If you’re planning to ‘freshen up’ or totally redo the landscaping in front of your home- I’m here to let you know that you’re in the right place. I’ve been landscaping front yards since the age of 11. At the same age in 1996, in Pennsylvania, I started my first landscape company, and I’ve never gotten over the natural beauty of well-arranged flowers and natural stone.
Landscaping for the front of the house is frequently the focus because, of course, it’s what everyone sees. There are the people driving by… the neighbors… and visitors too. It’s where the concept of the Joneses probably came from. But instead of trying to keep up with them- let’s get you teasing out your own ideas for transforming your outdoor space. With that, here are 8 Landscaping Ideas For The Front Of Your House that can serve as good starting points for thinking about your front yard design.
1. Add A Stone Wall
Some things just go great together and this is one of them. A skillfully constructed stone wall along with mulch beds of flowers frame and complement the home’s stone exterior. This client wanted a simple border- just grass to mulch… which lends toward a more natural feel that suits the home.
Above: A stone wall retains the soil for a flower garden that’s filled with Geranium Rozanne, Knockout Roses and St. John’s Wort in front of this home in Doylestown, Bucks County, PA.
2. Conceal Unsightly Objects With a Visual Barrier
Why did the builders put the AC unit in front of the house? Did it really have to be right there? It can be incredibly distracting… when you’re trying to take in the delights of a natural environment at home and the record player that’s playing your life’s soundtrack suddenly screeches to a halt.. then silence… an industrial pipe staring you in the face- jutting out of the ground looking as out of place as can be.
Above: Visual barriers can conceal unsightly objects in front of your home.
3. Match Front Garden Flowers & Porch Accessory Colors
Defining a repeating color palette outside the front of your house is sure to pay dividends. Here, the blue planters seem to call to the blue flowers in the adjacent garden. These are the kinds of details that establish ‘harmony’ between the front of your home and your front yard.
4. Light The Pathway
It doesn’t get much more simple American than repurposed bluestone slabs through a porch garden, leading to the home’s entrance. The rocking chairs reinforce the preceding statement. This approach is adaptable, classic and beautifully simple. A well-placed landscape light can add both safety and beauty.
Above: Traditional American style, front and center at home. After dark, landscape lighting will illuminate the step up from the pathway to the front porch.
5. Refresh the Walkway Or Sidewalk.
This walkway is made out of beige stamped concrete. Notice that the two sections of the walkway converge into one. This makes getting inside from the parking area or the street convenient for your family and guests.
Above: Two stamped concrete walkways flanked by lavender, variegated liriope and Cherry Laurels turn into one as these paths approach the home’s entrance. Not the focal point is a Crape Myrtle just about to burst into a pink frenzy in time to welcome your guests for those mid-summer pool parties.
6. Get Curb Appeal – Add A Simple Garden
This small garden was placed outside of the main garden in front of this home in suburban Philadelphia.The addition of a simple garden like this- home to just a single American Snowbell (Styrax), a single white Deutzia and a rugged natural fieldstone boulder is a simple however impactful addition to your front yard landscaping efforts. Something about this could feel “right” on any budget. This is also the kind of Bucks County landscaping that pays dividends in ease of maintenance and curb appeal.
Above: Adding a supplemental garden like the one above is a great way to provide some new appeal to your front yard landscape.
7. Add Automatic Sprinklers To Water Your Landscape
8. Add Multiple Layers Of Height And Depth
The taller your house is, the deeper your landscape should be, meaning it should have more layers of plantings. Those layers should be varying heights as is appropriate, punctuated by and arranged around focal points, such as the entrance, walkways, corners and courtyards.
Above: An antique style ‘street light’ lantern light from Furlong Lamp & Lighting works as a focal point to provide extra light in this garden and walkway entrance area.
