Aside from your home’s location, curb appeal is one of the biggest things that will help dictate your home’s value. Coincidentally, your front yard landscaping is a key element that will make or break your home’s curb appeal. The front yard is the very first impression people get of your home when they walk up to your front door or drive by your home, and you want it to stand out while staying true to your design aesthetic.
This is especially important with the rising home prices and the inspirational garden photos that you see routinely circulated on sites like Instagram and Pinterest. Homeowners are starting to see the potential of their front yard landscaping, and they’re using it to highlight the architectural features and natural beauty of their homes. You too can do this, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money to do so.
It can take money and time to create an attractive yard, but there are some low-maintenance and creative options available for your front yard landscaping too. We’ll help you revive your front yard’s landscaping with these easy DIY projects. You can finish them in a weekend without breaking your budget too!
Contents
1. Add Rock Features
Even if you have a different type of material for your border, adding stones or rocks is a great way to break up the profile and add a nice accent. You could make a rock spillway for your gutters, break up larger flower beds, or add a pea gravel border to your walkway.
Untitled by Grant Guarino / CC BY-SA 2.0
2. Plant Ground Cover
Sometimes, grass can’t or won’t grow in all places in your yard, especially if it’s not flat. Planting ground cover like Pachysandra will add color and greenery to areas where slopes and shade make it challenging to grow grass. It can look professional and neat without overtaking your entire yard with very little maintenance.
Ground Cover (2) by Kaz Anderw / CC BY-SA 2.0
3. Incorporate Lighting
Lights for your landscaping are inexpensive, and you can get solar-powered models. You can easily use them to illuminate your walkways, flower bed borders, or have them running right up to your front door. Lighting that recesses into a walkway, lanterns, or faux rocks with lighting built in also work well to upgrade your home’s look and feel.
Friederikenhof by x1klima / CC BY-ND 2.0
4. Plant Ornamental Trees
Although a larger shade tree can add a nice touch to your front yard landscaping, the bright pop of color that you get from ornamental trees like the Japanese maples can give you a natural focal point. Many ornamental trees are fast-growing and very beginner-friendly. They can be expensive, but there are plenty of affordable options available too.
Japanese Maple by mamanat by Alison Squiers Photography / CC BY-ND 2.0
5. Build Flower Beds Around Your Trees
If you already have a tree in your front yard, surrounding it with a flower bed will add more character. The beds should align or match with the flower beds already in your front yard landscaping. Perennials and annuals can add color, and you can make it as large or scaled back as you want.
Purdue Horticulture Gardens by David Ellis / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
6. Put a Birdbath In
You can buy an antique-style but lightweight birdbath for around $50.00. This is a nice way to add a small water feature to your front yard landscaping without worrying about maintenance or water connections. It’ll draw a host of winged visitors to the area too, and this is a bonus for avid bird watchers.
Splish Splash by Amanda Hirsch / CC BY 2.0
7. Grow New Grass
A drab lawn full of brown spots or dying grass can take away from your home’s look. You can rent an aerator and improve how well nutrients penetrate the soil. Then, you can reseed the lawn to help fill in any thin spots and prevent patchy grass while getting a lusher, fuller, and healthier looking green space.
Green by Sandra Cindric / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
8. Add Flowers Around Your Mailbox
Planting some annual flowers or Creeping Jasmine around your mailbox is a nice touch. You can create a simple border to contain it and fill it in with flowers and a layer of mulch. It can add personality and color to the end of your driveway for less than $100 and a few hours of work. You could even train the flowers to climb up the mailbox.
Mailbox at Sunset by Pete Toscano / CC BY-SA 2.0
9. Plant Perennial Shrubs
Planting perennial shrubs like Hydrangeas or Azaleas, they’ll add color while blooming year after year in your front yard landscaping. Many are very easy to maintain and inexpensive to purchase, but you do want to make sure you give them adequate space. Get advice on how to prune them and trim to prevent unwieldy growth or leggy looks.
Hunter Valley Gardens by Geoff Whalan / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
10. Upgrade Your Flower Bed Border
Simply refreshing or upgrading the borders on your flower beds can change the whole look and feel of the features and plants already present. Pre-made blocks, pavers, and natural stone are all great choices when you pair them with a plastic lawn edge kit. Built up the edges a little to add visual interest and help define your space.
11. Plant a Shade Tree
With brilliant colors in the fall or bright spring blossoms, a larger native hardwood incorporated as part of your front yard landscaping will add beauty for years. Some more rare species will require more care and cost more, but most native trees are resilient, hardy, and affordable. Just make sure they’re far enough away from your home to not disturb the foundation.
