How do you choose plants for a front garden?

How do you choose plants for a front garden?

The front garden presents householders with a range of garden design challenges.?Whilst the back garden is usually a private, personal space where no-one sees, the front of the house is on show for all the world to see.

Ideas for a front garden

That little piece of England in front of a home is the public face of a house, and its occupants.?If you’re thinking of selling the property, first impressions are everything.?An unkempt garden can devalue your home so easily. Conversely, a well maintained garden will increase kerb appeal and may even boost the buying price a little.

Your front garden greets visitors before you do. It offers an answer to the question “who lives in a place like this?” So from a human perspective, your front garden needs to reflect your own tastes and personality .

What do you think about when designing a front garden?

Any garden, but especially a front garden needs to be functional, attractive, affordable and manageable. In an ideal world it will also be sustainable, in tune with the environment and attractive to wildlife.?

Questions to ask yourself include:-

Will there be a hard standing for the car (or cars)?

How important is privacy?

Does it need to provide shade for the house or let in as much light as possible?

Should it be toddler proofed?

Will the pets be using the garden?

How long each week/month/season do you want to spend caring for the garden?

Will you employ a gardener or are you happy to do the work yourself?

Remember that you are not the only one who uses your garden.?Front gardens can make amazing wildlife corridors. The more plants you have, the more you are doing to improve air quality.?Don’t forget too that soil and soft landscaping is so much better at absorbing rainfall than hard surfaces.?A lawn, a flower bed or a shrubbery can take an awful lot of the strain off our overworked drains.

None of the above need to be labour intensive if you don’t want them to be.

Climbing plants are brilliant.?Ivy flowers when there are very few other sources of winter food for bees and moths. Not only that but it’s one of the most self-sufficient plants there is.?It doesn’t take up much space – because it grows upwards – and it doesn’t need lots of attention.?If you’re nervous about growing it up the side of your house, let it twist around a pole instead, or, buy one of those wire topiary frames and really make a feature of it.

In an ideal world, what would you put in your front garden?

https://www.turfonline.co.uk/blog/choosing-plants-for-your-front-garden/