Small Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

With innovative small front yard landscaping ideas, your small yard will draw attention and impress your neighbors even if it's only a thumbnail space. While small front yard landscaping ideas may be restricted to spaces of 1,000 square feet or less, homeowners have certain advantages when landscaping a small property, especially if the back yard can accomodate small pool landscaping designs. A small front yard requires less maintenance, and you can easily create a dramatic focal point in a limited area. With groupings of flower and outdoor furniture, your small front yard landscaping ideas will draw friends to your home.

Focal Points for Small Yards

When you're working with a small area, you don't have to look very far to find a focal point for your front yard. The focal point can serve as the center of your design ideas, drawing attention to a specific space. Choose a striking tree, a small front courtyard, a birdbath, an eye-catching container garden or a piece of stone statuary as the center of your ideas. You can even use your house itself as the focal point of your front yard, with all elements directing the eye to your home.

Small front yard landscaping ideas can include a paved walkway leading from the street to your front porch. Brick or stone pavers in dramatic geometric designs add style and flair to your landscaping ideas. Line the walkway with annual or perennial flowers that lend color and texture to your landscaping scheme. In a front yard with limited space, shrubs should be carefully sculpted to prevent them from overwhelming the area. Leave yourself room for gardening by opening up an area on either side of your walkway.

A grouping of outdoor furniture can serve as a focal point for your landscaping ideas. Wrought iron chairs and a table won't get lost on a vast lawn when you're planning small front yard landscaping ideas. In limited areas, every ornament or accent that you choose should play a significant role in your overall landscaping ideas.

In arid climates, you can easily plan a desert garden for your small front yard landscaping ideas. Areas of 500 square feet or so can be covered with gravel, lava rock or other types of stone. Use different colors of stone to create a quilt of color in your yard. A large cactus or a Southwestern design element, such as a wooden wagon wheel, can serve as your focal point. Creative arrangements of plants, stones, wood and rustic furniture can turn a postage stamp property into a work of art.

Planning Trees and Shrubs

If you're starting with a blank slate for your small front yard landscaping ideas, choose smaller trees and low-growing shrubs. While trees provide vital shade and cool the house down in the summer time, the long branches and heavy foliage can easily overwhelm the dwelling. Choose smaller ornamental trees, like delicate Japanese maples, to add greenery to your landscaping ideas without completely overshadowing the house.

Plant trees to achieve the most favorable light patterns during the day. A tree can be the setting for an attractive border garden, including a selection of hostas, impatiens and other shade loving plants. Because space is limited on a tiny property, even a smaller tree, like a willow or a dogwood, can become a striking focal point. If your property is already dominated by a larger tree that consumes a lot of square footage, consider trimming its limbs to create more overhead space and illuminate your home.

Evergreen shrubs, like juniper, are easy to shape and keep under control. Evergreens add rich, vibrant color and appealing shapes to your small front yard landscaping ideas throughout the year. Consider planting shrubs strategically along a walkway or along the porch rather than hemming the perimeter of your property with tall hedges. If your property is completely paved, turn the space into an enchanting courtyard with patio furniture, potted shrubs or miniature trees and colorful container gardens.

Lighting for Smaller Properties

After dark, artful lighting can give your smaller property a sense of drama or turn your home into a charming, cozy cottage. Solar lamps are affordable and easy to install along a walkway to guide your guests to your home. Surround a tree or a grouping of furniture with lamps to cast dramatic light on these focal points when the sun goes down.

Small front yard landscaping ideas can transform a tiny plot of land into an enchanting oasis with your house as its centerpiece. When your space is reduced, it's simple to plan a landscape on a budget. Make the most of the strong points of your property, such as an inviting porch, a winding walkway or a grouping of graceful ornamental trees, to turn your house into an attractive retreat for family and friends.

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