Warm welcome: a few thoughtful landscape additions make guests feel more at home.

It was already an inviting and comfortable residence, this Hazlehurst home of Jackie and Nancy Thompson. Its location was at the end of a street, on secluded acreage, yet less than half a mile from Jackie's Pharmacy. The property was pretty: softly rolling terrain and tall, swaying trees. The house was perched on high ground overlooking the front yard, with even higher ground behind. It was truly a perfect situation.

But the Thompsons had lived there for some time. Their two girls were getting older, and some of the things about the home that had worked before no longer seemed quite right.

So the couple set out to make some changes. Though I am a landscape architect and was admittedly working out of my field, I made suggestions on the house itself. So did others, and soon, with the merging of ideas, the Thompsons made a few interior improvements that breathed new life into the house. Pretty they were, but though the space had been rearranged, sheer square footage had not been increased and the accommodation capability for overnight company had not been improved.

Nancy and Jackie ingeniously solved this problem by constructing a 1,000-square-foot "getaway house" in the woods north of the main house. Though it was but 100 feet away, the cottage seemed remote and offered the same feel as a weekend home in the country. It was an ideal place for overnight guests to stay.

All was indeed working out, except for one thing: the house and grounds offered no proper welcome to visitors. When guests drove up, the only place to park was just outside the garage--and that was only if the girls weren't home. If there was room to park, the walk to the front door was utilitarian at best, with no special experience offered.

I presented my thoughts on the situation to the Thompsons, and they gave me the go-ahead to explore ideas. Surely, guest parking was needed, but equally important was creating a better link from the parking area to the front door--a strong visual and physical tie to the already attractive entrance to the house.

The final solution was simple. A glimpse of a two-car parking area would greet the approaching visitor. Its material would be dark gray stained concrete, and it would be tightly surrounded by core plantings made up primarily of azaleas. Shade from the nearby trees not only would subdue the concrete but also would allow for the planting of delicate impatiens in the spring and summer. Fast-growing river birch trees were planted on the west side of the parking area to quickly provide even more shadows on this spot while also offering protection for more azaleas and impatiens.

From the parking area, a walk of the same muted material would gently curve its way to the front door, reinforced by Carissa hollies on one side and azaleas on the other. The gentle upward slope would further enhance the newly formed tie to the gaslight-framed door, thus completing the connection to the residence.

With this, the invitation to the Thompsons' warm and pretty home was complete. Parking became easy for friends and daughters' boyfriends alike. The linking walk provided a truly pleasurable experience. The beckoning front door was accented and framed. The house's welcoming arms were truly outstretched.

Carter Brown is a landscape architect with GardenWorks in Ridgeland.