The front garden is both a showcase for the residents and a reception area for visitors. It should offer protection, inspire the imagination, provide space for garbage cans and bicycles and at the same time be admired by passers-by. In order to overcome these challenges, careful planning paves the way. These tips show how your front garden design can become a successful project.
How do I plan the design of my front garden?
A successful front garden plan includes a scale drawing, determines access routes, space requirements, materials and lighting, plans planting in a hierarchical order (eye-catcher, backdrop, foreground, open areas) and integrates appropriate decorative elements.
Planning drawing determines the basic structure – this is how it works
A precise plan sketch brings together creative garden dreams and sober functions of the front garden. Measure the available area carefully. Based on this data, you create a true-to-scale plan drawing that documents the following aspects:
- The exact route of the access routes towards the entrance door, garbage cans, mailbox, garage or seating area
- Space required for garbage cans, bicycle parking or work surface with possible privacy protection measures
- Materials tailored to the architectural style, for example for covering paths and parking spaces
- Positions for adequate lighting, including safe routing of cables
- Determine the type and shape of the edging
The primary goal of this planning drawing is to develop a clear structure. This creates creative freedom to incorporate the specific style. For example, by choosing beige-colored natural stone as a path surface, you have taken the first step towards a Mediterranean front garden design. White gravel surfaces and gabion walls as hiding places for garbage cans or privacy screens for the entire front garden manifest a modern look.
Plan planting in hierarchical order – design approaches at a glance
Based on your plan drawing, the inclusion of adequate planting is clearer. Ideally, you should do this in the order in which the viewer's eye moves across your front garden. The following design approaches have proven to be very effective in front garden planning:
- Plan beautiful eye-catchers, such as a house tree, flowering bush or rose-covered obelisk
- Evergreen or deciduous shrubs with dark leaves and flowers as a backdrop
- Perennials, herbs and flowers with bright flowers and leaves in the foreground
- Open areas with lawn or ground cover alternating with perennial and flower beds
If you have decided on a plant border, the specific selection will take the size of the area into account. The smaller the front garden, the more transparent and lower the fencing should be. The options range from a mixture of grasses and perennials as a territory boundary to a loose flower hedge to a majestic yew hedge as a privacy screen.
Plan decorative elements for the finishing touches
Integrate authentic decorative elements into your front garden design as early as the planning phase. It's often these little things that give your entrance area a special flair. It becomes romantic with a rustic bench under a rose arch. A wall fountain (€350.00 on Amazon) made of terracotta speaks of the magic of the Mediterranean. A water feature made of stainless steel sets contemporary accents.
Tip
With clever, design tricks you can give a small front garden more visual depth. A curved path begins. Tall grasses and bushes act as dividing elements and divide the area into small garden rooms. Trellis and climbing plants make optimal use of the height.
