How to Frame Your Front Yard in Suburbia

Drive around streets in your suburb and take note of the types of fences, plants, trees and hardscapes neighbors have in their front yards. Write down things you like and don't like about other front yards. Homes in suburbs tend to be in close proximity to one another, and may share landscape features such as a sloped front yard or tall evergreens. Refer to your neighbors for inspiration as you consider how you want to frame your home.

Choose the style of fence you want to install. Fences increase privacy and open play areas if you don't have a large backyard. They come in a wide variety of styles and many provide both a sense of enclosure and an attractive frame for your home. A white picket fence, wooden rail fence or short stacked stone walls are a few examples of classic fences used to frame front yards in suburbia.

Select trees and hedges that will thrive in the growing conditions of your front yard. Consider the amount of maintenance you want to do. Shaped hedges can add a polished look to your property line, but you will need to trim them every two weeks. You also can plant trees along the sides of the property line as a natural fence.

Arrange shrubs and plants so that the tallest flowering shrubs and trees are on the outer corners of your home. Have the plants decrease in size as they get closer to the front door. This creates a gentle, visual transition from the outdoors to the interior of your home. Choose evergreens and plants that blossom at different times so your front yard will look vibrant year-round. Consider planting low-growing perennials between tall shrubs spaced unevenly to form a curved or wavy shape.

Add edging to large trees and planting beds with stone, bricks or gravel. Edging protects plants from yard traffic and adds contours and definition to your front yard. Curved edging balances the straight edges of your home's foundation.

Install a walkway from the sidewalk to your front door. Though your most traveled path may be from the driveway through the side door, building a front walkway to your main entrance gives your home a welcoming first impression. Lay bricks or flagstones as a natural-looking walkway that adds visual balance to your plants and grass.

Plant fragrant flowers along either side of the walkway. Winter honeysuckle, hyacinth, miniature roses and garden verbena are a few examples of fragrant flowers your guests would notice on their way to your front door.