Front garden and front yard ideas, with driveway and planting guidance

What makes a good front garden or front yard?

Keep a clear route from the street to the door, then work around any parking or bin storage you need. The photo above is a driveway front, redesigned as an AI generated example with low-maintenance planting along the edges.

Start with what you must keep, which is usually the drive, the path and the boundary. Then see how much space is left for planting. Measure narrow borders before choosing plants, allowing for their mature spread and the growing conditions beside the wall or fence.

If you want a lower-effort planting scheme, the low maintenance style page goes into plant choice in more detail.

Driveway or planting: how much of the front garden should be paved?

Many front gardens are paved because parking is useful, but impermeable paving can increase runoff unless water drains into a suitable permeable area. A good balance keeps parking where you need it and returns the rest to planting.

• Allow enough space to park, open the doors and reach the house safely.
• Keep a planted strip along the boundary or the house wall, even a narrow one.
• Choose a surface that lets water through where you can, such as gravel or permeable block paving.
• Leave room to open car doors without stepping into a border.

If the drive crosses the pavement, the council controls the dropped kerb, so ask them before you plan the layout around it.

BeforeAfter: Low maintenance

What should I plant in a front garden bed?

The front of a house can be sunnier, shadier, windier or drier than the back. Look at which way the house faces before you buy anything. A plant that suits a sheltered, south-facing back border may not cope with an exposed frontage.

The table below combines the plants from the driveway design above with five from the terrace design. It shows each plant's sun, aspect, soil and size so you can match it to your house.

For a house that faces north, the north-facing garden page lists plants that suit that aspect.

How much does a front garden driveway cost?

Compare the surfacing options below, and check whether each estimate includes excavation, the sub-base, drainage and waste removal. Permeability depends on the whole installation, so check the specification and base for resin-bound or gravel surfaces. Ordinary block paving is not necessarily permeable.

The ranges overlap, so the cheapest option on paper depends on the quote, the base preparation and how awkward the site is. Ask each contractor how they handle drainage, because that links back to the planning rule above.

What do small front gardens need?

A small frontage works best with fewer elements. A clear path, one or two shrubs for structure and a ground-cover plant along the edge look tidier than many small features. Pots by the door add colour without taking up the bed.

The gallery at the bottom of this page shows a cottage planting scheme in a small terrace front. Maintenance depends on the plants chosen, so check which need pruning or deadheading before copying the scheme.

How do I make a front garden welcoming?

Keep the route to the door clear and allow enough width for everyone who uses it, including any mobility aids or pushchairs. Keep it free of overhanging planting, and light it if the front door is used after dark. Planting then frames the route instead of blocking it.

Boundaries shape the whole look. A hedge, low wall or fence gives the garden an edge, and a hedge also gives a bit of privacy from the street. Balance privacy with visibility at the entrance, and check any planning restrictions before changing a wall or fence.

Hedge, wall or fence?

Compare installation and upkeep costs for each boundary. Hedges need pruning, while the maintenance and lifespan of walls and fences depend on their materials and construction. Get separate quotes for the boundary work.

How do I keep a front garden low-maintenance?

The front is the part of the garden people pass every day, so it needs to look tidy without much work. Use evergreen shrubs for structure, a few repeated perennials, and ground-cover plants to cover bare soil between them. Keep the number of plant types small.

Weeds can still establish in debris on gravel, so ask the installer how the proposed build-up handles drainage and weed control. Mulch the beds after planting, and water new plants through their first dry spells. Check each plant's RHS hardiness rating alongside its wind and coastal-exposure needs, because cold hardiness alone does not show whether it suits an exposed frontage.

Can I use my own front garden photo yet?

Rendering from your own photo is not available yet.

You can pick a photo, choose the front garden preset on the waitlist page and join the waitlist. For the other side of the house, see the back garden page.