Stunning front gardens
From planting that looks (and is!) good enough to eat, to fragrant flowers and a haven for wildlife – try these ideas from
Three planting ideas
TASTES DELICIOUS
An edible garden should be a tempting treat every time you walk through it – and creating somewhere that tastes as good as it looks isn’t as hard as it might at first seem. Many edible plants have lovely foliage and flowers, and a brick or timber raised border in the centre of a decent-sized plot would create a fantastic focal point if you plant it up with herbs, vegetables or fruit.
For smaller front gardens where raised beds may not be practical, you could try using a herb wheel instead. This is essentially a wagon wheel shape with each spoke segment housing a different variety of herb. Try chives, basil, fennel – both bronze and green – mint and parsley, as all of these have fabulous foliage in a variety of textures. They’re also extremely useful for salads, soups, salsa or summer drinks.
Other favourites for an edible front garden that give colour all year round include the evergreen sage, which comes in green, purple or a golden variegation. Rosemary has beautiful mauve flowers and is the perfect partner to roast lamb. Thyme is also a great evergreen short border plant that is available in gold, green and silver, and brings flavour to chicken dishes and tomato-based sauces.
Fruit and vegetable plants are stunning in borders too. From the bright red stems of rhubarb and the contrasting colours of red, black and white currants, through to the terrific flowers from the garden pea, there’s a vibrant selection to choose from.
Archways work really well as a focal point in edible gardens leading you to the front door. Blackberries will clamber up happily – try fast-growing ‘Oregon Thornless’ – or go for a runner bean arch and enjoy both the flowers and the beans. Hanging baskets can be spectacular either side of the front door. Plant them up with Tumbling
Tom tomatoes and Mount Everest strawberries, both of which will look and taste beautiful when in flower and fruit.
If you favour more structure in your garden, you could use olive or bay trees. The latter is good as hedging, but can also be stunning sculpted into topiary, and the leaves will add extra flavour to curries and stews.
GREAT FOR WILDLIFE
Integrating wildlife is becoming more popular as a part of an overall design. It brings a living, breathing dynamic to the front garden, and walking up the path surrounded by birds, butterflies and bees is truly a fabulous experience. A garden of any size can become a phenomenal habitat for wildlife and still look amazing.
You'll need open space in the form of a lawn as it will harbour so many beneficial insects and worms – and if it has planting around the outside, birds can flit about without feeling threatened. If you have the room, circular lawns give the illusion of greater space and soften the hardness of the walls of the house. Add a feature to the centre, such as a weeping cherry tree
(Prunus pendula ‘Pendula Rosea’) or even a small weeping birch (Betula pendula
‘Youngii’). If you have a smaller garden, a classic bird bath will bring a huge amount of feathered entertainment. Keep the water refreshed and the birds will really love it!
Position wildlife-friendly homes, such as pine cones in nets for ladybirds and nesting boxes for birds around your plot, and in a corner or under a hedge, some logs, twigs, leaves and plant pots on their sides will help creatures create their own habitat. Hedging makes great nesting for birds. Pyracantha is particularly good because the thorns provide protection from cats and other hunters, and it looks incredible – semi-evergreen with contrasting foliage, white flowers and spectacular berries that the birds love to eat.
Evergreens not only give colour all year round, they also attract bees. Good plants include lavender with its silver foliage and beautiful spikes of purple flowers, and ceanothus, which has stunning blue flowers during summer. When planning borders, choose plants with colours that will look good and also appeal to butterflies, bees and smaller beneficial insects. Honeysuckle,
Sedum spectabile, chives, buddleia and globe thistle echinops are all excellent for bringing a host of friendly insect life into the garden.
WELCOMING SCENT
A fragrant garden needs to be walked through to be enjoyed, so set your gate in the opposite corner from the front door and have your path snake through the planting. There are a number of materials you can opt for when laying your path, including natural stone paving or even aggregate such as bright crushed Cotswold gold stone chippings, which will make it easier to get the curves.
If you’re able to have a lawn, chamomile releases a lovely perfume as it’s walked over, or if you’re using aggregate, dot creeping thyme through it.
Lots of plants with lovely fragrances can be trimmed for hedging. For a less formal look, use mock orange. This grows well if pruned and becomes quite dense with masses of beautiful white flowers and a heavenly scent. Likewise, shrub roses will create a hedge packed with perfumed blooms. If you prefer an evergreen, try Thuja plicata ‘Atrovirens’, which is a dense emerald green and fast growing. When crushed, the foliage smells like fresh pineapple! Or try a low lavender hedge for silver evergreen foliage as well as stunning flowers.
My favourite foliage plants include Choisya
ternata (Mexican orange blossom) and herbs such as oregano, sage and mint. Seasonal pelargoniums have fragrant foliage; one called ’Orange Fizz’ smells of orange sherbet.
Popular flowers such as roses, lilac and daphne shouldn’t be overlooked. Choose roses in summer while they’re in bloom so you can smell the fragrance. For something different, Cosmos atrosanguineus is a dark burgundy flower that smells of chocolate!
Night-scented phlox is a low-growing plant that’s great trailing over a wall or in a raised bed where it can give off its fragrance at around head height. Or cover archways and porches in jasmine, honeysuckle or sweet peas – as you pass beneath, the scent of the flowers is guaranteed to lift your mood.