Shade Tree by Paul VanDerWerf / CC BY 2.0
12. Refresh Your Mulch
Mulch can dry out year after year due to exposure to the elements, and this can leave your front yard landscaping looking worse for wear. Adding a dark-colored mulch that contrasts nicely with your flowers or shrubbery is a great way to refine your look. The amount you’ll need depends on how many flowerbeds you have, and how thick you want to apply it.
After mulching by Christine Rutz / CC BY 2.0
13. Add Window Boxes
You can mix annual and perennial flowers in window boxes to draw attention to the house itself. This front yard landscaping idea can add height to your design too if you have higher windows. It works very well for show homes, guest houses, or houses that are on the market. You can have the window boxes match your design aesthetic and coloring or stand out.
Window Box Perfection by Rachel Kramer / CC BY 2.0
14. Hide Imperfections with Climbing Flowers
A climbing garden is a great way to hide an ugly mailbox, fence, or wall in your front yard landscaping. You can use several trellises with clematis. This is a very showy flower that comes in a host of colors, and it’ll need plenty of sun. It also offers full foliage all spring and summer long, well into the fall months.
Clematis by Manuel M.V. / CC BY 2.0
15. Line the Driveway
Adding a narrow bed along the length of your driveway can help define it. It gives you a space to add lights or small lanterns, and it can lend a more tidy look to your front yard landscaping. If you edge it with a thick layer of mulch or pavers, it adds a low-maintenance element to your yard because weeds can’t get through it.
Brick edging for driveway of a brick house by Alpha / CC BY-NC 2.0
16. Rock Gardens
If you live in a drier or more arid climate, adding a rock garden or two to your space allows you to get a little height and color into your front yard landscaping. You can scatter them throughout your yard or have them in one place to create a focal point. As a bonus, they’re easy to change up and add more flowers to for a fuller look and feel.
Pemaquid Point Lighthouse by Paul VanDerWerf / CC BY 2.0
17. Use Log Planters
If you want to get a natural and rustic look in your front yard landscaping, consider adding a log planter or two to your space. All you have to do is hollow it out enough for your plants to sit in with a little dirt. You can add a planter inside, or you can put your plants right into the log.
Log Planter by Aaron Wolf / CC BY-SA 2.0
18. Add Height with Hanging Baskets
One fun idea for your patio is to add hanging baskets. You can get baskets full of colorful petunias, geraniums, or trailing plants like ivy or bleeding heart to add height to your front yard landscaping. Spacing these hanging baskets out along your deck or porch helps to create a welcoming environment while drawing the eye right to the house itself.
Petunia Hanging Basket by Jim, the Photographer / CC BY 2.0
19. Use Japanese Garden Beds for Structure
If you have a modern or mid-century home, the bold look Japanese garden beds lend to the space can complement it well. They usually plant raised beds with rigid lines and soften them with ornamental trees and bright flowers. You could use these tall beds to flank your entryway and create a natural walkway at the same time.
Japanese Maples by Melinda Young / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
20. Tiered Landscaping Designs
Your front yard landscaping doesn’t have to be flat, and you can use tiered designs to add height, depth, and interest to the space. You could sink a patio into your yard and have garden beds or even your yard rise up around it to create a nice seating area or walking path. Incorporating water features is another way to elevate the space even more.
Garden Landscape Work 03/2005 by Mike Graham / CC BY-NC 2.0
21. Tree Stump Planter
Maybe you have one or two tree stumps in your yard and you’re not sure what to do with them. If so, did you know they make great planters? You can add bright and bold annuals to them in the spring so they bloom by summer. Another option is to add a mix of bright flowers and trailing vines that spill down the side of the stump.
Stump Planter by Adam Levine / CC BY 2.0
22. Frame Your Doorway with an Arbor
An arbor covered in roses or other plants is a very romantic and eye-catching way to elevate your front yard landscaping. You can set it right over the path that leads up to your front door. It can create a cottage-like feel when you pair it with a stone pathway and a white picket fence. Bold red roses are a nice choice, with white and pink being safer.
Mottisfont Abbey Rose Gardens by UKgardenphotos / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
23. Fenced Entry
A high privacy fence can add security to your front door landscaping while enclosing the yard for your kids or pets to play in. Choosing a wooden fence with a gate that opens right to the path to your front door gives the space a regal but welcoming feel. You can choose from different wood species and colors to create a custom look.
