Landscaping Ideas for Your Front Yard

Function

When planting near driveways and walkways, keep a few practical things in mind. Refrain from picking plants that are prickly or thorny, and pay close attention to mature plant sizes so you won’t constantly have to fight branches when getting out of your car or walking to your front door. Boxwoods, large and small varieties, make excellent hedges, and perennials like lavender, catmint, and lady’s mantle are beautiful and well-behaved options. Low, mounding annuals will die back in winter and won’t get out of control.

Design

Symmetrical landscaping styles feel more formal, but even if your tastes run towards the more unexpected, balance is still important. Keep an equal amount of plant material on both sides; if there is a tree and a handful of small shrubs on one side of your yard, for instance, balance it with more significant shrubs on the other. Because your front yard is in use all year, choose plants that provide all-season interest. Incorporate evergreens as well as deciduous flowering shrubs, and plant bulbs for early spring interest. Crabapples and dogwoods bloom in spring and have attractive fruit and foliage in the fall. Red twig dogwood branches turn bright red or gold in the cold months, and spring-flowering kerria’s stems stay green all winter long.

Finishing Touches

Adding fragrance to a front yard is an extra special touch. Try sweet alyssum or Corsican mint between pathway pavers. Don’t forget to tie your house in with your landscape! Flowerboxes and hanging baskets complete a welcoming look. A pair of container plantings flanking the front door draws a guest’s eye directly to the entrance.