A beautiful front yard serves a variety of purposes. It creates a welcoming space that visitors see when they arrive at your home. It gives you an attractive view for your own enjoyment when you look out the window of your home. It increases your curb appeal, giving your home more value. And those are just the most obvious benefits of having a nicely landscaped front yard. You can also use landscaping features to give yourself more privacy, define the borders of your property, and express your personal taste and style. Take a look at some amazing landscaping ideas that will help you transform your front yard.
CHOOSE A THEME
One way to create a front yard that looks pulled-together and attractive is to choose a theme for the space. This makes it easier to choose plants, hardscape designs, and furniture and accessories that all complement each other.
For example, in Ohio, you’ll want to choose plants that flourish in this part of the country. You might choose a theme that features just one or two colors. Or you could go with a whimsical fairy garden theme. Plant bonsai trees, cherry tomatoes, and heirloom roses. Install cobblestone walkways and a wishing well, then adorn your yard with garden gnomes and strings of lights that twinkle at night.
Think about your interests and the aesthetics that appeal most to you, and think about how you could translate that into a front yard design. There are many possible landscaping themes that you can use to create a unique and attractive front yard that you’ll love showing off.
GO NATIVE
You want a beautiful front yard, but you don’t want to have to put in too much time caring for and nurturing fussy plants. Not everyone has a green thumb, but that’s not necessarily a problem. The trick to putting together a combination of trees, grass, and plants in your yard that look great but don’t require a lot of work is to choose plants that thrive on their own in the type of soil and climate that exists in your front yard. In other words, you should choose native plants.
Choosing plants that are native to Ohio has other benefits besides saving you trouble. Native plants save water, because the plants are already well-suited for the normal rainfall patterns in your area. Often, you can also avoid fertilizers and pesticides as well, for the same reasons – these plants already grow well in the local soil and with the local wildlife. Native plants also attract native birds and butterflies, which can be a wonderful addition to your yard.
If you’re not sure what types of plants, grasses, and trees are native to your area, Mr. Concrete can help. Our landscaping professionals are familiar with the plants that are best suited to your local area and will be able to help you decide which ones will work best in your front yard.
HIGHLIGHT YOUR HOME
Maybe you’re more interested in the look of your house than the look of your front yard. But a front yard that’s unkempt or poorly designed can actually detract from the beauty of your home. A neatly manicured lawn and some well-chosen plants can be used to highlight the best features of your home without pulling all of the focus onto the yard.
For instance, you can opt for a durable grass that can hold its own, like Kentucky bluegrass, zoysia, or centipede grass. Plant some simple boxwood shrubs to create a border-defining hedge that looks neat and tidy, but not overwhelming. Then place some brightly colored flowers, like daylilies or allium, close to the house in order to draw the eyes in that direction.
MAXIMIZE A SMALL SPACE
When you have a small yard, you may not think that there’s much you can do in the way of landscaping. But there are plenty of ways to make the most out of a small front yard, and creative landscaping may be just what you need in order to make a small yard look just as attractive and intricate as a large yard can look.
When it comes to landscaping a small yard, proportion is a key aspect to keep in mind. Large trees can serve to make the yard look smaller by comparison, but smaller trees, like an ornamental cypress or dwarf apple tree, can match the scale of the yard. Bright colors can also go a long way toward creating the appearance of space in a smaller yard. Rows of black-eyed Susans, orange anemones, or blue bell flowers can create the appearance of depth and texture even in a very small yard.
It’s also important to consider hardscaping in a small yard. It’s even more crucial to keep grasses neatly manicured in a small yard, but if that sounds like a lot of work, it’s possible to skip the grasses entirely. A stone courtyard bordered by mulched flower beds can be a terrific alternative to a grassy yard. Or you can create a wide walkway filled in with pebbles or crushed gravel and lined with flowers or small shrubs. Adding some curves to the walkway can make it appear longer than it really is, making your yard seem larger at the same time. If you don’t need a walkway to the house, adding a smaller, thinner walkway on one side of the yard or the other, with a water feature or statuary at one end, gives the impression of a destination in the yard, other than the house, which can also give the eye the impression that the yard is bigger than it really is.
Your front yard is unique, and no matter its size, shape, quirks, or flaws, there’s a way to create a lovely landscape design that enhances its good points and suits your needs and preferences. Mr. Concrete can help you create a beautiful front lawn that works for you. Contact us to schedule a consultation appointment today!
