You can tell a lot about a person’s home by their front yard: their tastes, sensibilities, and even their penchant for hospitality.
A uniquely appealing and well-maintained front yard speaks of the man who values his environment and the home upon which it resides, a man who is always the first to open his door to guests and let them share in the splendor.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need an around-the-clock groundskeeper to obtain the kind of yard that makes a passerby slow down and applaud the view.
From simple topiary creations to garden plots, the immaculate front yard needn’t be a laborious goal. With some basic planning and a clear idea of the effect you wish to make, you can turn your front yard into a personalized paradise in no time. Landscaping lights, frond pond fountain installations, and bordered paths all lend a nuanced botanical beauty that will elevate your home to a whole never level. Visitors will no doubt take their time strolling up to your door, while warm evenings will all but beckon you out front to bask in what you’ve curated.
Just as a barren or unkempt yard speaks volumes about who resides within, a lovingly tended-to front space reflects a man of both taste and poignant homeowner values. You want to show off your palace against the best kind of backdrop, and these scene-stealing front yard landscaping ideas will no doubt draw more than a few admirers.
Front Yard Landscaping Ideas
For a low maintenance front yard landscape, consider hardscaping by using slate blocks complemented by greenery like alpine firs, conifers, and pine. A clever solution for drought prone climates.
Front yard landscaping ideas work beautifully with steps as a focal point. Combined with edging the look is clean, crisp, and oozes curb appeal.
A scalloped shape stone walkway surrounded by perennials in autumn shades creates a dynamic landscape. The slow growing conifers and alpine plants beautifully enhances this front yard’s overall curb appeal.
This stunning front yard landscape design is the ultimate in curb appeal. A mix of hues are complemented by evergreens like spruce trees, arborvitaes, and pine.
How Can I Make My Front Yard Look Nice?
The first thing visitors and passersby see is your front yard and we’ve all seen some duds at one time or another. Nothing’s worse than a home that uses their front yard like a back yard that’s used as a junk yard!
An unkempt front lawn with grass that hasn’t been mowed, that’s turning brown and littered with junk, is a landscape that’s seen better days.
It’s a disaster of a display and will decimate any curb appeal that was once there. However, after issues are rectified, you can once again add attractive landscape essentials to your front yard and make it acceptable and aesthetically pleasing once more.
First Things First
Prior to transforming the appearance of your front yard, be sure to contact the homeowners association. However, depending on where you live, this type of organization might go by a different name. If there is no homeowners association that you need to report to before making changes to the exterior of your home, you’re in the clear to do just about anything you want. All within good taste, of course.
The Investment and Budget Factor
Your front yard’s curb appeal is one of the most important factors when it comes to the resale value of your home. Even if you don’t plan on selling, there’s no excuse not to maintain the appearance of your home’s front yard. After all, you get to enjoy it too. Think of the time and funds you spend to create a decent front yard as an investment. What’s more, boosting your front yard’s curb appeal can be accomplished on any budget. For example, features like a curved illuminated pathway or flowerbed can increase the visual aspects of the front exterior of your home on a shoestring budget. Just keep the design easy on the eye by incorporating straightforward concepts.
Tips on How to Make Your Front Yard Look Nice
Here are 10 front yard landscaping concepts to boost the curb appeal and attractiveness of your home.
1. Get Your Lawn In Order
A lavish green lawn is illustrative of a well kept front yard. If your front yard lawn is something you plan to tackle by planting fresh seeds, select a grass that is compatible with your environment. For instance, some climates have less rainfall than others. In this situation, choose a variety of green like Buffalo grass, that can withstand long periods of drought.
2. Complement Your Lawn With Plants
Choose a variety of plants that blossom during the different seasons so that your curb appeal is vibrant throughout the year. If all your flowers blossom concurrently, the result may be beautiful; however, during the rest of the year, your landscape will look dull.
Select foliage like evergreens and perennials like Rozanne geraniums that bloom from mid-year till late fall. Be sure to take into consideration the style of your home.
For example, English lavender and ornamental grass are perfect for cottage style homes. Colonial style homes work best with plants like bird’s nest spruce and mountain laurel.
3. The Appeal of Edging
Edging can revamp your front yard by creating distinctive areas for shrubs, mulch, flower beds, and plants. Edging around the border of your home’s foundation or driveway, will also boost your front yard’s curb appeal rather quickly. Edging will also prevents weeds and other unattractive elements invading flower beds. The visual aspects of your front yard will remain tidy and attractive throughout the year.
4. Use Lighting to Highlight Walkways and Objects
Natural light by day, artificial light by night. Lights play an important role in landscape attractiveness. Illuminate walkways, steps, unique shrubs, and focal points.
