Pretty much what the title says…what can I do with this front garden to make it more interesting. I would love to be able to throw plants in everywhere and make it pretty, but plants are so expensive..so need something more lower cost for now. I keep toying with the idea of having some low shrubs flank the pathway? If anyone can give me some help /inspiration that would be appreciated 🙂
by Fearless_Owl_4589
15 Comments
Plants are expensive but you are heading into bare-root season which are much, much cheaper than container grown plants.
Find a good local nursery that does bare root stock (Buckingham Nurseries for me) and you’ll save a fortune.
Research gravel garden design, some are very beautiful and inspiring.. start with low cost easy maintenance perennials and structural shrubs, keep adding gradually.
Are we talking short term improvement to sell it, or longterm improvement over several years?
Find a local allotment seed swapping group on facebook. Plants are free if you start them yourself from seed or cuttings. I give loads of seedlings away (keep the best ones form my self obvs), I just leave them on my front wall for my neighbours.
For your front garden I’d be looking at planters, dead easy to build your own ones out of decking. See if there is a wood recycling place local and look on Facebook market place.
That front garden is screaming ✨LAVENDER✨
Group your pots together in one place, next to the door probably. Where they are, they are just emphasising the emptiness of the gravel area.
Lots of different grasses and aromatic plants. Large stones. Water feature, a focal point.
Lavender along the path would be nice and can be grown on a budget. You can get plug-sized plants very cheaply and they will grow about ~30cm in the first season if the conditions are right.
Looks lovely already! Maybe just a pop of color near the door would brighten it up 🌼
Similar situation here. We grew a lot of stuff from seed this year (e.g. lavender, sea holly, perennial geranium) and also scoured the sale shelves at garden centres for plants that can be revived with a good water or repotting. Looks much better now and didn’t cost much.
A couple of gnomes wouldn’t go amiss…
Mushrooms?
Id go for a line of trenches parallel to the path.
Heather, lavender and even some nice roses.
Then create curve out at the end of the garden starting from the path sweeping inwards, youd get a nice eye line to follow round the house.
If you experiment you can find plants that can be planted straight into the ground under the gravel. I did that by tearing holes in the liner and putting a touch of compost in and then planting straight into that. Like other posts have said, lavender is a good option with year round interest either side of the path. Or I planted Hebe in front of my house which seem to be more than happy. If it were me, I would go for Hebe lining the path as it is evergreen, walkers low , which has a long season of interest and is similar looking to lavender. Karl Foerster grass for height and long season of interest. Verbena Bonesearis for late summer interest and you could plant some bulbs in there for early season interest.
Pond