• Leaving options open for future landscape development
• Ensuring orderly and unique appearance
• Masking existing eyesores
• Directing traffic to proper entrance
• Containing costs
  

This shed was somewhat of an eyesore, but the unsightliness was not the biggest issue. The main problem was that, when approaching the residence, the visitor's eye was drawn to the shed. The focus of the visitor experience became the shed, rather than the house.

If there's one thing homeowners don't want, it's people staring at the shed longer than they look at the house!

So, how did we deal with this issue? The shed was painted gray, to help it blend into the woods. However, we didn't depend on the change of color to do the trick. We also built an earthen berm (a large mound of soil) and planted inkberry holly on it. This holly is a good choice, as it provided year-round color through its dark green leaves. It has the elegance of boxwood, but without the unsightliness and yellowing caused by psyllids (pests that generally bother boxwoods).

Unhindered access to the shed was maintained, through a ramp behind the berm. Now the shed is easily accessible and blends in with the surroundings (we extended the woodland to encompass the shed, rather than putting the shed in the woods). Wild blueberry plants were also added to the berm to more completely integrate the shed into the forest edge.