How to give your front garden design curb appeal

Front garden design is tricky. On the one hand you want space to be able to showcase your interior. Something to tantalise your visitors before they arrive at the main event. Sort of an amuse bouche to the bigger picture. On the other hand they need to be desperately practical. In small spaces the front garden design needs to accommodate pathways, bins, access from front gate to side gate, bikes as well as potentially vehicles. They are open to the elements, yet need to provide privacy. They need to be neat and tidy but also harder to control. Here we give you a few pointers and to lead you to triumphant terrain.

 

Creating curb appeal with your front garden design

Keep it clean

It may sound obvious but jet washing can make all the difference. It’s a bit like running the vacuum cleaner over dirty carpet. It will make it look like new. Re-point paving setts that are looking a bit tired and consider breaking up the path by lifting any broken slabs, refill with gravel and re-plant with evergreen ground cover.

Plants

I think evergreens are the way forward. Sale price shrubs will triumph time and time again. Keep it simple. Maybe stick to one colour. Consider using planters to give you winter colour. Put one either side of your front door adds balance and harmony and frames the entrance. You can always paint your front door and gate if you want to pick things up a little. Unless of course, you are a very keen gardener with a big front garden then the world is your oyster.

Hide it away

When I lived in London, front garden design always needed to include somewhere to put the dreaded wheelie bin. These huge pieces of kit that plagued every small garden in every city needs to be addressed. No matter how beautiful your paving or stunning you’re planting is, a huge smelly black wheelie bin will not do wonders for the space. Consider a bin store. In this garden we had one that housed two wheelie bins and recycling crates. It makes all the difference.

Stick to paving

It is by far the most low maintenance surface you can use. Coming in a wide range of colours to suit any façade, it is practical and hard wearing. Easy to clean, it can be modern or traditional, depending on what paving you choose. Use a sealant and it needs cleaning even less, it looks better and lasts longer.

Work with your surroundings

Unless you live at the Taj Mahal, don’t try to recreate it in your garden unless you are blazingly confident or an eccentric artist. It will look naff. I’m always one for pushing the boundaries but in this instance don’t rip up the book, just put a small tear on one of the pages. If you live in a Victorian terraced street, stay true to that style. Don’t try to create the cottage garden if you live in a council tower block. Be proud of what you have, look at the architecture of your building, the materials in the street around you and tone in with that.