20 Simple But Effective Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

ByMaria McCutchen Posted on

Your home is your pride and joy, and you want it to look great from inside and out. The very first thing people see when they drive past, or up to your home, is your front yard and entrance.

Your front yard is what sets the tone for your whole home, and if it doesn’t look good, most people might expect that the rest of the home is pretty in-kept as well. A well-manicured front yard can make even an unattractive home look better, so if that’s the case, imagine what a well-manicured lawn can do for a gorgeous home.

There are so many different things you can do for your front yard; the ideas are endless. You may not have a lot of money to spend on landscape, but you really don’t need to have a big budget to make your front yard look nice, welcoming, and beautiful. Here are some tips to get a beautiful front yard that are simple, yet effective.

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Map it out

Always start with a map of what area you want to landscape. Knowing where you want to see shrubs, flowers, trees, and any other type of landscape, and where you plan to have grass or gravel, anything else you want as part of your landscape.

Drawing out a map of your front yard and labeling what you envision, gives you guidance to follow when planning what type of foliage and other landscape details you see.

Keep it functional

Of course you want your front lawn to be beautiful, but don’t forget that you will also need it to be functional. You want to be able to mow easily, leave areas for walkways, and make sure you have access to all your areas of the front yard so you can maintain it without too much effort. If you have pets that will be roaming the front yard, making it accessible to them is also important. Remember, simplicity is the idea.

Hardscape first

If you plan to redo the driveway, add walkways or pathways, all of the hardscaping should be done first before you tackle adding the foliage. The idea is to get the main veins of the landscape set up so that you can enhance the hardscape areas with the beautifying part – the flowers, shrubbery, trees, etc.

Choose your foliage

Now that you have the hardscape in, you can start choosing the type of foliage that will follow the flow of sidewalks, driveways, pathways, and other areas you have carved out.

Choose foliage that is appropriate for your climate, first of all. You want plants and vegetation that is also meant for the type of sun it will or will not be getting in the specific areas.

Shrubbery planted up near the house should not consume the front of the house. You want to enhance the front of the home, and not engulf it. Choose low-lying shrubs for up-close to the house and increase height as you move away from the foundation.

For color, intermingle flowering, or blooming foliage, or flowers in between shrubs. Create small areas that burst with color for a wow factor that catches the eye. If you love birds, try adding a bird bath in the front yard, surrounded by flowers. This will create a focal point for the front lawn, and makes for great drive-by appeal.

Get creative when designing your front lawn. You don’t have to get expensive to get creative. You can get lots of ideas for simple, yet effective front lawn landscaping, and we have 20 pictures of simple yet effective front lawn landscape ideas. Take a look.

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Maria McCutchen is an author and freelance writer living in Chattanooga, TN. She is the published author of her memoir, “It’s all in Your Head,” and a children’s book. She has been writing for over 15 years; writing articles, whitepapers, product write-ups and more for multiple online media sites, blogs, company websites and individuals. She is also an advocate for brain malformations, including Chiari Malformation, and works closely with the non-profit organization, The Chiari Project, writing for their quarterly newsletters.

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