Make Your Small Front Yard Fabulous With These 3 Landscaping Tips

Posted on: 24 June 2016

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If you've always dreamed of having a large, beautifully landscaped front yard to show off, winding up in a house with a small yard can be a bit of a disappointment. You could put off your landscaping dreams until you get around to buying a larger property, but there's no reason why you have to wait. Even a tiny front yard can be the site of creative and beautiful landscape design. You just have to know how to scale your design ideas to the size of your property. Check out some landscape design tips that can help you create a fabulous front yard even with limited space.

Plant Dwarf Fruit Trees

Don't make the mistake of thinking your small yard is too limited to grow any trees. Dwarf trees come in a range of sizes – some small enough to fit into a box planter, and some about two-thirds the size of a standard-sized trees. Whatever size yard you happen to have, it's not too small to plant a dwarf tree or two. The diminutive trees may even create a visual illusion that makes your yard appear bigger than it really is.

The colorful fruit on a dwarf apple, pear, or citrus tree will make a striking contrast with the green foliage. In many ways, dwarf fruit trees make a better visual picture than taller trees, because the fruit is at or near eye level and immediately visible from the curb. The small-statured trees are also easier to care for than larger trees – no need to climb a ladder when it's time to prune them or pick their fruit. The fruit that a dwarf tree bears is no smaller than that of a standard tree, and in some cases, dwarf tree fruit is larger or more plentiful, because more of the tree's nutrients go into making fruit than making wood.

Line a Pathway With Flowers

Pathways are another way to fool the eye into perceiving a yard to be larger than it actually is. You may already have a paved walkway leading from the curb to your door. If not, you can make your own. It doesn't have to lead to your doorway, but it should go somewhere – create a pathway that leads to a birdbath, a rosebush, or a garden gnome.

A paved walkway is fine, but if you have the option, consider something more whimsical. A pathway made of colored stepping stones, brightly colored pebbles, or seashells will catch the eye and the imagination. Once you've created the path, line it on both sides with low-growing, brightly colored flowers, like purple mazus or dianthus.

Consider Tall Grasses

While usually it's a good idea to go with smaller plants in a smaller yard, sometimes it's good to think bigger. If you're looking for plants that give your home a privacy cover, consider putting in a low picket fence and planting tall ornamental grasses in front of it. This will give your yard some attractive cover.

Little bluestem makes a lovely and low-maintenance border grass. It's drought- and frost-tolerant, so it can survive dry spells and cold winters. Between its striking colors and the fact that it attracts butterflies and songbirds, it can give your yard a dreamy, picturesque appearance while providing cover for any flaws you don't want seen from the street.

Fountain grass grows in a variety of soil conditions. It grows in dense mounds, so it's great for giving your yard an enclosed look, but the delicate, cascading leaves make it a great decorative choice that's not too forbidding.

If you're having trouble getting started, a local landscaping company can help you find plants that will thrive in your local soil and weather conditions and create a landscape design that works well for even the smallest yard. Remember that good things – including beautiful landscapes – often come in small packages. You can have a gorgeous yard no matter what its size.