Front Walk Decorating Ideas

Formal Walkway Enhancement

• For straight walkways, play up the formality of the layout with boxwood hedges or wax-leaf Ligustrum, which features softer leaves with a noticeable sheen. Ligustrum shrubs also bear subtle white flowers in early summer.

  Evergreens add natural woodland appeal to walkways while retaining the formal design of expansive stone or brick work. For smaller formal walkways, dwarf cypress trees are ideal for topiary designs. Shorter topiary evergreens require regular maintenance to retain their shape however, curved shapes and spiral cuts soften the edge of straight walkways.

Cottage Walkway

• For smaller homes with cottage appeal, decorate front walkways with annuals and perennials. Continue the cottage theme with a walkway sporting colorful seasonal blooms on both sides. Easy-care bulbs such as daffodils are ideal for spring blooms. Add pansies for fall; and during the summer, go all-out with pink, red or white impatiens or geraniums.

  If your walkway receives full sun all summer, opt for drought-resistant portulaca (purslane) or daylillies. Fill in spaces with silver foliage border plants such as dusty miller or lamb's ear.

Outsized Stepping Stone Walkways

• Large, thick stepping-stone walkways are among the most versatile when it comes to modification through landscaping. Set solar-powered faceted night lights on one or both sides of your walkway for evening ambiance. Stagger the lights and keep them in opposing positions on either side of the walkway to optimize a full spectrum of light on each step. Surround lights with a lush perennial ground cover such as variegated monkey grass or liriope. These plants are also excellent for controlling erosion in walkway areas. For a heavily used walkway, look for ground-hugging perennials to plant around stepping stone areas.

Mortared Flagstone

• Flagstone walkways combine formal design with rustic appeal. If your walkway is curved, enhance curve niches with large decorative rocks surrounded with one or two small shrubs and a cluster of annuals and perennials.

  For an inviting and aromatic walkway, plant a row of fragrant bushes, such as gardenias, on either side. During the spring, white blossoms fill the air with an exotically sweet scent. Gardenias are also low maintenance, making them a favorite in southern regions with mild winters.