Front garden planting combinations: a welcome that makes an impression

The front garden: your first impression

Your front garden is the calling card of your home. It is what visitors see first, what passers-by look at every day, and what you see when you arrive home. Yet for many houses the front garden is a forgotten zone — a patch of lawn, a conifer, perhaps some paving. It can be so much better.

The challenge with a front garden is that it is compact, often partly paved, and needs to look good all year round. Here are five combinations designed specifically for that challenge.

Combination 1: Box balls, lavender and Salvia

The crisp, well-groomed front garden. Three Buxus sempervirens balls in varying sizes (40, 50 and 60 centimetres) as evergreen structure. Around them Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote' in neat rows along the path. And for seasonal colour, Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna' with purple spikes.

The result is a front garden that looks as good in January as in July. The box provides structure, the lavender fragrance and the salvia a colour explosion in summer. Trim the lavender after flowering, clip the box in June and August, and cut the salvia back in March. That is all that is needed.

Alternative: swap the Buxus for Ilex crenata if box moth is a problem in your area.

Combination 2: Hydrangea, Hakonechloa and Heuchera

The elegant shaded front garden. Many front gardens face north or are shaded by the house. No problem. Hydrangea macrophylla 'Endless Summer' flowers from June to October in blue or pink (depending on soil pH). Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' brings golden ornamental grass as an eye-catching accent. And Heuchera 'Palace Purple' delivers dark purple foliage as ground cover.

This combination makes every passer-by look twice. The colours are unexpected for shade — golden yellow, purple and blue instead of the typical dark green.

Combination 3: Ornamental crab apple with underplanting and bulbs

The front garden with a tree. A compact Malus 'Evereste' (crab apple, white blossom in May, orange-red fruit in autumn) as the centrepiece. Maximum four metres tall, so suitable for a small front garden. Underplant with Geranium macrorrhizum (pink flowers, aromatic foliage, ground cover) and a mix of bulbs: Crocus, Narcissus 'Tete-a-tete' and Tulipa 'White Triumphator'.

From February to November there is something to see. Blossom in spring, foliage and ground cover in summer, fruit in autumn and a fine branch silhouette in winter.

Combination 4: Grasses and Echinacea — the prairie front garden

Modern and low maintenance. Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' (strictly upright, 1.5 metres) as a vertical element. Echinacea purpurea 'White Swan' (white) and 'Magnus' (pink) for summer flowers. And Sedum 'Matrona' as a filler and autumn bloomer.

This is the front garden for those who want something different. The grasses give height and movement, the Echinacea attracts butterflies and bees (a bonus for the neighbourhood) and the whole scheme looks good all year. Cut everything back in March — one day's work per year.

Combination 5: Facade greening with a pot arrangement

No soil in the front garden? No problem. Cover the facade with Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Boston ivy, spectacular red autumn colour) or Trachelospermum jasminoides (star jasmine, evergreen, fragrant). Place three to five substantial pots along the path with a mix of Agapanthus, box balls and seasonal plants.

Pots give you the flexibility to swap things every few months. Spring: tulips and violas. Summer: Agapanthus and pelargoniums. Autumn: chrysanthemums and ornamental grasses. Winter: Skimmia and evergreen herbs.

Front garden rules

Keep it simple. A front garden is small, so every plant counts double. Choose a maximum of five species and repeat them. Avoid busy colour schemes — two to three colours plus green is ideal.

Think about the path. Do not plant anything that sprawls over the path and gets wet when it rains. Leave at least 60 centimetres clear on each side of the walkway.

Add lighting. Two spotlights on a structural plant or the facade make your front garden as attractive in the evening as during the day.

Design your front garden

Want to see which combination suits your front garden? Upload a photo at gardenworld.app and discover the possibilities. From a bare paved frontage to a green calling card — you see the result immediately.