Front yard landscaping is all about creativity, first impressions, and how you want to welcome guests as they knock on your door. To inspire you, we’ve gathered 17 landscaping ideas for your front yard to spark your creative juices, increase the resale value of your home, and make the most of any slopes and hills on the way to your front door.
Working with a budget? No need to stress: A landscape professional can create a plan that works for you and doesn’t break the bank.
1. UNIFY ENTRY WALKWAYS WITH PLANTING
Fancy a front yard that looks smart year-round but still relaxed and inviting? Then take a low-maintenance front yard landscaping tip from this stunning design by Brinitzer(opens in new tab) and go for predominantly all-evergreen planting. With no hedging or fencing to divide it from the street, the view is uninterrupted leading straight up to the house, and its welcoming porch. ‘We worked with the client of this 1920’s property in Arlington Virginia, a close-in suburb of Washington, D.C. to develop a property-wide garden design that would enhance the newly renovated bungalow,” says designer Scott Brinitzer. “The garden directly in front of the house features a limestone walkway passing through a zoysia grass lawn. As the walk nears the sidewalk, it is bordered by gumdrops of Green Velvet boxwood and dwarf Japanese mondo grass. The simplicity of the front garden, a study in different greens and textures, provides the surrounding perennial with a clean and neat framework that helps the property look tidy no matter the season.’
2. LET YOUR GATE MAKE A STATEMENT
More than just an entryway – the shape, size and style of your garden gate can make a huge statement about your property and design choices. Whether it’s a romantic waist-high picket design or a more commanding Japanese arch, these entry points set the tone for visitors and allow your real estate to really stand out from the crowd. Choose a design to echo your home’s architecture and front yard.
This striking style of Japanese gate or mon traditionally marks the boundary between one world and another, the inner garden being a tranquil and serene space. Set within a dense hedge, the senses are heightened, and expectations raised as to the type and size of garden within, a very different experience to that presented by a more open, ornate wrought iron design or chic and contemporary timber arrangement.
3. CRISP LINES AND SCULPTURAL FORMS
A front yard that sits back within the real estate footprint to create an open courtyard is instantly inviting and deserves a landscape design that will withstand close scrutiny. With ground space limited, a direct pathway to the front door works best but be sure to plan in areas of planting and sensory features to maximize year-round interest and detailing. In this project by Arizona-based Creative Environments the impact comes from the bold simplicity of the water feature and delicate planting. ‘Low plantings showcase the beautiful architecture of this home.
4. PLANT A CLIMATE-PROOF HEDGE
Love the idea of growing a hedge around your front yard, then be sure to choose a plant variety that will thrive before investing both money and time. With weather conditions and climates growing ever more changeable, it’s crucial to find a hedging plant that will not only cope with the soil and aspect of your plot, and look good, but that will withstand a sudden dip in temperatures too. Oregon-based specialists Conifer Kingdom(opens in new tab) share these tips, ‘Cold-hardy plantings that will grow well in Texas are a great way to go. Under the most severe winter conditions, they may experience some damage but can survive and thrive again next year when things finally thaw out! The large cities of Abilene, Austin, San Antonio, Beaumont & Corpus Christi fall within USDA Hardiness Zones 6 – 10 respectively. You can check out the hedges which can withstand the cold of a northern climate but are also able to grow well from the top of Texas down to zone 8, and some even to zone 9. They are excellent alternatives to the strictly southern plantings.’
5. RECLAIM YOUR FRONT YARD FOR ENTERTAINING
More than just a route from A to B, your front yard deserves to be a place to spend time and socialize. Adding a paved seating area covered with a striking sunshade will not only create a sheltered and cozy place to while away the hours with friends and neighbors but makes a stunning feature too. Choose from colonial timber slatted designs, possibly adorned with flowering climbers or to make a more contemporary statement go for a decorative fretwork design in metal. There’s plenty of cool outdoor furniture to pick from.
6. CHOOSE FRONT YARD PLANTING TO ACCENTUATE YOUR HOME’S FACADE
Step back and take time to look at your real estate. How does it appear? What materials and architectural features stand out? How can they be best complemented by plants? Simple observations and noting the color and texture of the main construction can be a huge help when deciding on a planting design. As a rule – as shown beautifully in this project by landscape specialists Creative Environments – the simpler and plainer the façade, the smaller the leaf size and more intricate the plant shapes can be. For more textured and varied materials – such as stone or timber shingles or shakes – stick to shrubs and trees with larger leaves. The design team explain, ‘Here low plantings showcase the architecture of the home with greenery and artificial turf. The design concept and installation are deliberately simplistic to bring out the home.’ Extra height and drama was added by planting some of the ficus columns in pottery urns.
7. Plant a Tree (or Two or More)
A tree is a treasure your family can enjoy for generations, and it can add significant value to your home. Trees can also be a great center showpiece option in the yard. Grow a shade garden below its branches, set up a cozy bench, or spruce it up with flower beds.
