Landscape Ideas for Front Yards

Inviting Pathway

• One of the most common elements in landscaping the front yard is creating a stylish pathway from the road or your driveway up to the front door of the house. A brick walkway that winds its way up to the door can become part of an overall landscaping design that accomplishes the additional benefit of lowering the maintenance needs for your front lawn. Line the pathway with a variety of ground covers to provide a greater sense of textural contrast. Ground covers to consider include cinquefoils, Japanese spurge and juniper.

Container Plants

• Small front yards that don't offer much opportunity for landscaping ideas can benefit substantially from the use of containers. Plants that can be grown within the confines of a container vary greatly in terms of color, texture, height and shape. One of the secrets to successful integration of containers in your landscaping is getting creative in the choice of containers. Rather than being satisfied with terra cotta pots, look around for any object in which a drainage hole can be drilled and that is capable of providing growing space. Another secret to container success is arranging them in small groups rather than in solo fashion.

Landscaping for Privacy

• Landscape design for a front yard may be created with an eye toward providing greater privacy. A brick or stone wall large enough to block your property from your neighbors can potentially become very expensive. A better solution is to build a smaller wall behind which you plant some trees or high growing ornamental grasses to provide that extra element of privacy. Placing just one tree at one corner of your driveway can provide an adequate obstruction of the view of your front entrance.

Low-Maintenance Flower Bed

• A front yard landscaping idea for those seeking a combination of beauty and low maintenance is a flower bed that stretches across the front of the house. Perennial flowers that provide a variety of brilliant colors while also having the benefit of being easy to grow include daylilies, phlox and lily of the valley. The addition of a flowering shrub like lilac adds some textural diversity and fragrance while still giving you the low maintenance option. Annuals with colors that provide some spark to this landscaping scheme include marigolds, zinnias and geraniums.