DSC07347.JPG by Vanessa Loftus / CC BY-NC 2.0
24. Incorporate a Pond
Adding a pond to your front yard landscaping is something a lot of people don’t do because it seems like a backyard feature. However, a pond can add a serene touch to the space with the sound of running water. You can create a nice focal point if you plant flowers or vegetation around it too. You can have a single layer or a tiered design, with or without koi.
June 22, 2017 by osseous / CC BY 2.0
25. Upgrade Your Walkway
When was the last time you refreshed how your walkway looks in the front of your home? This could refer to the walkway to your door or the walkway that winds around your home. Consider adding pavers, walking stones, or even pea gravel to define the space and tie in your landscaping design. Adding light-colored pavers is a nice way to draw the space to the walkway.
3KA08942a_C by Kernowfile / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
26. Edge Your Grass
Keeping your yard neat and tidy along the paths and walkways can be a challenge, and not doing it can have a negative impact on your front yard landscaping. Invest in an edger and routinely go along the walkway and path edges to trim away the grass for a neat look. It makes any paths look maintained and smart, and it works well at the edges of your property too.
27. Set up Planter Displays
If you have room in your front yard landscaping, try to set up some larger planter displays. This is fun because you can mix and match your plants to give you pops of color and lush foliage, and it’s easy to create staggered or tiered designs to add height. They work well alongside pathways or decks, and they can help to draw the eye along your landscape.
Spring Flowers by Leonora (Ellie) Enking / CC BY-SA 2.0
28. Hang Greenery Garland
If you have a porch or deck with pillars, you can highlight them by adding greenery garland along the pillars, railings, or top. This will help create a seamless look between your front yard landscaping and the house itself, and you can easily swap them out as the seasons change to give yourself a cohesive look. Vines work well, especially if you give them something to climb.
Wreath, poinsettias & garland by Ken Dodds / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
29. Grow Hydrangea Bushes
Hydrangea bushes are a staple in southern front yard landscaping, but they’re relatively easy to incorporate anywhere in the United States. These are larger bushes with a host of large white, blue, or pink flowers that work well by walkways or up to your home. They can ring your trees, and they attract pollinators to your yard like bees or hummingbirds.
Hydrangea by kamome / CC BY-NC 2.0
30. Add a Small Water Feature
Adding a small water feature by your front door can add a soothing element to your front yard landscaping design. If it moves, it’ll create a trickling sound to welcome your guests, and you could even add small koi to create interest. Line it with aquatic plants and bright perennials or annuals to boost your look. Just make sure it’s safely out of the walking path to your door.
Backyard pond by scrapkat1 / CC BY-ND 2.0
31. Add Evergreens
Evergreens like boxwood shrubs are a great way to add to your front yard landscaping all year round, especially if you live in colder climates with four distinct seasons. You can easily create a manicured and trimmed look by your door or walkways, and they’re a great way to create symmetry in your landscape design. You will have to trim and shape them to suit your space.
Boxwood and gravel path by David Houston / CC BY 2.0
32. Build a Retaining Wall
A retaining wall is a fantastic way to add structure to your front yard landscaping, and it adds a practical touch if you have problems with erosion due to heavy rain. You can use this retaining wall to define your yard, section off areas of your landscaping, or protect your driveway. There are several material choices you can choose from to help it stand out too.
IMGP4142_back retaining walls by Rae Allen / CC BY-NC 2.0
33. Plant a Small Patio Vegetable Garden
There is no reason why your vegetable garden has to be a huge ordeal. Instead, you can plant a small vegetable garden on your front patio as part of your front yard landscaping design. Adding things like tomatoes or peas will give you height, and smaller plants or vines will sprawl out for a natural look and feel.
9 May: Patio Veg by Sarah Slade / CC BY-ND 2.0
34. Use Berms to Break up Your Yard
Berms are small mounds that you can use to break up a large front yard landscaping project. You can create them to rise up out of your yard and cover them with mulch. The darker mulch will contrast nicely with your green lawn. You can plant small bushes or flowers in these berms for pops of color too. They require very little maintenance.
2012 July 24 001_Jonas by Scandinavian Centre / CC BY 2.0
35. Plant Bright Fall Flowers
It’s easier to plan your front yard landscaping around the spring and summer months, but fall is a great time to add color too. Planting bright fall flowers will ensure you have colorful pops through the season, and you can add spring and summer blooming plants mixed with them to give you a show until the first frost hits.
