33 Front Garden Design Ideas: Options for Every Garden and Budget

Whether you have a postage-stamp sized patio, a patch of lawn or just a driveway, make your front garden stand out for all the right reasons with these budget-friendly front garden designs.

Front gardens come in all shapes and sizes, from a half-metre wide terrace to a large space complete with lawn and borders. If you're lucky enough to have a generous front garden, then you can follow the same garden design principles you'd use for a back garden, but smaller front gardens are trickier beasts. Whether you're trying to squeeze a garden and parking into the same space or you have a front yard that never gets the sun, I've got a solution to give your home the kerb appeal it deserves.

 

Tiny front garden ideas

Many terraced houses and older homes in the UK have little or no front garden. Your house may open straight onto the street, or you might only have a front wall with a very narrow space behind. Often these areas are left barren, which is a shame, as a bit of life and colour can massively improve how your home looks and feels from the outside. Here are some tiny front garden design ideas:

1. If you don't have space to plant out, plant up! Train a climbing plant up and over your door or window to add height to your display. To avoid any potential damage to your walls, choose a climber that clings to a support system, such as a trellis or wires, rather than the wall. Clematis, honeysuckle and roses are popular climbers, and you can find varieties that suit full sun or shady conditions. Star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) is a good choice if you want an evergreen climbing plant.

2. Many alpine plants will happily grow in and on top of dry stone walls. Rock cress (Aubrieta), Lithodora and Aurinia saxatilis look wonderful in spring and early summer when their bright flowers cascade over and down walls. Add Campanula portenschlagiana for evergreen foliage and summer flowers. 

3. Evergreen topiary and shrubs give a smart, formal feel to your front garden. A pair of neatly trimmed patio trees flanking your front door adds instant kerb appeal. Scented shrubs, such as Sarcococca confusa (for shade) and lavender or rosemary (for sun), add a wonderful extra dimension to a very small front garden.

4. Pots are a handy solution to fill a narrow gap between your house and front wall, as you don't have to worry about poor soil and they naturally lift plants up to make them more visible. If your front door opens directly onto a pavement, check your land boundaries before investing in lots of containers and make sure you don't obstruct a right of way.

5. Window boxes and hanging baskets are another great way of brightening up the front of your house and making the most of a tiny front garden. Technically, if they overhang the pavement, they could be classed as an obstruction, but if you're sensible and don't go overboard, you're unlikely to run into any issues. Use your planters and baskets for seasonal flowers or evergreen foliage.

 

Small front garden ideas

For many people, the main function of a front garden is to have somewhere to park cars, but in some cases this isn't possible or practical. Or you just may prefer to leave your front garden undisturbed. I'll cover how to use a small space as both a driveway and a garden further down, but first, let's dive into practical design ideas for small front gardens:

6. Ditch the lawn! It's likely too small to be usable, and you'll save some time mowing and keeping it neat. Use the space for more generous planting – I promise you won't regret it.

7. Even small gardens can benefit from having a focal point, whether that's an ornamental tree, a sculpture, a bench or water feature. Make sure the size of your feature is in proportion to your garden and fits with your garden's style. Remember, a focal point doesn't have to be in the centre of your garden.   

8. When choosing plants, check their eventual height and spread. It's easy to get carried away when buying new plants and end up with an overgrown shrub taking over your garden. Add height and layers to your garden with small trees and upright shrubs, such as Viburnum × bodnantense 'Dawn', Euonymus 'Green Spire' and Berberis thunbergii 'Orange Rocket'.

9. Think about what your garden will look like at different times of the year. In small gardens, you don't have the space to make it look amazing in every season, so instead pick your favourite season and focus on creating an explosion of colour at that time of year. Then, make sure you have enough year-round structure, in the form of evergreens, grasses and shrubs to carry the garden through the rest of the year.

10. I firmly believe that every garden deserves a tree, even a small front garden! Acers, magnolias and amelanchier are excellent choices for front gardens, as you can buy compact varieties and they have shallow root systems.

11. Your front garden design needs to feel cohesive, so if you have a garden path, make sure the landscaping materials complement the style of your house. Find out more about how to do this (with examples!) in Part 5 of my Garden Design series.

