3 Popular Landscaping Ideas for Small Front Yards

Many homeowners in Sacramento find that they have big landscaping ideas, but a small front yard. Space limitations can hurt your ability to create the landscape of your dreams, but with the right landscaping strategies a small yard can be a great canvas for a beautiful new landscape design. With a little planning and a few optical illusions, you can create a garden oasis. Below are some great tips for landscaping small front yards.

Front Yard Landscaping Tips

• Diagonal Design

Creating a path in a diagonal way, tricks the eye into thinking it is larger than it really is. Use stones or pavers that can sit right next to each other and fit together like puzzle pieces, or have grass or mulch in between them. Line the pathway with flowers or other types of shrubbery to elongate the appearance of your yard.

• Mix Up Textures

Another great way to give the illusion of a larger yard is to vary the textures by using ground cover, flowers, stepping-stones and lawn ornaments or accents.  With the variety of textures it is also easy to create a focal point that will draw the eye to a main, specific place in the yard.  Another tip in this area is to play to your climates strengths. Know what plants grow well in your area and plant not just for the season you are in, but for all seasons.

• Use Your Home

Don’t forget to integrate your home as part of your landscape design as well. For example, instead of overwhelming your yard with a variety of pots, move your potted plants to window boxes or fence planters.  This frees up space in your yard for the other options mentioned above. You can buy window boxes at your nursery or hardware store, or if you are pretty handy, you can build your own. There are a lot of features and plants that can be added to the front of your home to give your landscape a larger appearance.

Find Your Own Style

Whatever you decide to do to design your front yard, make a plan first.  Plot out what you need, and where you want everything to go before you head to your local nursery or hardware store.  If you don’t have a solid plan you are likely to get overwhelmed and either get too much to use or not enough of what you need.

If you lack inspiration or an artistic vision, take a stroll around the neighborhood and get a feel for what you like.  You may find that a garden gnome is right in line with your style profile or something you would rather not see on a daily basis. Either way, make your yard your own personal creation and have fun with it!