Landscaping Ideas With Perennials for the Front of House

Formal Design

• A formal front landscape design begins by considering the architectural features of the house. For example, if you have a two-story entry with a large front door, you may want to select columnar shaped trees that accent the tall entry such as columnar Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens). Because the entry is important in formal design, choose evergreen perennial shrubs or trees.

  Use the line of the house to provide the basis for the design, moving outward from the entry. Shrubs should become progressively shorter as the line moves from the tall entry shrubs to the corners of the house. Perennial shrubs that you can shape easily to maintain a formal appearance include boxwood and holly. Add perennial flowering plants in front of the shrubs for color, such as azaleas, phlox or hydrangeas.

Cottage Garden

• A cottage garden uses nature as its model. Plants vary in size, texture and color, much as you would find in a forest or meadow. The landscape design for a cottage garden begins at the structure and moves outward toward the street, using curved lines for flower bed borders. Stone walkways, trellises and arbors invite visitors into the area. Select native plants for your area that bloom at different times of the year to ensure that the area always has colorful blooms.

Walkways

• Follow the line of your front walkway with a border of perennial flowers. For a narrow landscape area along the sidewalk, choose low-growing border plants such as coreopsis or daisies. For larger areas along the path, choose colorful perennials, such as some of the many varieties of day lily or salvia. Lower growing border plants can be added on the walkway side or both sides of the bed.

Shade Areas Under Trees

• Clearing an area beneath a large tree offers a location for perennial flowering shade plants. A perfect circle or square-shaped bed matches a formal design scheme, while an irregular or curved bed fits into a natural or cottage garden style. Plantation lilies and some daisies accept partial shade, while hoja santa and Louisiana phlox bloom in full shade.