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Here's how to give your lawn easy-care curb appeal.
Creating a home with curb appeal is always the goal, but few homeowners want to spend all weekend trimming hedges and weeding garden beds just to maintain aesthetics. The good news? Cultivating a front landscape that has tons of curb appeal and doesn’t require tons of upkeep is possible. “With thoughtful planning, you can create a space that looks good without constant work,” says landscape designer Kat Aul Cervoni, founder of Staghorn NYC and The Cultivation by Kat. “It’s all about creating a good design that takes into consideration your wants and your lifestyle.” The best low-maintenance landscape ideas for your front yard take a little planning but are entirely doable for anyone.
To create landscaping that’s easy to maintain, focus on the key components of your outdoor space: Hardscaping, such as patio and paths; structures, such as decking and fencing; and plants that won’t make a huge mess or need frequent pruning. “All three of these design elements should be low maintenance so that your dreams of a beautiful landscape and the reality of how much time you actually have to work in your garden are in harmony,” Cervoni says. That means choosing perennials and trees that are suited to survive winters in your USDA Hardiness zone, and flowering annuals that don't require constant trimming. Keep reading for low-maintenance front yard landscaping ideas anyone can pull off.
You’ve heard it before: Choose the right plant for the right place, Cervoni says. Always read the plant tag or description before buying a plant so you can locate it within the conditions it needs to thrive. Shade lovers will fry in the hot sun. If you try to cheat, you’re just dooming a plant to struggle so that it looks bad and may eventually die (which is a waste of money!).
Related: 32 Gorgeous Plants That Can Survive and Thrive in the Sun
A huge expanse of asphalt, which many driveways are made of, isn't exactly an appealing addition to your curb appeal. If you're in the market to redo your paving in the near future, consider adding a planting bed to the middle for extra visual interest. This works particularly well if you have a round or U-shaped driveway.
When in doubt, repeat! An en masse planting of one type of shrub will almost always look tidy, sophisticated, and clean. Selects like boxwoods, privet, and even catmint work particularly well for a timeless look such as this.
Gorgeous evergreens come in every shade, from teal to chartreuse. Opt for dwarf varieties if you're short on space, and stick with those that keep their natural rounded or conical shape without needing pruning for the most low-maintenance options.
If low maintenance is the goal, there are a few landscaping design styles that will be your friend, mainly cottage-style gardens. Designed to embrace a bit of beautiful mess and invite a whimsical atmosphere, plants chosen with this aesthetic in mind look their best when they're a bit wild and overgrown. Music to our ears!
Your front door is a focal point, so boost its curb appeal with simple containers filled with easy-care annuals you can change with the seasons. Think pansies for spring, geraniums or begonias for summer, and mums for fall—or use a potted evergreen for year-round interest.
Related: 32 Front Door Plants for a Show-stopping Entrance
Get the most bang for your buck: A flowering tree accents your landscape but usually doesn’t require tons of upkeep or pruning. Two of Cervoni’s favorites include Kousa dogwood, which is more disease resistant than native dogwood, and redbud trees (seen here), which have gorgeous spring flowers that don’t leave a big mess when they drop.
Raised beds provide a boundary that keeps your front yard looking neat and have a bit more prominence, so they're easier to see from the road. Natural stone is especially appealing as a foundation for your planter and, with proper care, it will last forever.
Nothing ruins your homes curb appeal quicker than a splintering fence or chipping planter. Choose long-lasting materials for projects such as fencing or decks, Cervoni says. Hardwoods such as Brazilian ipe and domestic black locust or composite materials for decking boards and vinyl or hardwood for fencing will outlast inexpensive pressure-treated pine.
Ornamental grasses are particularly appealing because they’re hardy, deer resistant, and incredible looking when they’re blowing in the wind, Cervoni says. Carex and hachnechloa are beautiful options to add texture and interest.
Related: The 10 Best Ornamental Grass Types
Do you love roses? Stick with hardy shrub varietals, such as knockouts, for all of the beauty with (almost) none of the fuss. They’re self-cleaning (meaning they drop their spent blooms without needing pruning) and are more disease-resistant. They also bloom nonstop from spring to frost. Great choices include the brand-new Orange Glow Knockout, with luminous orange flowers, or the Pink Double-Knockout, with hot pink double flowers.
Plant them once and enjoy them for years! Spring-flowering bulbs must be planted in the fall to bloom the following spring. The most reliable performers include daffodils, hyacinths, and muscari. Tulips are lovely but don’t bloom well in subsequent years, so they’re considered annuals and must be replanted every fall.
Related: 10 Best Bulbs to Plant in the Fall
Window boxes provide color without having to invest in landscape plantings. You can also change up plantings by the season if you want, say, spring-flowering bulbs or autumn mums. Invest in self-watering containers so you’ll need to water only every week or so instead of daily.
Perennials come back year after year, so they’re an amazing long-term investment, Cervoni says. Some of her favorites for full sun include catmint and coreopsis. For part sun, go with heuchera (aka coral bells) and dicentra.
Unless you love the look of a beautiful lawn, your entire yard doesn’t have to be grass. If you’d prefer an alternative, consider planting groundcovers, low-growing plants that add interest and color without requiring quite as much upkeep.
Related: 9 Reasons Your Lawn Looks Worse Than Your Neighbor’s
Drought-tolerant, low-care succulents, such as sedum, make a pretty groundcover, or you can plant them in pots for a fun display that won’t need to be watered frequently. Make sure they’re hardy to your USDA zone so you can leave them outdoors all winter.
No landscape beds in your front yard? Add a series of tiered pots to provide plenty of color and beauty all season long. From spring to fall, choose seasonal flowers. In the winter, you can fill them with greenery.
Remember to design your garden for fall, too. Ornamental trees such as Japanese maple offer splashes of color but don’t require a ton of raking since they’re typically quite small. “There’s a size and variety that will appeal to everyone,” Cervoni says. Read the plant tag so you know what kind you’re buying, and pay close attention to mature size and width so you don’t plant them too near your house, which could cause maintenance headaches in the future.
Related: Planting These Trees Can Increase Your Home’s Value
Cut back on how often you need to water by choosing plants that can stand up to heat and drought once they’re established. Cervoni likes perennials such as Russian sage and lavender, which have beautiful color and bloom for weeks on end. They’re also pollinator-friendly and deer-resistant.
Related: How to Grow English Lavender Plants
Plenty of low-maintenance plants can enhance your front yard landscape throughout the year, even during the long, dark winter months. Plant evergreens for year-round color, perennials such as hellebores that bloom in late winter to early spring, and shrubs such as red twig dogwood or winterberry that show off beautifully against the snow or faded landscape.
Related: 17 Winters Flowers Thrive During the Coldest Months of the Year
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