If you've bought a mobile home in a crowded mobile home or RV park, you know you're not going to be able to add a huge lawn or lots of landscaping. But even if all you have is the strip of dirt right around the home, you can add plants and features that make the lot look gorgeous. If you don't have much to work with, you have to plan carefully and aim for a combination of cosmetic and practical landscaping.
Frame the Sides of Windows
One way to make the home look less like a structure plunked down on a lot and more like a long-term dwelling is to frame the larger windows with shrubs. Leave smaller ones alone; shrubs could quickly overtake those. But if you have large picture windows on the end, for example, put shrubs at least on either side, if not also along the bottom of the window.
Don't Hide the Entire Skirt
If you have an older mobile home that has a skirt covering the bottom, don't hide the entire skirt behind shrubs and trees. It's too easy for part of the skirt to crack (just as siding on a home can crack, so too can the skirt on a mobile home) and let animals crawl in under the home without you knowing until the animals have multiplied and set up a neighborhood of their own. If your home's skirt has vents, leave those uncovered, obviously, and keep shrubs and other plants (including those framing the windows as mentioned above) at least a few inches from the skirt.
Start That Tree if You Have the Space
As mobile as mobile homes can be, many are set on permanent foundations, meaning you have to take tree root length into account. If you find you have the room for a tree, though, plant one as soon as you can. The shade provided by the tree will help keep the mobile home cooler in summer, and the tree itself could raise your home's value.
Perennial Frames, Annual Spotlights
If you want to have a flowerbed, frame the area with perennials, and use annuals to fill in the center of the bed. Not only will the perennials cut down on the replanting work you'll have to do, but they'll also provide a constancy that goes a long way toward making that house feel like a home.
You're not limited to having a concrete garden or a few containers tossed on a small porch if you own a mobile home. Have a landscaping company come by and suggest plants for each side of the house -- and don't forget rock gardens, either -- and you'll have a tidy lot in no time. Contact a company like L & L Excavation & Landscaping for more info.
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