Walk down the street and look at front yards. What makes you turn your head, stop, and look?
It’s never a dull, boring landscape. It’s the dimensions, textures, and colors of a garden and its surroundings. It has something that makes you want to see more or enjoy the drive by. Curb appeal is the overall impression you get when you drive up or walk past a home. Much like entering a house, it sets the tone. It’s a welcoming introduction to the home’s personality and style.
What is Your Curb Appeal?
Now become a stranger in your own space. Look at your home as if you’re visiting for the first time. Does it have curb appeal? Does it invite you in? Stand near the street or along the sidewalk and look at what you notice first as you approach. Is it the garbage cans? Oversized garage doors? A flat expanse of lawn that feels more like a plain carpet than a garden? Look at how the front yard defines and complements the home. Take a critical eye and think about camouflage for the elements you can’t change. For the rest, focus on simple cleanups, smart plant choices, and decorative elements to improve what can be altered.
Simple Steps to Better Curb Appeal
Start at the front door and work your way out. The door is the focal point and deserves attention. It is where you want a visitor to go upon entering your yard. A fresh coat of paint on the door, a new style altogether, or elegant pottery can add immediate impact. Plantings on both sides as you approach help create a welcoming entry, framing the sidewalk and the landing. Sometimes simply clearing visual clutter is enough. Overgrown or tired shrubs can quickly drag down the appeal of a front door. Consider pruning, thinning, or removing large foundation plants that have outgrown their original purpose. Most homes feature a prominent garage in front. Rather than fight it, shift the focus. Highlight the entry with color, containers, hanging baskets, or permanent plantings that suit the home’s style. When the entry shines, the garage recedes.
Ugly Foundations
A home’s foundation is necessary — but rarely attractive. Often, when a home is built, it’s a default method to just plant something to hide the foundation. If it is exposed, concrete can be softened by painting it the same color as the house, allowing it to blend rather than stand out. In other cases, foundations are so buried in shrubs that beautiful architectural details, such as stone or brickwork, disappear. Foundation plantings should connect to the rest of the landscape, not exist solely to hide something. If plants are packed too tightly against the house, consider thinning, removing, or extending beds outward to create a more natural transition.
Oh, Those Rubbish
Bins Hide the trash bins. A simple trellis panel or hideaway, softened with vines or shrubs, at the side of the garage, can make them easy to access while keeping them out of sight. Find a place for them and figure out how to make them less prominent.
Planting Beds and Lawn Edges
Looking further out into the space, keep lawn edges tidy and crisp. It sounds basic, but clean lines matter. Walkways, paths, foundations, and driveways should be clearly defined. Ragged edges blur boundaries and look messy. Assess the lawn’s overall health. In shady or damp areas where grass struggles, stop fighting it. Remove the lawn and create a planting bed instead. Moist-shade plants such as vine maple, red-twig dogwood, hydrangeas, and astilbe turn problem areas into features. Anywhere the lawn is failing, figure out why and fix it, or remove it and plant something else.
Too Much Lawn?
Is the front yard just a flat plateau of green? Consider reducing or eliminating large expanses of lawn. Less turf means more texture, color, and seasonal interest — plus less water use and maintenance. Use drought-tolerant, easy-care plants along with rockery. If removing all the lawn feels overwhelming, start small. Expand borders, create planting islands, or carve out one new bed at a time.
Front Yard Living
Don’t overlook the front yard as living space. If the best light or view is out front, design for it. With thoughtful use of trellis work, pavers, stone, and plants, a front yard can be both functional and beautiful. Decide how you want to use the space — relaxing, entertaining, or even growing vegetables — and design accordingly. Add privacy where needed and repeat the home’s colors in paint, foliage, or flowers. Choose building and pathway materials that complement the architecture. Surround vegetable beds or cutting gardens with dwarf hedges or raised beds to give them structure and refinement. Add outdoor lighting to extend the garden into evening hours. Light up a tree with a beautiful silhouette or highlight a piece of garden art. Lighting isn’t just for paths and porches — it’s a design tool.
The best route to curb appeal is remembering that first impressions count. Don’t skimp on quality in the front yard. Do it right the first time, with longevity in mind — plan, design, and budget before digging in or editing. A thoughtful, well-executed front yard sets the tone for everything that follows.
SUE GOETZ is a Pacific Northwest garden designer, speaker, and author. Learn more about her at her website.