5 Easy Tips to Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal

There’s nothing quite like a beautiful yard to transform the look of your home, making it more inviting and increasing its curb appeal. If you want to add some colour and life to your outdoor spaces, planning your garden landscaping is key. From hanging baskets to container gardening, there are plenty of creative ways to incorporate plants, decorative elements, and hardscaping into your outdoor decor. We have some great tips and ideas to help you get started!

Assess your Space

Before you start buying plants and digging up the ground, take a good look at your front yard and garden space. What’s the soil like? How sunny or shady is it? Do you need to add drainage or fencing? Consider what kind of plants will thrive in your particular location and climate. Also, think about the overall style and feel you want your garden to have. Do you prefer a formal or informal design? Will you include hardscaping features like paths, walls, or water features?

Before you head off to the garden centre, make a plan. Sketch out your space and note the areas you need to fill. Mark whether they are full sun, part sun, part shade, or full shade locations. Check first which zone you reside in, so you buy plants which will be hardy for your location. To find out your hardiness zone, check out this handy map. Also, think about the blooming times, plant heights, sizes and colours you wish to add to these spaces.

Choose your Plants

Once you know what conditions your garden space has, it’s time to choose your plants. The best way to create a stunning garden is to select a wide variety of plants based on shape, texture, height, and colour. Choose different types of perennials, shrubs, and trees that will bloom at different times of the year and provide a range of foliage colours and textures. Complement them with annuals and bulbs that can be easily planted in containers or tucked into garden beds.

Shrubs add a lot of texture and depth to a garden. They are the backbone of the landscape and offer year-long interest in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and colours. They can be used to create a natural barrier, define boundaries, or as a backdrop to other plants. Some great choices for shrubs include boxwood, viburnum, and azalea. Boxwoods are very popular for the use of garden edging and for adding structure. Viburnum features lush foliage and displays beautiful blooms of white and pink. To add amazing pops of colour, make sure to incorporate hydrangeas! Learn more about our favourite hydrangeas on our blog about hardy shrubs.

If you are looking for less garden maintenance, perennials are generally the go-to for many homeowners, however weeding and some pruning is beneficial. They are the perfect choice for creating a beautiful flower garden that blooms almost all year round. Some popular perennials include lavender, hemerocallis, roses, hostas, and peonies. To learn more about which perennials are right for your needs (drought tolerant, shade loving, full sun plants, etc.) check out our comprehensive pamphlets on our website. There’s plenty of helpful information to help you pick out different perennials.

Bulbs are a favourite item to add to a garden. Summer flowering plants such as dahlias, lilies, and gladiolus are popular choices. What is a spring garden bed without tulips and daffodils? Many spring-blooming flowers such as allium, muscari, crocus and snowdrops are naturalizing, meaning they will come back year after year! This is also a great benefit to gardeners! Interested in planting bulbs in your garden? Check out our blog on planting bulbs and growing gorgeous flowers!

Incorporate Hanging Baskets

Hanging baskets are a great way to add seasonal pops of colour to your front yard. They’re also ideal for small spaces and areas that receive little sunlight. Choose a mix of annual plants such as petunias, geraniums, and impatiens. To add a dynamic touch, incorporate trailing varieties such as begonias, lobelia or fuchsia. You could also consider hanging your baskets on pillars, trellises, or fences to create a vertical garden effect. A mixture of different annuals in a hanging basket is a nice accent to the front of a home. Premade arrangements are easy to find at garden centres in spring, however, it is always fun to make a custom basket by selecting your annuals and building your baskets yourself. Additionally, you can decorate your porch with hanging baskets of everbearing strawberries! They will add a lovely punch of red and are a tasty treat.

Include Container Gardening

Container gardening is a versatile way to add plants to any area in your front yard. You can create a container garden as large or small as you’d like, depending on your available space. Mix and match different types of containers such as terracotta pots, wooden crates, or metal buckets with adequate drainage. Fill them with a combination of annuals, perennials, and herbs to create a striking display. You could also place containers at varying heights, such as on a pedestal or bench, to add depth and dimension to your garden and front porch.

For creating container arrangements, we like to keep in mind the rule of adding a filler, thriller and a spiller. First, choose plants to bulk out your arrangement, there are a variety of perennials that are good fillers. For the sun, Lavandula Platinum Blonde and Delphinium Delphina Dark Blue White Bee work well. For a shorter perennial, Sedum Lime Zinger is a nice option.  Interested in aromatic perennials? Dianthus Firestar and Monarda Petite Delight are good choices for sun and Astilbe Visions in Red and Phlox Flame series works well for shadier locations. Add different foliage colours, textures and sizes to your containers. Try Heucherella Golden Zebra and Hosta Lucky Mouse for the shady areas and in full sun try Sedum Atlantis and Euphorbia first Blush. This creates extra contrast and interest in your grouping of plants.

Perennials that spill over the sides of a container soften the structure, add flow, and tend to create a fuller look. Do you have a sunny location? Campanula Dickson’s Gold and Phlox subulata are excellent for trailing over the sides of a container. In shady locations, Campanula Blue Waterfall is a beautiful spiller. Hosta Curly Fries with its extremely rippled bright leaves and purple flowers, bushes out and spills over the edges of a container.

The fillers and spillers will add drama and interest to the container. However, it’s always a great idea to add an extra punch of excitement to an arrangement with a thriller. Echinacea Rainbow Marcella and Veronica Sunny Border Blue bring that extra final touch to an arrangement in the sun. For shaded areas, Astilbe Sugarberry will add an additional vibrant colour. For more information on creating great containers, read our blog for some additional inspiration!

Add Finishing Touches

To complete the look of your garden and front yard landscaping, consider adding some finishing touches. Install lighting to highlight your favourite plants and pathways. Lights are a great way to elevate the look of your garden. Using lighting to highlight your pathways is also a great safety feature. Consider putting your outdoor lights on a motion detector for increased safety. Also, add garden decor like sculptures, fountains, or a birdbath for personal touches to your garden. This is the time for you to showcase more of your personality! Are you a fan of the whimsical and silly? Add in some delightful garden gnomes! If you prefer an elegant touch, water walls are a great way to add a calming feel.

Planning your garden and front yard landscaping doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With a little bit of creativity and careful consideration of your space and plants, you can easily create a beautiful outdoor space that is welcoming and adds value to your home. Whether you decide to go for a traditional or more contemporary look, incorporating hanging baskets or containers, the finishing touches tie them all together to create a garden that is uniquely yours. So, roll up your sleeves, put on your gardening gloves, and get started!

Check out these related blogs to learn more!

To learn more about the different types of plants, trees, bulbs and perennials: What’s What in the Garden

For reading up on what to plant in your summer garden: Creating the Perfect Summer Garden

Great information on creating a formal style garden: Creating the Perfect Modern English Garden

More information on arranging your patio to be a gorgeous oasis by using containers! How to Design the Perfect Garden Patio