Like homeowners haven’t got enough to worry about, they now have to search through front garden photos looking for inspiration and front garden design ideas. You may laugh, but the research results were incredible! There were almost689,000pages on Google talking about front garden ideas alone. Unbelievable, right?
But, like the rest of the world, we in the UK love our gardens. However, most of our energy (and money) usually goes on the back garden, rather than the front. That said, we do still take great pride in how the front lawn looks, and what our neighbours think. First impression count!
Landscaping doesn’t come easy to most people. That’s why I decided to throw some ideas out there for everyone to use! Some of these are my own, and some I had to dig deep for – but in the end, I think I’ve come up with a pretty cool list of front garden ideas everyone can make use of. That’s no matter your budget, nor the time you’ve got on your plate.
I’m splitting up this guide based on which front garden users are likely to benefit from which ideas. For example, people who own a terraced house aren’t likely to need help with big, sprawling garden spaces! Therefore, I’m focusing on the following areas:
- Terraced House Ideas
- Ideas for Sloped Gardens
- Very Small Gardens
- Large Gardens
- Incorporating The Driveway
- Ideas on a Budget
None of these ideas is over the top or unachievable. They won’t need planning permission! Some will be simple DIY, while others – such as paving and garden landscaping – will need a landscaper or groundworker for support. With a little imagination or touch of greenery, it’s straightforward enough to transform the front of your home and give that “wow” first impression.
Here are our 21 Creative & Simple Front Garden Design Ideas
What are you waiting for? Take a look through our fantastic list of front garden ideas and strap on some gardening gloves for those green thumbs and fingers.
Terraced House Front Gardens
Be Smart on Shrubs and Evergreens
One of the best garden ideas you can employ right away is to get your shrubs and evergreens in order. Too many might over-egg the pudding. However, terraced house front gardens will benefit from some serious curb appeal with symmetrical shrubbery. Take a look at what other terraced gardens in your area are making use of, but don’t be afraid to follow your own drum beats.
Everything is Rosy
Rose bushes are perennial favourites. A great way to draw positive attention to your garden, you could grow a few sweet-smelling roses and patches alongside traditional flower beds. The rose is a fantastic flower choice for most terraced houses. There are plenty of ways to improve your front garden image, but this fragrant flower is likely to add colour and style to smaller spaces.
Brick Paths and Potting
You should also think carefully about how you’re potting your plants. One of the best ways to complement a terraced garden is to lay a simple brick path. It’s a traditional, yet contemporary touch. You could line your path with front garden pots in symmetry. Don’t overwhelm your path, but choose plants which are going to offer a stylish welcome right up to your front door.
Landscaping The Front Garden on a Budget
Use a Flowerbed!
One of the best front garden ideas for tight budgets is, of course, to dig a flower bed. All you need is a spade, a little compost and a few seeds to get started. Why not take a look online for plants, planting scheme and flowers you think will complement your space the best? There are many plant varieties to choose, from box plants to box topiary. This helps create beautiful planting areas around your ideal hone. Landscaping ideas don’t have to be too over-the-top.
Go Low-Maintenance
One of the best ways to save money on front gardens is, of course, to be smart about the plants you buy. Instead of choosing cheap flowers and garden designs, focus on options which are low maintenance. These are going to be more cost-effective, and bigger time-savers, in the long run.
Trim That Lawn!
Of all the affordable garden landscape ideas out there, keeping your lawn trimmed is going to help you the most. For the simple cost of running a lawnmower, keeping a formal cut will help to smarten up and stylise your front garden. It’s important to make sure your garden edging so that it continues to look good. Most people approaching your front door will look at your lawn first. Don’t be tempted to let it grow too wild! Be ruthless with your front garden space, and don’t be shy to trim that lawn regularly.
Sloped Gardens Can Be Tough
Keep Things Neat
It’s tempting to bring in as many features as possible into a front garden. However, when you’re working on a slope, this isn’t always easy. Carefully place flower beds and plants. Take your landscaping ideas for garden one at a time, and focus on neatness. Overcrowding is a no-no for front slopes. Box balls are popular options as they are easy to stand and look great.
Raise Your Planters
You could add a little more order to a sloping front garden with raised planters. This way, you can organise your plants without your beds cascading. It’s a neater, simpler look. Of the ideas we look at in this list, it’s amongst the easiest to set up. There may be a little DIY and a little cost involved, but it could transform your whole front garden.
Artificial Grass = Less Maintenance
The less maintenance a sloped front garden needs, the better. The fact is, sloping lawns, garden edging and garden designs are tricky to handle at the best of times, especially as they lead to your front door. Why not use artificial grass? While there will be an upfront cost, it will more than pay for itself and has low maintenance. It’s a great way to keep difficult front garden looks neat and uniform. Trickier sloping gardens don’t have to be a nightmare.
