FRONT OF HOUSE
Whether you prefer a swathe of roses or a pared-back row of box trees, let nature help you extend a warm welcome at your front door
We spend a lot of time and energy on our back gardens, but what about the front? From purple wisteria scrambling over a white stucco facade, to a climbing rose tumbling around a front door, plants can work miracles, turning an unremarkable building into an object of beauty. Whether you live in a city terrace, a country cottage or a flat, there are quick and easy ways you can use plants to transform the front of your property, lifting the spirits and giving a warm welcome.
Up the wall Shrubs or climbers soften hard edges and lend a certain romance to a building. South-facing walls are warmest, so are ideal for wisteria, magnolia grandifloras, jasmine and trained fruit trees. North-facing walls get the least sun and are best planted with pyracantha or climbing hydrangeas.
Think about your wall material when choosing a climber. White roses or wisteria will get lost against a white wall, says garden designer Jo Thompson (jothompson-garden-design.co.uk), while deep red roses such as ‘Guinée’ are eyecatching against brick. Consider, too, how much wall you have. There is little as glorious as a rampaging Virginia creeper in its red autumn finery, but your neighbours may not want it growing over their windows.
Hanging gardens Perhaps the easiest way to bring a dramatic splash of colour to the front of your house is with hanging baskets. These have been making a comeback in recent years, and the modern versions include exciting metal hanging planters that look spectacular planted with architectural evergreens. Try the Abari round hanging planter (from £39.99) and Hanging Sphere planter (£24.99; both crocus.co.uk) and complete the effect with hart’s tongue and soft shield ferns with trailing maidenhair vine.
Window display To make a really impactful impression, try to find the biggest planter that will fit on your sill. The Wood Company (thewoodcompany.co.uk, from £40) can make their smart wooden planters to your dimensions and paint them to match your front door.
With window boxes, the key is to cram plants in, but generally keep to three or four varieties to avoid a chaotic jumble. When planting, follow the classic window box recipe of ‘filler, thriller and spiller’ and you can’t go wrong. Choose a structural evergreen (your ‘filler’) – hebe, skimmia, box, Euphorbia ‘Humpty Dumpty’ or ferns – and then plant ‘thriller’ florals around it, from hellebores in winter to pelargoniums in summer. Add a ‘spiller’ trailing plant such as ivy or maidenhair vine and they will be a delight all year round.
Traditional beauty Who isn’t seduced by a climbing rose trained around a doorway? The key is to choose one that won’t grow too large. Jo recommends ‘Blush Noisette’, ‘New Dawn’ and ‘Madame Grégoire Staechelin’, or if your door is north-facing, the shocking pink ‘Zéphirine Drouhin’ or paler pink ‘Kathleen Harrop’. For smart city properties, try the neat evergreen star jasmine either side of the door and twine through trellis to meet along the top. For a looser, more romantic feel, you can’t beat a honeysuckle or common jasmine.
Symmetrical sentries Frame the front door with matching potted plants for instant impact. Evergreens such as standard bay and topiary box look good all year. Cloud-pruned evergreen shrubs such as Ilex crenata (think of a poodle in plant form) are the ultimate status sentries and, come Christmas, you can drape them with fairy lights.