12. Not everyone has the time or energy to spend looking after their front garden. If you're after low-maintenance front garden ideas, skip the annuals and perennials and stick to trees, shrubs and bulbs as these all require minimal care once established. Don't choose too many different plants and pick ones that have interest at different times of year, for example, evergreen shrubs for winter, spring bulbs, summer-flowering shrubs like roses and a tree that gives spring blossom and autumn colour. Bark chip can help suppress weeds. 

13. Don't forget about access! As tempting as it may be to create one huge bed bursting with flowers, you'll end up having to trample over your precious plants in order to look after them. Adding narrow pathways between your beds or even stepping stones makes it easier to maintain your garden and adds valuable structure to your design.

 

Front garden ideas with a driveway

Nothing says suburbia like the classic driveway next to a small patch of lawn with narrow, neatly edged flowerbeds and a garden fence separating your patch of land from your neighbour's. If you prefer to blend in, then you may be happy with your bland, identikit garden, but I'm guessing if you're reading this article, you may want to consider something a little different. Make your home stand out in a good way with these garden and driveway ideas:

14. Go bigger with your borders. You don't have to lose the lawn entirely (though if you want to go down that route, I am all in favour of a diverse mix of plants over grass), but doubling or even tripling the depth of your beds enables you to layer plants of different heights, creating a garden that has a wow factor.

15. Turn your square lawn into a circle. This softens the shape of your garden, and by cutting off the corners, you automatically get more space for planting. Your eye is naturally drawn to the centre of a circle, so if you have space, add a focal point, such as a small, decorative tree (acers are ideal) or birdbath.

16. For a more formal feel, create a symmetrical garden with geometric lines, using low-growing box or privet hedging to edge your lawn or individual beds. Add height with topiary lollipop trees.

17. Plant bulbs in your lawn for stunning spring colour. Snowdrops, crocuses and narcissus are perfect for naturalising in grass and are a cheap, easy way to make your garden stand out. Find out more in our guide to planting bulbs.

18. Use hedges instead of fences to mark boundary lines. Hedges protect you from air pollution, offer space for wildlife and won't blow down in strong winds! Always speak to your neighbour before planting a hedge between your properties and check to make sure there aren't any restrictive covenants on your house that limit what you can plant.

19. If you already have a fence, you can either grow a climbing plant up it or plant upright shrubs in front of it. Photinia 'Red Robin' is a lovely upright, low-maintenance evergreen shrub with colourful foliage that would be a good choice to disguise a fence. 

20. Line your driveway with scented plants, such as lavender, salvias, nepeta and rosemary, to soften the edges of the hard landscaping. You'll enjoy the fragrance when getting into and out of your car, and pollinators will love the summer flowers. Make sure you have some evergreens in there (rosemary and lavender both count) so the borders don't look bare in winter.

 

Driveway garden ideas

If you have a very small front garden, you may feel torn between creating a beautiful garden and having space to park your car. I've seen many larger front gardens converted into fully paved areas as kids grow up and the number of cars in the household increases. This makes me sad, as it is possible to increase your parking area without getting rid of plants entirely, and there are so many benefits to you and local wildlife in keeping greenery in your garden!

Here are some tips for combining plants with hard landscaping when your front garden is your driveway:

21. Keep hard landscaping to a minimum and explore permeable alternatives to traditional paving or asphalt. Matrix paving allows grass or hardy groundcover plants to grow in the gaps between the paving. Alternatively, you could pave the wheel tracks and plant low-growing plants such as creeping thyme and Ajuga reptans (bugleweed) in between. If your car is off the drive for most of the day, these plants will thrive.

22. Identify any "dead spaces" which your vehicle doesn't touch. For example, you may be able to position large pots in the corners of the drive or a long, narrow planter along one end. There will likely be some space around your front door, so take the opportunity to frame this with small standard (lollipop) trees or containers. 

23. Plant climbing plants on walls and fences to give you the feeling of being enclosed by greenery. Ivy is often berated, but it's easy to look after and, when well managed, it provides a wonderful habitat for wildlife.

24. If you have the space for a barrier between your driveway and the road, plant a narrow hedge instead of a fence. Privet and Pyracantha (firethorn) are fast-growing plants that you can trim into a neat, slim hedge. 

