flowers, Cuban oregano, and pink angelonias create a wave of splashy color. A pea gravel driveway suits the front yard’s garden effect better than dark asphalt would have.

3 of 8

Advertisement

4 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Wow With a Walkway

Diamond Stone and Grass Walkway in Birmingham, AL Garden
Credit: Robbie Caponetto

How do you catch the eyes of passersby? Design a welcoming path. Dorlon pulled inspiration for this diamond-patterned one from an existing exterior feature. “The house has a bluestone sidewalk and steps at the front porch, so I used that material in a different configuration here to match those but still look unique,” he says. Two stone orbs signal the entrance from the street, and ‘Emerald’ zoysia grass defines the stones’ checkerboard pattern. Along with being a statement maker, the path is “fun for the kids to hop around on too,” Oser says.

4 of 8

5 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Grow Your Home’s Character

New Dawn Climbing Roses over Front Door of Birmingham, AL Garden
Credit: Robbie Caponetto

“This was a brand-new house, so the vine was a quick way to soften its look,” Dorlon says. ‘New Dawn’ roses climb over the front door and up the sides of the bare white brick. This selection does call for frequent pruning, but Oser doesn’t mind at all. “These roses are like my babies,” she says. Low-maintenance, round American boxwoods and aged urns filled with seasonal white plumbago lend some additional interest to the entryway.

5 of 8

6 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Create Boundaries

Birmingham, AL Garden Side Gate with Shrub Fence
Credit: Robbie Caponetto

Dorlon kept privacy top of mind when outlining the Osers’ compact lot. Instead of building a heavy fence here, he opted for a natural barrier, planting a dense row of ‘Emerald Green’ arborvitaes. These evergreen shrubs grow into neat, narrow cones that don’t take up much ground space. This fast-growing, easy-care hedge requires sheering only once a year to maintain its shape.

6 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Fill Every Inch

Birmingham, AL Garden Espalier and Window Boxes in Back Yard
Credit: Robbie Caponetto

Much of the backyard’s design caters to the Osers’ young children with a big, open grassy area, but that didn’t cramp Dorlon’s vision. He utilized empty spaces to add decorative details, such as the apple tree espaliered onto the house with wire and screws. (Pick a leafy spot on the branches for attaching the wire so it’s hidden from view.) Oser likes
to sneak additional spring color into the window boxes.

7 of 8

8 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Carve Out A Lush Alley

Side Yard Walkway with Endless Summer Hydrangeas in Birmingham, AL Garden
Credit: Robbie Caponetto

Treat your side yard as more than just a connecting area, and fill it with the right plants. Dorlon relied on a few foolproof favorites for this shady spot. He ran a row of ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangeas along the side of the house and accented a plain wooden fence with espaliered camellias. He also paved the walkway with bluestones to bridge the front and the back.

8 of 8

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Grace Haynes

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 8 Birmingham, AL Manicured Garden Design
    2 of 8 Best Yard on the Block
    3 of 8 Work Toward the Curb
    4 of 8 Wow With a Walkway
    5 of 8 Grow Your Home’s Character
    6 of 8 Create Boundaries
    7 of 8 Fill Every Inch
    8 of 8 Carve Out A Lush Alley

    Share options

    Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

    Login

    Southern Living

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • About Us
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Books from Southern Living
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Sitemap

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Other Meredith Sites

    Other Meredith Sites

    • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
    • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
    • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
    • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
    • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
    • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
    • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
    • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
    • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
    • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
    • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
    • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
    • Health this link opens in a new tab
    • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
    • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
    • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
    • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
    • More this link opens in a new tab
    • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
    • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
    • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
    • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
    • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
    • Parents this link opens in a new tab
    • People this link opens in a new tab
    • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
    • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
    • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
    • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
    • Shape this link opens in a new tab
    • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
    • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
    • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
    MeredithSouthern Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Southern Living is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab All Rights Reserved. Southern Living may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.southernliving.com

    View image

    How Landscaping Added Instant Charm to this New Birmingham Home
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.