Front Garden Landscaping Ideas
Here are some front garden landscaping ideas to ignite your imagination.
In my view, front gardens are sadly underwhelming. Yet the potential for them to add value to your property in terms of kerb appeal are vast. True, you may naturally gravitate towards the back garden when it comes to dining al fresco, but that shouldn’t mean that your front garden becomes redundant.
Take a look at these front garden landscaping ideas.
Small But Perfectly Formed
These front gardens in Kensington, London may be small but they certainly pack a punch. The Tudor style knot gardens have all year round interest. There is a vast choice of shapes and materials to choose from.
Traditional box hedging may be risky as this particular species of shrub is prone to disease. However, there are plenty of alternatives to box on the market.
You could choose to add colourful plants between the low hedges of your box garden. Wildflowers are fantastic at attracting wildlife or you could add herbs and other edibles to compliment your kitchen garden.
Reflect The Surroundings With Locally Sourced Materials
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of using locally sourced materials in my landscaping projects. And where better to use them than in a front garden where they can create a sense of belonging?
This was a project in Street where we used Blue Lias stone, quarried in Somerset, to build terraces and a circular raised bed in a small but private front garden.
Blue Lias is a fine grained type of limestone. It’s distinctive colour comes from the iron content of the rock and it’s not unusual to find fossils within the stone too. Which makes it endlessly fascinating. I love that it’s been used as a building material in Somerset for centuries and is seen in many buildings throughout the town of Street.
Natural stone can be incorporated into lots of front garden landscaping ideas including water features, bin stores and rock gardens.
Uncluttered Elegance Shows Off Your Property
Some buildings just deserve to be seen. And if your home is one of those, then your front garden landscaping ideas may include an uncluttered area with smooth lines and nothing to distract the eye.
A neatly manicured lawn could be just the thing, perhaps with a couple of elegant topiary trees in pots. Or perhaps you’d prefer a paved area?
If you are opting for hard landscaping, choose the materials with care. Ideally your chosen stone or pavers will compliment the colours and textures of the building. Your garden designer will be able to help using 3D modelling to show you what your finished front garden will look like.
Be Brave With Textures
Paved front gardens can become really exciting when hard landscaping materials are used with a bit of imagination. Pavers don’t have to be all the same size and shape, and a skilled landscaper can mix and match them to create amazingly unique features.
For example, for this front garden in Taunton we used a combination of reclaimed limestone slabs and setts to make an intriguing layout. This is one front garden where it probably would feel comfortable to sit outside and watch the world go by.
In this front garden, we’ve used contrasting coloured pavers to add interest to the space.
Floral Front Gardens
A traditional cottage-style garden is an awesome landscaping idea for a pretty property. Particularly one whose owner wants to be welcomed home every day by calming scents and the sound of bees merrily buzzing between flowers.
Densely planted herbaceous perennials with a few evergreens and some flowering bulbs create a haven for wildlife and never cease to fascinate visitors.
The old Victorian cottage gardens are actually quite a clever idea when it comes to maintenance. Ideally, for most of the year the soil will be hidden beneath a luxurious carpet of plants. Which means fewer opportunities for weeds to establish. And if unwanted plants do germinate, they’re rarely an eyesore. You can just pluck them out of the soil if you spot them peeking through the rest of the foliage. That way, floral front gardens are much lower maintenance than one may suppose.
Lighting For Front Gardens
No matter what style of front garden landscaping ideas you are considering, some sort of lighting will definitely add value. Aesthetically and practically, lighting is a must for most front gardens. It can be subtle, making it easier to stay on the path on a gloomy winters evening. Or you could use your outdoor lighting to highlight the beauty of specific plants and to draw attention to your property.
A carefully considered lighting scheme can make your home appear warm and inviting from the outside. It can also improve the view from inside the house. And, somehow, outdoor lighting makes you feel just that little bit safer.
I hope this has given you some useful front garden landscaping ideas. If you need help turning those ideas into a workable garden design, talk to me (Dan Richards) about a 3D design that will transform the kerb appeal of your property.
