For most homes, the front door garden is the guest's first impression of you and is scrutinized the most closely. As a result, you should practice restraint in the chosen accents and plants for entryways used in your front door garden design. Let's find out more about choosing a plant for front entrances.
Front Door Garden Design
When creating a front door garden design, consider the architecture or “bones” of your home. The garden entryway should complement the design of the house and echo the mood one wants to project. The front door garden should reflect who you are and how you want to be perceived. Whether choosing a relaxed grouping of mixed border plants or a more formal potted topiary flanking the front steps, the landscaping of the front door garden area will set the tone for visitors as well as a welcome home to you. Whether of simple design or complex, the front entryway garden should draw the eye toward the front door. You want the front door garden design to be a transition between the exterior landscapes to the more intimate indoor area of the home. Tapering a walkway to lead guests to the front door and then creating a larger area at the doorway itself gives a welcoming impression and space to gather, greet, or say goodbye. Transitional options, such as an arbor or a few stairs, link spaces to gradually move your visitor from the exterior to interior of your home.
Choosing a Plant for Front Entrances
Choosing a plant for front entrances, as well as other ornamental accents, should be done carefully and with much forethought. Since the front entryway is the most focal point of your house, care in utilizing specimen plants should be taken. Specimen plants will be noticed, maybe a little too much. Because of their size (often) and unique ornamental character, situating specimen plants in a front entryway may draw attention away from, not toward, the front entryway. If you have a specimen plant that you just must incorporate in the design of the front entryway, position it near the front door to draw the eye there. Use plants for entryways with restraint and the same can be said for any other accent feature. Sundials, birdbaths, obelisks, and statues tend to distract and lessen the balance of the front entryway.
Entryway Plant List
Plants for entryways include those that have a pleasing texture, such as:
These are great choices for the front entryway as they conjure up pleasant thoughts. Plants that should be avoided include thorny types:
If your entryway is shaded or partially so, caladium and impatiens are perfect specimens to enliven the shadowed entryway. Any other shade loving perennial, such as bleeding heart or hosta, can add interest and a splash of color to the front entryway as well. Utilize a variety of deciduous, evergreen, bulbs, annuals, shrubs, and perennials to create interest throughout the seasons. Rotation of flowering annuals should occur two times a year at the entryway. Some examples of an entryway plant list might be:
- Serviceberry (small tree)
- Coneflower (perennial)
- Sedum (perennial)
- Ornamental grass (perennial)
- Grape hyacinth (bulb)
- Daffodil (bulb)
- Forget-me-not (perennial)
- Zinnia (annual)
Implement the tips above to create an entryway that is a reflection of you and your lifestyle, a welcoming arena for visitors, and a harmonious addition to the neighborhood.
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