Trees in the yard will become home to wildlife and provide pollution control and fresh air. A mature tree will absorb more than 48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year.
8. Flower Beds
Designing flower beds for your front yard is a great way to express your personality and creativity with a pop of color. Flower beds can add gorgeous texture, color, and fragrance to your garden ideas, and luckily you have plenty of flowers to choose from.
If you love pops of bold colors that add an energetic vibe to the landscape, go crazy with bright yellow and stunning reds. You could also add a bright flowering shrub to fill large areas with some extra color.
Your flower bed can include a variety of plants, including perennials, annuals, seasonal bulbs, grasses, and vines. Don’t have room for a bed? Place container plants around the front porch.
Consider experimenting with different plant heights and flower bed shapes and sizes. Turn your flower bed into a welcoming space with stone pathways, allowing you to walk through your flowers and enjoy their beauty up close.
9. Mulch
Mulch can make your flower beds burst with color, and provides excellent weed control. Cover up exposed tree roots and unsightly weeds stealing the show from your roses.
Mulch can be an aesthetically pleasing and textured ground cover for your garden, flower beds, trees, and shrubs.
You have plenty of mulch types to choose from to add color to your front yard landscape. Mulch prevents erosion, retains moisture, and adds nutrients to the soil, not to mention it’s a great low-maintenance garden design option.
10. Edging
Landscape edging highlights the separate spaces of your lawn. If your yard has flower beds, walkways, evergreen shrubs, or garden beds, then edging around these spaces with stone, brick, or short hedges can help accentuate them in the landscape.
Edging helps to hold mulch in place after heavy rains, protects your plants from sharp mower blades, and keeps turfgrass from invading your garden areas.
Short hedges or low fences can help direct visitors to parts of the flower garden you wish to show off. Edging also can keep guests away from areas you want to protect, such as a freshly planted garden space.
11. Landscape Lighting
After working on your landscape design, you naturally want to show it off. Not just during the day, but also at night.
Landscape lighting will make your hard work sparkle after the sun goes down and have your guests asking how you created such a beautiful front yard. It can accentuate your home’s architecture, provide security in your secret garden, and illuminate your stunning trees, shrubs, and flower beds.
12. Window Boxes
Installing window boxes can add instant curb appeal to your front yard landscape. Window boxes add charm to any exterior window and give you an exceptional view of your favorite flower right from the inside.
Window boxes can provide the front of your home with an instant splash of color and cover up any scuffs and scrapes that stick out like sore thumbs on your windows.
13. Water Feature
A water feature in your front yard is a great visual interest that greets guests with calmness and tranquility. And you benefit, too.
Sit on your front porch with the morning coffee and listen to the relaxing sound of trickling water. Natural water features can closely resemble the surrounding outdoors, such as waterfalls, water gardens, or streams.
Formal water features, including symmetrical fountains, can offer elegance and unity to the front lawn.
Interested in attracting more wildlife to your lawn? Natural water features like ponds, water gardens, or a bog garden will attract plenty of animals. Add a koi pond and enjoy watching these colorful fish as you relax at the water’s edge.
15. Trellis
A trellis can add charm and elegance to the yard, especially when you grow self-climbing plants. Place the trellis against your front home’s exterior wall, near the front door, or against the entrance fence.
A wall of climbing roses or hydrangeas will have your guests swooning before you show them the rest of your front yard. A trellis full of climbing ivy can also be an effective solution if you need privacy or a sound barrier.
16. Rock Garden
Rock gardens are an excellent idea for homeowners who don’t like the strenuous regular maintenance of a flower bed. These low-maintenance, drought-tolerant gardens are great for hot and dry areas that don’t have the typical sun, water, and soil requirements for most gardens.
Rock gardens can be as straightforward or as complicated as you want. You might decide to include some succulents in your rock garden or add some painted stones to give that extra bit of color. Regardless of how you decide to make it, your rock garden is sure to draw the eyes of your neighbors.
17. Fencing
Something that might seem very simple can be the addition your front yard needs. Whether you’re after the traditional picket fence, a privacy fence, or the wrought iron fence, there’s something for everyone to choose. And something that’ll add to every front yard.
When homeowners consider putting up a fence, the first thing they think of is the cost. Despite the simplicity of most fences, they can be pricey. The price will vary depending on who puts the fence up and what kind of fence you want. Fence prices usually range from $1,330 to $5,550 with an average cost of $3,440.
Getting Started
Time to turn your front yard landscape design into an art piece that even Van Gogh would want to paint. You’ve got the vision, you’ve got the budget, and you’ve answered your burning questions. The only thing left to do now is deciding if you’ll be doing the work yourself or hiring help.
DIY
Landscaping doesn’t always need to be done by a professional, though it sure can help. DIY landscaping can be a fun and rewarding process and save you quite a few pennies.
If taking on a landscaping job yourself, planning and research are essential parts of the process. Without a detailed plan, you could end up spending more time and money. Proper research helps you ensure the choices and decisions you make regarding your landscape are smart, suitable, and safe for the surrounding environment.