 

The north-facing front garden

As front gardens tend to be small, a north-facing space may receive little if any direct sunlight. While this does limit what you can plant, don't give up on your shady spot. There are plenty of plants that thrive in full shade, and shady gardens tend to be lower maintenance, as you don't need to weed or water them as often. Create a front garden you love with these small shady garden ideas:

25. Embrace the jungle vibe with lush greenery and contrasting textures. Plant Fatsia japonica, tree ferns, Tetrapanax 'Rex' and bamboo for height and underplant with ferns, hostas and Pachysandra terminalis (Japanese spurge).

26. Add splashes of bright colour with shade-loving flowering plants like astilbes, foxgloves, hellebores, Pulmonaria (lungwort) and bleeding heart. Heucheras are brilliant plants for adding colour to shady areas due to their vibrant foliage.

27. Look to Japan for inspiration. Many Japanese-style gardens are designed for low-light conditions, particularly traditional courtyard gardens. These use moss and rocks, along with a handful of shade-loving plants to create a miniature landscape. Add a water feature to create a tranquil retreat from the busy world outside.

28. Japanese Zen gardens are also an option for north-facing spaces, particularly if they're not overshadowed by trees that will drop leaves. Box topiary balls are traditional, but sarcococca and yew both grow better in deep shade and can be neatly clipped to give the same effect.

 

The south-facing front garden

Sun-baked front-gardens can actually be harder to plan than shade gardens. The key, as always, is to choose plants that suit hot, dry conditions. This makes your garden more climate-resilient and makes for a low-maintenance front garden, as you won't have to spend a lot of time watering. Here are some suggestions for hot, sunny front gardens:

29. Choose drought-tolerant perennials, such as nepeta (catmint), eryngium (sea holly), Verbena bonariensis, and achillea (yarrow). Drought tolerant evergreen plants include many euphorbias, nandina and juniperus. Silver leaved plants like Stachys byzantina (lamb's ears) and Artemisia 'Powis Castle' also cope well with dry conditions. Some of these plants will need watering while they establish, but after the first year or two, they need little attention.

30. Ornamental grasses do really well in hot, sunny gardens and add valuable height and texture. You can also use taller grasses, such as Stipa gigantea, for privacy in front of windows. 

31. Create a productive Mediterranean herb garden with lavender, rosemary, sage and thyme. Add salvias (ornamental sage) for flowers and an olive tree for height and shade.

32. Dry gardens are designed to fend for themselves with minimal watering – the ultimate low-maintenance garden. You do have to bear in mind that UK winters are typically wet, so desert plants may struggle outside year round. Succulents, including sedums, sempervivums, and certain cultivars of agave, aloe and parodia, can thrive in mild areas, as long as the soil is very well drained.

33. Depending on the situation of your property, you may be able to raise the height of your front boundary to add shade to your garden. This can also be valuable if you want to use your front garden as a seating area. If your front garden borders a highway in the UK, the maximum permitted height of a wall is one metre, but you can add a hedge on top of this to boost the height.

 

Small front garden ideas on a budget

Many of the front garden design ideas above are achievable on a small budget, but if money is really tight, here are some tips to make your cash stretch further:

• Save money by buying plants when they're discounted. We run regular sales throughout the year – find our current offers here. 

• Bare root hedging is much cheaper than container-grown plants, but you can only plant bare root plants in the winter. At other times of the year, small plants work out more economical. We offer a full range of bare root and potted hedging plants, with pot sizes ranging from cheap 9 cm pots to mature plants.

• Plant pots are expensive, but you can often find cheap or free planters on Facebook Marketplace or local Facebook groups. If you're not a fan of the pot itself, use trailing plants like lobelia, fuchsias, creeping rosemary, nasturtiums or ivy to disguise it.

• Gravel is cheaper and more permeable than paving or asphalt.

• Wood chip makes a great mulch, and you can sometimes get it for free. Try contacting local tree surgeons – they may even be able to drop some off at your garden.

• With a bit of patience, you can increase the number of plants in your garden for free by taking cuttings or dividing perennial plants. Or you may have friends with plants that need dividing and no space for new plants.

• A coat of paint is a cheap way to smarten up an old fence or front garden gate. Don't forget your front door! If it's looking a little shabby, repainting it can make a massive difference to the look and feel of your front garden.

 

More garden design articles

• How to design a garden

• Small garden design ideas

• Modern and contemporary garden design ideas

• Japanese garden design ideas