Very Small Spaces Just Need Imagination
Don’t Avoid Water Features
It might be tempting to avoid water features when you have a small front garden. However, just be creative in the options you choose! A couple of simple features, alongside well-chosen box balls, are unlikely to crowd your space. You might even just install a water feature or fountain in the middle of your lawn or front garden space, with some stepping stones and a drainage system. Some gardens are subject to flash flooding so it’s important you get a decent one installed. Once again, take inspiration online and elsewhere in the neighbourhood.
Theme Your Garden with Pebbles
Ever thought about choosing design ideas that complement your general location? Coastal properties, for example, can benefit from pebbles and sea stones. Very small gardens only need a handful of natural stone scatterings to create a superb theme and garden path and are also low maintenance. A front garden adorned with pebbles is going to stand out in the best way.
Try Cottage Planting
What is a cottage garden? It’s a plethora of well-chosen plants in a cunning use of space. Want to make the best out of a tiny front garden or lawn? Think about grouping plants and flowers together which complement each other. Cottage planting is a great trend that many smaller homes and front gardens are making use of as they are low maintenace front garden solutions. Again, why not search online for a few visual ideas?
Large Garden Ideas Can Be Limitless
Go American With a Full Porch
Fancy the look of an American front yard? With a larger front garden, you can go all-out on the decking that lasts all year round. Traditional US homes have big, decked front porches. If you have a lot of lawn to cover and want somewhere to sit out and enjoy your space, a decked porch could be your best option. Get creative on decking, the wood you’d like to use, and appealing themes. You might even want to throw in a picket fence!
Round Benches and Larger Trees
If you have a few big bay trees in your front yard, it makes sense to make full use of them. You could set up round benches to adorn and circle huge oaks or birches in your front garden space. Quite how you manage this will depend on how much space you have, as well as your own personal tastes. However, even the biggest benches shouldn’t interrupt your flower beds.
Go Large on Potted Displays
Of course, the bigger the garden, the bigger your displays can be. Why not use big, lead planters for wild flower varieties? You could theme your garden area in various colours and shades. If your front space is seriously large, you should use every inch you can to show off some colour.
When You Want To Compliment The Driveway
Simple Slate Paving
A great way to complement your driveway or parking space is through slate paving. Stylish, yet never too understated, the slate will draw more attention to your drive and parking spaces. It’ll also never distract too much from any brilliant plant you have set up. Slate is perfect for easily manageable low maintenance landscape design as it’s simple to clean and looks great round your parking area.
Extending Your Driveway
Want to extend your driveway? Consider using similar materials in your wider front design. Match your paving and gravel, but bring in colourful display pots and front yard landscaping ideas. Seamlessly blend your drive and garden together so that visitors can appreciate both as part of a fantastic whole. Don’t be tempted to cordon everything off with a brick wall.
Choose the Right Gravel
As with the above, you should get smart with gravel. Try and find stones and pebbles, for example, which will work as a focal point in your wider garden and improve the kerb appeal. It’s all about blending your greenery and your drive together. However, it’s got to look natural. Focus on a symmetrical, eye-catching idea.
Front Garden Inspiration on a Budget
A Simple Bench is Enough!
Don’t have much money? Want to survey your whole garden from the side of the front door? Then focus on bringing in a comfortable bench. Setting up at the head of your garden, alongside window boxes, a small, humble bench is going give you and your guests enough of a focal point on the flowers, plants and lawn you have worked so hard to cultivate.
Consider Hanging Baskets
Don’t have any room for a flower bed? Many landscaping experts choose to focus on clever use of the vertical, not just the horizontal. Why not hang a few gorgeous flowers either side above your door? Introduce people to your home with clutches of hydrangeas or other blooms hanging from above. A basket is just as good as a flowerbed.
Get Creative with Fence Painting
Who says that a picket fence has to be plain white? If you don’t have much room for colour, be sure to get creative with how you paint your fence. Choose blues and yellows on either side, for example. Or, you could go really bold and use red or purple! Be sure to match your door, too. Here we review the best electric fence sprayers.
FAQs
1) What can I grow in my front garden?
There should be no limits to what you can grow on your property! Choose border plants, ivy, lavender, herbs, wisteria – maybe even a fern or two. Succulents and plants likely to need lots of light will love a front garden home. Prefer petunias to ferns? Don’t ever feel limited by the number of colours and scents you can choose from.
2) How do you build a low maintenance front garden?
Focus on building a facade that’s simple, yet striking. Choose greens and pinks which won’t need much watering. Don’t plant hedges unless you have the time to trim them! Set up pallets to keep things organised. Keep your plantings to a minimum, but don’t be afraid to choose shrub and planet collections which need little water and attention. Why not choose a combination of artificial grass and natural elements?
3) How to Make a Front Garden Private?
You could get creative with a fence or brickwork. If you really don’t want to make your front garden project open to all, then make sure to fence off areas to show your visitors where they are welcome the most. The purpose of a great front garden, however, is to bring joy to your street. Don’t you want to open things up to your visitors?
