Gardening Garden Plans Gardens Plans for Special Spots 14 Front Yard Garden Plans Packed with Colorful Curb Appeal By Viveka Neveln Viveka Neveln Instagram Viveka Neveln is the Garden Editor at BHG and a degreed horticulturist with broad gardening expertise earned over 3+ decades of practice and study. She has more than 20 years of experience writing and editing for both print and digital media. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on March 13, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke Your front lawn is basically the calling card for your home, giving everyone who passes by a glimpse into your style and personality. However, coming up with an aesthetically pleasing and easy-to-achieve landscape design can be easier said than done—especially if you're a novice gardener. Luckily, we're here to help. The easy-care plants in these multi-seasonal designs are sure to put on a long-lasting show outside your yard. Whether you have a sunny space or a shady enclave, you'll find a plan below that will work for you. 01 of 14 Easy-Care Streetside Garden DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke It's possible to create a beautiful garden in a challenging spot along a sun-drenched curb; you just need to use tough plants that can tolerate heat and drought well. This easy street-side garden plan relies on a mix of native perennials that do just that, plus they'll create an oasis of colorful blooms and foliage that will look good all summer long. 02 of 14 Tiny Corner Garden DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke Nestle a triangular planting bed into your front yard's sidewalk-defined angle, add a section of picket fence to anchor it, and you'll end up with instant curb appeal. This design is packed with sun-loving bloomers and features a mix of easy-growing annuals, punctuated with a few low-maintenance perennials. 03 of 14 Foolproof Foundation Garden DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Rick Taylor A well-designed foundation planting helps integrate your house with the surrounding landscape so the two blend seamlessly and create a welcoming, harmonious look. Instead of the usual row of evergreens, this foundation garden plan features low-maintenance shrub roses fronted by neat rows of perennials and backed by sprawling clematis, which adds a whimsical, romantic touch. 04 of 14 English-Style Front Yard Cottage Garden DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke This English-style front yard garden plan captures the essence of a cottage garden but organizes the mix of plants along both sides of a decorative white picket fence that can run parallel to a sidewalk or driveway. It's packed with easy-care annuals, perennials, and a hydrangea that all bloom in a pleasing mix of pink, blue, purple, and yellow. 05 of 14 A Rose Lover's Front Walk DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke Make your home's entrance more memorable with this gorgeous front-yard rose garden plan. An arbor placed around the front door offers an ideal perch for a pair of red 'Blaze' climbing roses. Then, a colorful collection of 11 more floribunda, hybrid tea, and grandiflora roses fill in beds on either side of the walkway, bordered by a low boxwood hedge. 06 of 14 Hot Summer Garden DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke Heat and humidity are no match for this hot-summer garden plan, which is sure to grab the attention of passers-by if you plant it in your front yard. It features a mix of annuals and perennials (including some tropical varieties) that flourish in steamy weather. Plus, their nonstop flowers are all vibrant tones of red, pink, orange, and yellow that just seem to get brighter as temperatures climb. 07 of 14 Hosta-Filled Shade Garden DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Matthew Benson Make a bold statement—even if you've got a shady front yard—with this hosta-filled garden plan. It features five different hosta cultivars, planted around an antique millstone recruited into service as a fountain. Variegated vinca edges the bed, perfectly complementing the hostas and resulting in a design that is simple, lush, and tidy. 08 of 14 Privacy Screen Garden DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke Use this easy design to offer year-round interest in your front yard and enjoy the extra privacy these plants provide. This garden, filled with colorful shrubs and shrub-sized trees, requires very little pruning or care to thrive, other than keeping the plants in it well-watered during their first year. 09 of 14 Welcoming Dooryard Garden DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Illustration by Helen Smythe The area around your main entry deserves so much more than a few foundation shrubs. Turn it into a grand display with a versatile garden plan that will look good through all four seasons. Long-blooming, easy-care perennials provide colorful blooms from spring through fall. Evergreen shrubs provide structure even in winter, and a concrete urn planter filled with annuals of your choice serves as a focal point in the center of the bed. 10 of 14 Beginner Shade Garden DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke Don't worry about your lack of gardening experience: This easy shade garden plan weaves together a handful of low-maintenance, easy-to-grow plants to create a beautiful display that's basically foolproof. Situate it in front of your home and enjoy the color from both the blooms and the foliage. 11 of 14 Simple Ornamental Grass Garden DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Mavis Augustine Torke A sunny corner in your front yard is the perfect spot for this easy ornamental grass garden plan. It shows off several beautiful types of ornamental grasses, which are so low-maintenance that you can plant them and pretty much forget them. For contrast, this design includes a few flowering perennials, which also require very little care. 12 of 14 Flower-Filled Foundation Garden DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke A colorful alternative to the standard all-green row of shrubs along the front of your house, this foundation garden plan mixes flowering perennials and groundcovers with broad-leaf evergreen shrubs and a sculptural tree. Lay a path of stepping stones along the front of the border or use another edging material to define the garden's shape. 13 of 14 Decorative Downspout Garden DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke The soil around downspouts can get too soggy for many types of plants after it rains, but you can still enjoy plenty of colorful perennials that will thrive in the extra moisture. This problem-solving garden plan relies on tall joe-pye weed to grab attention away from the downspout itself. Then, pink turtlehead, dwarf sweet flag, and lobelia camouflage the area around the opening to help it blend into the landscape. 14 of 14 Island Bed Garden Plan DOWNLOAD THIS PLAN Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke Break up the monotony of a big stretch of the front lawn with this easy-care island bed garden plan. It's designed to look beautiful no matter which side it's viewed from, with a small ornamental plum tree that anchors the planting and produces stunning pinkish-white blossoms in spring (plus it has pretty fall foliage). The surrounding plants add seasonal splashes of color, with an emphasis on pink and yellow and a touch of blue. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit