Front yards have long been the central focus of garden design in America. Today they are becoming even more elaborate as homeowners seek new ways to enhance their home’s entrances.

For years, most of the horticultural attention had been paid to the back yards where perennial gardens, vegetable gardens, rock gardens and rose gardens were being planted at a great rate. The front yard, however, was often ignored, underused and left to languish. On many properties, particularly with newer developments where the back yards may need to remain open, the front may be the best or only place to have a garden or distinguished landscape.

As a landscape designer, I find that most front yards are a complex arrangement of horticulture and architecture. Hedges, shrubs, trees, flowers and even trellises can enhance the home’s architecture and soften, disguise or hide a less than ideal situation. In a properly designed front yard, the design of the house and the landscape should be integrated to make a welcoming atmosphere.

To create a well-designed front garden or landscape, one must understand how it can work with the architectural framework of the property. This is important in order to accommodate the many and various activities of daily life (i.e. residents and visitors coming and going, cars being parked, service people doing their jobs, etc).

The front yard has two somewhat contradictory functions that homeowners may or may not be aware of. First, it serves as both our connection to and our separation from the surrounding community. The driveway, walks and views into and out of the property create the connection between our personal world and the greater public world.

A mostly shade garden consisting of groundcovers and native perennials replaces the lawn in this front yard.

The front yard is also our privacy buffer between these two worlds. If the front is hedged or fenced in from the street, our home and front yard are separated from the neighborhood and, to a greater extent, the community. Likewise, when the front yard has been converted into a bright flower garden, we are sharing our private oasis and offering it to enliven the street and neighborhood.

We have entered a period of synthesis in American landscaping. Homeowners and gardeners are becoming aware of the necessity and availability of good design as it relates to their own property. Pools, terraces, walks, driveways and landscapes are being integrated into overall landscape design schemes. As a result, the front yard is being looked at as an opportunity for creativity, rather than in days past when plants lined-up along the foundation resembled soldiers standing guard!

Assessing the Front Yard

Lavender and “Bonanza” daylilies are a strking combination along the walk and driveway. An Oakleaf hydrangea blooms in the background.

Regardless of your home’s age, the front of your house and property may need to be perked up, redesigned and reorganized. Perhaps new plantings will make the house look more attractive. If you are tired of seeing a large garage door and several cars every time you go in or out, perhaps a mixed planting of flowering trees and shrubs can distract the eye from the garage and parking areas. Or maybe you’d like more privacy or a quiet place to relax or read outside on a pleasant day. This can be accomplished by planting mixed evergreens such as fir, native rhododendron, cypress or upright holly.

The essential first step is to analyze what you have and what you want to do. Make a list of the elements already present on your property and then make a “wish-list” of what you would like to add, such as a storage shed or garden terrace with walls that will support planter boxes. Your wish-list may have more items on it than the front property or budget will accommodate. If this is the case, rank the items on the list in order of importance and establish a time-line according to your budget.

Any major project that will involve heavy machinery and consume a large percentage of the budget (like expanding a driveway or revising a walkway) should be done first. Privacy plantings should be done at an early stage, perhaps at the same time or following year. Most shrubs and trees take at least 5-10 years to reach a mature size and require a head start. Once these major improvements have been accomplished, smaller gardens, including perennials and features such as arbors or fountains can be added as time and money allow.

As part of your analysis, consider how your front garden and house relate to others on the street. Careful planning may be necessary to assure that your new scheme isn’t offensive. I often use similar materials, colors and styles that relate to the neighboring houses. If, on the other hand, you live on a street with a hodgepodge of house styles and landscapes (which is commonplace these days), you will have more freedom of choice.

The Right Style

A cottage-style perennial garden embraces the front entrance and compliments this Tudor home.

The style and scale of the house, along with natural features and regional characteristics all have some bearing on the style of your garden. This is a personal preference and best decided by the homeowner. The design can be as flamboyant or subdued as you’d like; just make sure to remember that you are creating a first impression!

A Tudor or Cottage-style home should have a garden style that is complimentary to the house itself. Likewise, a modern house can have a more contemporary landscape, just as an older, historical home should have an old-fashioned design incorporating heirloom plants.

Availability of sun can also affect the style of your garden. For example, a site with many large trees will beckon a woodsy, informal landscape with loose groups of shade-loving shrubs, ferns, hostas, native wildflowers and some groundcovers. A property that is fortunate to have some natural boulders or outcroppings can dictate a naturalistic style of design.

Arrivals and departures are also important. When a visitor or the homeowner goes from a public to a private space, there should be a feeling of anticipation. What lies ahead? What flowers or shrubs will be in bloom? Therefore, you may want to have a higher percentage of plants that offer longer seasonal bloom and provide winter interest by the persistence of berries, interesting bark characteristic or ones that illustrate strong architectural form (i.e. viburnums, hedge maple and shrub dogwood).

Gardens as Art

A brick walkway and front planting of Japanese maple and seasonal plants creates a welcoming entrance to this Arts & Crafts home.

Some homeowners make more dramatic changes by combining permanent structures with plants or by using the areas as a setting for family activities or works of art. The results can be striking. Keep in mind, however, that placing a permanent structure in the front garden is a risky venture. Once a pond or terrace is in place, there is no changing your mind. These types of projects require careful planning. In some instances, the front yard may be the only practical location for such large-scale projects.

Garden “art” provides even more options for design in the front yard. Sculptures, for example, can make the approach to the property an exciting visual focal point. Each area is like a stage with sculpture, plants, sky and water creating a constantly changing drama. Lighting can provide some interesting shadows in the evening for both sculpture and plants. Sculpture can also provide year-round interest for a garden or landscape such as a well-place gazebo or fountain.

Of course, most gardens are art, or at least they should be. A garden does not have to be background or a pleasant setting; rather, it should have it’s own image and meaning. Many artists are now including garden design as part of their repertoire.

In Conclusion:
A proper front yard garden is more than a gathering of plants. It must have structure, which, in most cases, is provided by walls, paths walks or fences. A theme, such as a strict color scheme or groups of plants from one genera will unify a garden.

The front yard garden can enhance the house or provide useful living space. I have seen meadows replacing large swaths of lawn, “edible” landscapes, a sea of ornamental grasses and even an orchard. The choices and possibilities are limited only by one’s own imagination.

An exuberant planting that includes ornamental grasses, black-eyed Susans and American holly provides mid-summer color and winter structure.

A front yard garden creates a welcoming entrance for friends and family. It also forces you—if you are one who enjoys gardening—to be a better gardener. Be willing to be experimental, open-minded and, most of all, have fun!

Richard Liberto is a landscape designer and horticulturist specializing in naturalistic and regional landscape design.