Plants for Front Gardens

Trees

• Because of their long life and mature size, trees are a foundational plant. Beyond appearance and mature size, buyers should consider a tree's purpose, such as providing shade or privacy, when deciding upon the type and placement of trees in the front garden. Another consideration is a tree's year-round appearance. Evergreens provide continuous color, but deciduous trees often provide a variety of hues as the seasons change.

Shrubs and Bushes

• Shrubs are useful as foundational plants within a garden or planted as a hedge to edge the property. Like trees, some shrubs are evergreen and others deciduous, some flowering and some producing only leaves; selecting a mix of both offers year-round interest. Evergreen shrubs include holly, abelia, coral berry, Mexican orange blossom, heath, heliotrope, rhododendron, gardenia and Christmas box. Deciduous shrubs include camellia, lilac, flowering dogwood, forsythia, hydrangea, lavender, oleander and pomegranate.

Flowers

• Through color, shape and height, flowers provide a kalidescope of variety in a front garden. Perennials, such as roses, asters, lilies, tulips, hyacinths, bellflowers, irises, daisies and columbines, require less work and maintenance than annuals and provide for long-term color and interest. Annuals, such as pansy, ageratum, hollyhock, periwinkle, larkspur, dahlia, poppy and salvia, fill in bare spots in the garden while waiting for perennials to grow to their mature size. Some annuals, such as cosmos and forget-me-nots, self-seed, coming back year after year.

Groundcover

• Groundcover suppresses weeds, provides a natural mulch for the soil and helps maintain even temperature and moisture in the soil. Groundcover plants also grow around the base of trees, on steep slopes where mowing is a challenge and above poor soil. Groundcovers appropriate for a front garden include ajuga, vinca major, ivy, ballota, dianthus, heather, lithodora, alchemilla, anemone, sea thrift, hosta and snow-in-summer.