Fall flowers by Justin Leonard / CC BY 2.0
36. Add Low Maintenance Plants
If you don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to your front yard landscaping, adding a host of low maintenance plants and practicing xeriscaping can give you a fantastic look with little work. Add mulch to your flower beds to combat weeds and retain moisture or plant it containers, and consider adding perennials that come up every year over annuals.
Xeriscape by Jeremy Levine / CC BY 2.0
37. Incorporate Metalwork
Metalwork and sculptures may not seem like a good idea when you think of your front yard landscaping, but it can work very well when you soften it with colorful flowers. Consider adding metal planters, trellises, fountains, or sculptures to your yard and disperse flowers around them. Doing so will give you a unique look with a slightly more modern feel.
Garden by the Bay Singapore 2007 by S Pakhrin / CC BY 2.0
38. Add a Wheelbarrow Planter
Do you have an older wheelbarrow lying around your garden shed that you don’t use anymore? If so, you can give it new life by turning it into a decorative and fun planter and putting it right in the middle of your front yard landscaping design. This whimsical piece will create a natural focal point that draws the eye, and it can showcase your love of everything gardening and plants.
A Spotlight on Spring by Gary Robertson / CC BY-NC 2.0
39. Add a Picket Fence with Flowers
Maybe you don’t want to go all-out with a large privacy fence but you still want to embrace that country, cottage look in your front yard landscaping. If so, building a picket fence and having flowers surround it is a fantastic start. You can paint it white for a traditional look, or choose to stain it a darker color for a more rustic feel. Adding plants and vines to it will pull your entire landscape design together.
Image by pirate_renee / CC BY-ND 2.0
40. Succulents
If you like how succulents look, you can create a front yard landscaping design that showcases their colors and textures. It works well in warm climates, and there are succulent species that can survive freezing temperatures. Put them in pots or ornamental planters and dot them along your walkway or steps leading up to your front door. They’re low-maintenance, but they require a decent bit of watering in hotter climates.
Succulents by PINKE / CC BY-NC 2.0
41. Create Color Sections
Instead of planting an array of flowers and letting the colors fall where they may, consider creating a front yard landscaping design that has color sections. You could have blue flowers in one space, yellow in another, and so on. Not only is this unique, but it can create a fun and eye-catching display throughout your yard. You can even mix and match plants in the same color hues.
I want to lie down and roll in the bed of goodness by Cindy K / CC BY-NC 2.0
42. Add Garden Ornaments
Water features are immensely popular in any landscape design, and you can match them with larger planters or put a colorful flower bed around them. It’ll work to create a balance and symmetry in your landscape, and it can add a whimsical touch that can soften up how your home looks. Don’t overdo it with a range of ornaments. Go for one or two bigger pieces and fill in around it.
Dragon Lawn Statue by BeyondDC / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
43. Consider Built-In Flower Beds
This is a more time-consuming and expensive front yard landscaping idea, but it can give you a very modern and slick look when you finish. Build flower beds right into your walkways by your front door to frame it. They can be concrete, pavers, or stone, and they should match your home’s look and feel. Once you get them in, consider adding evergreens for a neutral look.
Sather Tower, UC Berkeley by Melinda Young Stuart / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
44. Create a Rock Wall
You can use larger stones to create a fun rock wall that adds drama to your front yard landscaping design. They work well as edging for your flower beds or walkways, and you can get stones to match your home for a cohesive look and feel. Adding a few colorful flowers or plants to the mix can help break it up and make it look more inviting.
Veronica Edging by jacki-dee / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
45. Use Barrel Planters for a Rustic Look
If you want to introduce a rustic look to your front yard landscaping, get larger whiskey barrels and use them as planters. They come in several sizes, and you can pick from different colors. You can plant some colorful flowers in it and stick a solar light in to light it up after dusk.
Barrel planter by Anthony Trumbo / CC BY-NC 2.0
Bottom Line
These 45 best front yard landscaping ideas can help you liven up your space while boosting your home’s curb appeal. Think about the look you want to create when you’re picking out the different elements of this design and incorporate them so they all complement one another to create a seamless look. You don’t have to break the bank to get a gorgeous design that looks nice all season long.
Jen Stark
Jen is a master gardener, interior designer and home improvement expert. She has completed many home improvement, decor and remodeling projects with her family over the past 10 years on their 4,500 sf Victorian house. She is also a passionate farmer who keeps goats, chickens, turkeys cows and pigs on her farm, and an instructor for her community’s Organic and Sustainable Farming project.
