Ideas for Front Yards Without Plants

Water Feature

• Create and enjoy the soothing sound of water stirring in a reflection bowl or tall glazed pot in your front yard without plants. A decorative rain-chain secured to a gutter or eaves above the bowl or pot ensures fresh water each rainy day, and a small bubbler pump in the water pool’s base keeps the water gently moving and attract thirsty birds and butterflies. Surround your water feature with colorful stones, flagstones or patio pavers, and install a small, flat trellis or ornamental plant hanger nearby to encourage perching by birds and butterflies.

Bird and Squirrel Refuge

• Even the smallest yard or front patio without plants can offer rest and refuge to squirrels and birds. Mount an assortment of small, colorful birdhouses to the house, hang a hummingbird feeder to a pedestal-style plant hook and set up a few small seed feeders on a narrow bench or table. If you lean an old screen, piece of fencing or chicken wire against an exterior wall, you can attach S-hooks to the screen and use the hooks to hang homemade birdseed treats. Add a feeder wheel or squirrel munch box filled with bird seed, corn and nuts to attract squirrels. A low, decorative birdbath provides liquid refreshment for birds, squirrels and butterflies.

Fairy Village

• Fill your front yard with a magical ambiance by building an enchanting fairy village. Hand-craft your fairy houses from old tree stumps, logs, gourds or rocks, or buy a fairy house and decorate it yourself. Found materials, such as mosses, shells, stones, beach glass, buttons, tree bark, drift wood, acorns, pine cones, seed pods and twigs, can be used to create village buildings, gazebos, bridges and light posts. Fill a decorative jar lid with water for a fairy pond. Make your own fairies with dried apple cores, corn husks or old fabric stuffed with cotton.

Open-Air Foyer

• Extend your home into the great outdoors with an open-air entryway in spaces that lawn often occupies. Fill modest-sized spaces with a portable fire pit, small-scale but sturdy lawn furniture and strings of white twinkle lights to create a front yard entertainment nook in which to relax on warm summer nights. A larger, more ambitious design might include a slate or flagstone patio floor, a full-sized stone fireplace, wet bar, sofas and chairs, a lighted pergola and hookups to cable television and Internet. Both small and large designs can accommodate a small fountain tucked into a corner to provide the sounds of gently splashing water for a relaxing, starlit solitude break.