Front Garden Design for a Warm Welcome

The front garden is often a bit neglected quite simply because front gardens tend to be smaller, and not used as much as more private back gardens. However, a well designed front garden is a joy to see. It improves your home’s curb appeal and creates a warm and welcoming entrance to your home.

If you want to improve your front garden, here are some simple design ideas to help you get it right:

Tailor to the Tone

The most important rule of front garden design is to stick with the tone of your neighbourhoood. It’s fine to do something a bit more unusual in the back garden where the space is truly your own, but when you’re talking about the front garden, you need to be mindful that the whole street will be able to see it and if your garden takes a huge departure in terms of design it could be getting a whole lot of wows for a whole lot of wrong reasons.

If you want to do something different, do it in the little touches, but don’t, for example, create an exotic jungle garden amidst a row of super-manicured lawns or people won’t see what you’re trying to do – they’ll see a mess.

Climbers are Cute

A really easy way to improve the look of your front garden, and the exterior of your house at the same time, is to plant a climber. Great for smaller garden spaces, climbers like ivy and star jasmine grow upwards, creating a thick covering of greenery that really cheers the place up Put trellis in place to give it something to cling on to and keep it in line with regular trims and it will look effortlessly amazing.

Choose a Great Gate

The gate, if you have one, is the entry point to your front garden, so it’s important that it makes a great impact if you want your garden to truly impress. If you look at The Gate Company Online, you will see that there are lots of modern gate options including automatic gates, traditional gates and attractive iron gates. It doesn’t matter which you choose as long as the gate is clean and attractive and in keeping with the style of your home and the garden beyond.

Collect Containers

If you aren’t exactly green-fingered, but you want to add some colour and style to your front garden, containers are your friend, It is far easier to keep plants and flowers alive in containers and much less work for you too) providing your choose species that will thrive in that environment – things like herbs and perennials.

Choose big bright glazed pots for an in-your-face look or traditional wicker baskets for a more traditional one, and use them to line your path, as well as placing one on either side of your front door for a pleasing symmetrical look.

Paint the Front Door

While we’re on the subject of front doors, as well as placing some pots on either side, you may want to give your front door a fresh coat of paint. Although you might not consider it to be technically part of your front garden, it is part of the same space, and ensuring that it looks good will improve your garden design significantly. You can keep it traditional, but if you’re brave, painting it lavender or pink or maybe even yellow, will help to tie it in with your flowers and stop it from being a bit boring.

Create an Archway

If you have a long path winding up from your front gate to the door, a simple design feature that will help to add some interest is an archway. You can use a standard garden arch or trellis that you can buy at any good garden centre for this. Cover it in flowers, plants or climbers to hide the bulk of the structure and you’ll have a really unique way of breaking up the path and guiding your visitors in.

Include a Focal Point

In a small space like your front garden, a focal point will draw the eye and give you an even better impact. Your focal point could be anything from an ornate birdbath or spiritual Buddha statue to a vintage bicycle with flowers in the basket – choose something that’s big and bold that meets your personal style and you won’t go far wrong.

Rustic Furniture

If you have a porch space out front, fill it with rustic or upcycled furniture for that traditional porch look. Rocking chairs, occasional tables, and even couches can be slotted into your space if you take the time to rework them with a garden theme in mind.

Try Topiary

If your front garden is really small, you should aim to keep the greenery as simple as possible. One or two topiary bushes is all that you need to convert a boring small front garden into a brilliant one.

Light the Way

Lining the path up to your front door with solar-powered lanterns is a simple way to add a touch of warmth and elegance to your front garden. Practically, they will also help you to make your way safely to the doorway when you get home late at night.

Grow Your Own

A popular trend right now is to grow vegetables in the front garden. This can be a fun way to do something different without going too far. Make it fun by creating rustic wooden signs letting guests (and you) know which vegetables are growing where and it will look great as well as providing your with a fun talking point, and hopefully some delicious food.

Your front garden really doesn’t have to be a no-frills space. With a little effort and a few very simple changes, you can transform it into a beautiful little oasis of calm that will offer a warm welcome to your guests and make the neighbours green with envy – maybe it’ll even inspire them to get green-fingered too!