ᐅ Looking for tips on front yard landscaping design

lastdrop schrieb:
A "rock garden" is not the same as a "garden full of stones."

No, there are also beautiful rock gardens that bloom and are full of life. Unfortunately, you don’t see those anymore. Many just have decorative gravel or something similar, with maybe five clumps of grass or three bamboo plants in between.

Just rocky wastelands.

I would create a meadow there (low-nutrient meadow, wildflower meadow) instead of a lawn. You can let it “go wild.”

Perennial bed with ground cover plants, prairie garden, rock garden (real rocks, not gravel with a few green bushes).

With gravel and a few green bushes, you face the challenge of keeping it clean—leaves, needles, pollen, road dirt. This is especially important along a main road.

I might also consider replacing the hedge, depending on its health. You could choose thuja again or opt for hedges that are marketed as bird-friendly, bee-friendly, or four-season hedges. That way, there’s always some flowering.

Think about where you want a wall or fence for children and/or dogs, or where you want it open.

My “front yard” will get a prairie bed of about 80 square meters (860 square feet). On one hand, the soil is quite rocky; on the other hand, something will always be in bloom. In about two years, they are supposed to be fairly low-maintenance: pruning and thinning in spring and autumn, no watering, no weeding. I’ll report on whether it works. I hope to plant it this year.

haydee schrieb:


My "front garden" will be transformed into a prairie-style planting bed of about 80 sqm (860 sq ft). The soil is quite rocky, but there are always flowers blooming. In about two years, it should be relatively low-maintenance—pruning and thinning in spring and autumn only, no watering, no weeding.

What exactly is a prairie bed? Is it similar to a low-nutrient meadow, just with some rocks mixed in?

I’m also currently creating a low-nutrient meadow in my front garden, but mine is only a modest 12.5 sqm (135 sq ft) in area—calculated using three nested circles with the formula: circle area = π / 4 × diameter².
I’ve removed about one-third of the lawn so far. Since then, the rain has been interrupting progress. But the weather is expected to be nice on Saturday... 🙂

haydee schrieb:

I’ll report on whether it works out. I hope to establish it this year.

Absolutely, please do. I’m also keen to see whether it will succeed for me.

kaho674 schrieb:
Does it just look that way, or is the soil really that sandy?
There’s a bit of sand, yes. The boxwood bushes have probably been maintained for several years. The shrubs at the front right look a bit neglected.
Sandy soil naturally calls for a low-maintenance wildflower meadow with a rock garden.

If you have a lot of energy, I would remove the shrubs on the right. Put a corner bench in the corner and in front of it a small pond or birdbath surrounded by stones. Along the right property boundary, build a dry stone wall. Let the sandy soil between the house and the right property line grow wild with low-nutrient meadow seeds. Along the path, place some old small lanterns as pathway lighting…

Yes. The soil is completely sandy. Perfect for growing asparagus 🙂
Exactly. They are boxwood bushes. The shrubs didn’t survive last summer, so it looks quite bare.
And since we don’t want to replace anything now because changes are planned anyway.

Wild growth should not happen in that area, though, as we want to manage it on the meadow at the back. My mother lives in the house, and so the front garden MUST look neat and not wild.
But personally, it wouldn’t be my choice in the entrance area either. I also think it doesn’t really suit our place.

We have a garden pond in another location.
I think I need to show you the entire property at some point and then you can comment on it 🙂

Thanks for the ideas!

Merymery schrieb:
My mother lives in the house as well, so the front garden MUST look neat and not overgrown.

Great! Now we already know who will be taking care of the front garden. 😀