In the 2025 Southern Living Idea House, located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, the front entry garden tells a story of elegance, structure, and timeless Southern style. At the heart of that story is Babylon Beauty™, used masterfully to frame the home’s welcoming entrance and anchor its layered foundation plantings.
This thoughtful design is part of a larger vision brought to life by an exceptional team: developer Molly Hardie of Keswick Real Estate, builder Allan Pettit of Alexander Nicholson, architects Julie Dixon and Keith Scott of Rosney Co. Architects, interior designer Charlotte Moss, and landscape architect Eugene Ryang of Waterstreet Studio. Together, they’ve created a modern Southern homestead that feels both gracious and enduring.
Designed by Waterstreet Studio, the landscape reflects the charm of the region, with Babylon Beauty providing the refined, evergreen structure that ties the space together across all seasons.
Why Babylon Beauty™ Boxwood Works for Front Entries
Front entry landscapes demand more than just beauty; they require consistency, structure, and year-round appeal. That’s where Babylon Beauty™ shines.
With its compact form, dense evergreen foliage, and tolerance to shaping, this variety offers a clean, formal look without the disease risk of traditional boxwoods. In the 2025 Southern Living Idea House, Babylon Beauty™ is used to:
- Define the front edge of the porch
- Frame stone pathways and central staircases
- Provide a crisp, evergreen layer beneath seasonal bloomers
Its natural symmetry and moderate height make it ideal for foundation planting, while its blight resistance ensures it continues to look polished year after year.
Layered Beauty
In the Idea House design, Babylon Beauty™ is part of a sophisticated layered planting palette that balances evergreen strength with seasonal softness. Here’s how it all comes together:
- Foreground structure: A continuous row of Babylon Beauty™ defines the porch and walkways with clean lines and sculpted form.
- Mid-level color: Behind the boxwoods, Sweet Starlight™ and White Wedding® Hydrangeas bloom from summer into fall, adding fullness and vibrant white color.
- Textural accents: Lower-growing plants like Autumn Bride Heuchera and Japanese Windflower soften the edges and add movement with airy late-season flowers.
- Vertical contrast: Diamond Spire® Gardenias in containers near the stairs lend height, fragrance, and evergreen elegance.
- Seasonal balance: Native Serviceberry trees add vertical interest and multi-season appeal with spring flowers, edible berries, and rich fall color.
Design Takeaway: Foundation Planting That Lasts
The secret to a successful front entry lies in structure that performs through the seasons, and Babylon Beauty™ delivers just that. Its dense foliage and adaptable growth habit make it a natural choice for layered planting schemes that need to look great from spring through winter.
Whether you're upgrading your home's curb appeal or planning a full landscape renovation, consider Babylon Beauty™ provides dependable structure, blight resistance, and elegant form.
Shop the Featured Plants in the Front Entry and Foundation
Better Boxwood® – Babylon Beauty™
Want the look of the 2025 Southern Living Idea House? Start with Better Boxwood Babylon Beauty™—the foundation of timeless curb appeal and resilient, year-round structure.
👉 Explore the Better Boxwood varieties and get inspired by the full 2025 Southern Living Idea House landscape.