Front Garden Makeovers With Mojo
Take your front yard from bland to beautiful with a statement-making style
If you really want to make an impression on visitors to your home, don’t just play at improving your front garden – really make it shine with a style that stands out from your neighbours. Whether formal, cottage-cute, native, or clean and contemporary, these front garden ideas will make you look at your home’s potential in a whole new way.
Your cottage-style front garden needn’t be restricted to behind the fence line. Along the outside of this front fence, climbing ‘Mary Rose’ provides height and fragrance, while golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’) and May Night salvia (Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’) form the lower tier. Keep to two or three colours or varieties of plants to really make an impact.
Hydrangeas and daisies are just as striking if a blue and white palette is more your style.
Formal
If you don’t mind getting out the hedge clippers once a month or so, low-set hedges framing simple garden beds and paved areas can give any house some classic elegance (and will probably give its market value a boost in the process). Don’t let the upkeep deter you – keeping hedges neat and uniform can be quite therapeutic and satisfying!
If you don’t mind getting out the hedge clippers once a month or so, low-set hedges framing simple garden beds and paved areas can give any house some classic elegance (and will probably give its market value a boost in the process). Don’t let the upkeep deter you – keeping hedges neat and uniform can be quite therapeutic and satisfying!
Add a water feature or two with lighting, and your formal front garden will become a standout. Imagine the impression you’ll make with first-time guests coming over for dinner?
TIP: Symmetry is everything in a formal garden. What you do to one side of the garden, be sure to do to the other.
TIP: Symmetry is everything in a formal garden. What you do to one side of the garden, be sure to do to the other.
Minimalist
With pared-back interiors all the rage, gardens are now following suit with minimalist styles (and minimal maintenance). A wide paved pathway sets the tone here, while a cluster of birch trees prevents it from looking too bare.
TIP: Plant Mondo grass between pavers to make maintenance a breeze – no fiddly lawn mowing or edging required.
With pared-back interiors all the rage, gardens are now following suit with minimalist styles (and minimal maintenance). A wide paved pathway sets the tone here, while a cluster of birch trees prevents it from looking too bare.
TIP: Plant Mondo grass between pavers to make maintenance a breeze – no fiddly lawn mowing or edging required.
A front garden doesn’t get much more contemporary than this, and it’s the perfect fit for a similarly striking home. There’s no front fence separating it from the street and, apart from a few easy-care plantings, this home’s impact comes from its minimalism. The driveway has been laid with a charcoal-hued exposed aggregate concrete, with raven granite strips to add interest.
Paving Australian driveways
Paving Australian driveways
The front yard comes to life at night with the help of some well-placed lighting. A light-up house number will show your guests the way.
Garden lights: Gardens at Night
Garden lights: Gardens at Night
A similar approach can be used on a more traditional-style house with just as much success. An exposed aggregate concrete driveway with bluestone border transforms this front garden, and an automatic sliding gate makes life even easier.
Natural
Soft native grasses can provide some terrific textural contrast against a contemporary home, and they’re drought tolerant and low-maintenance to boot.
Soft native grasses can provide some terrific textural contrast against a contemporary home, and they’re drought tolerant and low-maintenance to boot.
Combining native grasses with pebbled rather than paved areas in your front garden allows rainwater to permeate the soil rather than run off – that’s good news for the local environment, and completely eliminates the need for lawn mowing.
Native plants needn’t look wild and unrestrained. Streamlined native plantings perfectly complement the contemporary architectural style of this Perth home.
What to plant in your native front garden
What to plant in your native front garden
This native haven in Karrinyup, WA, was designed to make the most of the views onto the bushland area surrounding the home. The low-lying native plants create a seamless transition between the two spaces, allowing the owners to feel immersed in the native surround. The garden is water-wise and low maintenance, but still provides colour and texture year round.
TELL US
What would you love to do to your front garden? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
MORE
17 Ways to Increase Your Home’s Curb Appeal
Expert Tips for Planning a Welcoming Small Front Yard
12 Easy Ways You Can Have a Front Garden to Be Proud Of
TELL US
What would you love to do to your front garden? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
MORE
17 Ways to Increase Your Home’s Curb Appeal
Expert Tips for Planning a Welcoming Small Front Yard
12 Easy Ways You Can Have a Front Garden to Be Proud Of
A garden doesn’t have to be high maintenance to make a statement, as this garden in Melbourne’s Hawthorn East shows. Designed by Chris Gursansky, this beauty combines neat lawns and low hedges with splashes of cottage-style colour.
TIP: Use climbing roses to frame a front verandah or over a gated archway.
See more of this garden