Front Yard Landscape Ideas Using Native Wildflowers

Landscaping for the Front Yard

• Your front yard's landscaping should reflect your personal style, make sense in the regional landscape, be tailored to the space, and take into account the yard's intended uses. Observe existing architecture as well as lighting, water and soil requirements when choosing plants for your yard. Plan the use of your space, including pathways, porches and patios, before choosing plants to suit the remaining greenspace.

Front Yard Uses

• In general, front yards are a rarely used space, though some architectural arrangements provide a central pathway from the garage or driveway to the front door. Front yard space is generally more formal and less utilized than backyard space. To create an inviting and manageable landscaping design, consider adding a patio space for entertaining, create an inviting walkway lined with border plants, and consider dividing the lawn into multiple spaces -- some open green lawn, combined with wide swaths of beds planted with low-maintenance varieties. Use native plants for classic, regionally appropriate and easy-to-cultivate landscaping solutions.

Landscaping with Native Wildflowers

• Native wildflowers can be big and showy or small and delicate depending on species, as the space and your tastes require. Each region of the country will be home to different varieties of native wildflowers. Use online native plant finders to search for wildflowers native to your area that meet your specific needs. As an added benefit, you'll be caring for the larger landscape by using plants that have an established place in the ecosystem, rather than introducing potentially problematic or invasive species.

Native Wildflowers for the Front Yard

• Native wildflowers, once established, rarely need fertilization, pesticides or watering. For formal but rarely used front-yard spaces, the hardy nature of these plants and the wide variety of plant and flower forms makes native wildflowers ideal for landscaping. For more inviting, heavily utilized front-yard spaces and patio areas, selection of cottage garden-style wildflowers can create less formal, more inviting and still hardy and traffic-resistant landscaping elements.