5. Hardscape Your Front Yard Landscape
If you plan on repaving, broadening your driveway, or adding a pathway – known as hardscaping – do that first before adding shrubs and flowers. This is advised because the foundation of your curb appeal begins with hardscaping. Afterwards, plant vibrant green plants for added texture and beauty.
6. Create a Rock Garden
Rock gardens are practical, especially for regions with little rainfall where plants have less of a chance of staying healthy and green anyway. Mossy rocks, boulders and even shale rocks which are available in a variety of colors, are especially effective.
7. Getting Rid of Weeds
Weeds are unattractive and always pop-up where you don’t want them. The best thing to do is to get rid of them quickly as they can ruin even the mostly beautiful landscape. Unfortunately, if you’re eco-friendly, weed killing concoctions might be an issue for you as the most potent weed killers are frequently the most unsafe.
8. Trimming Loose Ends
Bushes, trees, and other kinds of shrubbery can make your front yard look stunning, but it’s hard to see their gorgeousness when they’re not trimmed. Keep hedges neat, trim annoying tree branches, and remove any annoying crawling vines. This is easily a DIY project; however, if you don’t have the time, hire a professional to do the job on a regular schedule.
9. Maintain Functionality
You may want your front yard to look beautiful, but if you cover the walkways with too much shrubbery or have problems getting into your garage because of awkward tree branches, you’re going to have to scale back so that you can maintain the functionality of your front yard.
10. Artificial Grass Anyone?
Hey, don’t hate. Artificial grass is convenient, especially if you live in a region with little rainfall. Just think, mowing the lawn would be a thing of the past. In addition, you will save on your water bill too. Artificial grass will make your front lawn unappealing to dogs and other nocturnal animals and look fresh and green all year round.
What Type of Tree Should I Plant In My Front Yard?
When it comes to trees, it’s best to take a slow approach. Making a hasty decision could lead to years of regret. Why? Trees are large and immobile. So once it’s planted, it takes root, and well, that’s it. Some trees blossom every year and provide beautiful blooms. While others are messy and leave rotting fruit and other unwanted substances on your front lawn. Therefore, it’s best to take your time, check for trees that suit your landscape ideas, and go from there.
Making the Right Choice
First, ask yourself this very important question: Why do you want a tree. Is it for privacy, beauty, shade, the fruit it bears each year, to block your neighbors view into your bay window?
Additionally, trees grow at different rates and you may want to take this into consideration when making your tree selection. Slow growing trees are in the hardwood family and outlive, many other tree varieties. Fast growing trees tend to be smaller, have delicate wood, and shorter lives.
There are two types of trees and shrubs: Evergreen and deciduous. Evergreen trees and shrubs remain green throughout the year like pines and southern magnolia. Deciduous flora lose their leaves in autumn and remain bare throughout the winter season.
Integrate trees in the proper climate so that they can thrive. For instance, small or medium sized trees complement small front yards. Plant small trees closer to your home and taller trees further away to keep the landscape view balanced.
Popular Front Yard Trees
Ornamental Trees – Ornamental trees are ideal for small front yards. They are predominately cultivated for their aesthetic appeal and bloom beautiful flowers that give off a pleasant aroma and colorful foliage.
Callery Pear – This is a fast growing tree that blooms white flowers during springtime and brilliant foliage during the fall. The strongest varieties are Chantideer and Aristocrat.
Camellia Japonica – Japonica’s are evergreens and great for small yards. This gorgeous timber blooms stunning, luminous flowers, and perennial blooms that provide color to your front yard landscape. They’re low-maintenance as well.
Venus Dogwood Tree – Dogwoods provide large, expressive flowers each spring and red foliage and berries during the fall. Part of the deciduous family, Dogwoods can grow up to 20 feet vertically and horizontally and thrives in partial sunlight.
Red Buckeye – Striking red flowers blossom in early spring and even hummingbirds love this extremely drought tolerant tree. Buckeyes are ideal for wildlife vegetation.
Tulip Tree (Little Volunteer) – The Tulip poplar was well-known on southern plantations. People loved to plant them near their homes so that passersby could admire their yellowy flowers. It’s great for both large and small yards.
Slender Hinoki False Cypress – False Cypress is an evergreen tree and appropriate for any yard size. The arched hanged tip branches create an opulent ambiance. This type of tree is a great focal point and suits most front yard landscapes.
Fastigiata Spruce – Great for small yards, Fastigiata needles have the standard blue spruce hue and are lovely to look at. Branches are simple to cut making it easy to maintain their slender shape.
One More Thing
Every tree has unique aspects and specific needs important to its survival. Many thrive in rich, wet, woodsy acidic soil. Others flourish in drier more alkaline soil. Choose trees that suit your environment and they will provide beauty and value to your front yard landscape.
