A Place in the Sun - Landscaping Around Sunrooms

Sunrooms occupy the no man’s land between the indoors and outdoors – and they can wreck your landscaping if you don’t watch out! The room itself may be architecturally stunning and add square footage and value to your home. But, since it is tacked on to your existing house, the surrounding landscape must be changed to accommodate the new structure. This means it’s important to budget for redesigning the ‘scape around the sunroom as part of your building project. Otherwise, the whole area will look lopsided and unfinished.

YardShare Sunrooms

Here’s one YardShare member who’s on the right track. There’s really not any yard space to speak of, so Scott went with basic ornamentals. Crape myrtle grows fast and doesn’t send out a broad root base (so it doesn’t interfere with a building’s foundation). It’s a great vertical addition for very restricted spaces. The flower beds can be extended over time to fill in the areas now covered in gravel.

The sunroom below is located in a somewhat awkward spot at the bottom of a steep slope. Poor drainage and erosion are likely to be a chronic problem for this area. A selection of potted plants on raised pedestals flanking the stairway would be one option for maintaining healthy vegetation that won’t get swamped every time it rains.

Make Your Sunroom Beautiful Inside and Out

With a sunroom that is sealed and climate controlled, remember to add plenty of live greenery inside. As long as the “texture” and color scheme meshes with the exterior landscaping, you can go wild with exotic plants (preferably ones that don’t generate a lot of pollen and that aren’t poisonous). If you have a particularly green thumb, you may find that your sunroom can double as a conservatory.

Courtesy of Lancaster Conservatories