Alexandra Campbell shares her ideas for the front garden

Alexandra Campbell thinks a good front garden is a wonderful thing.

HOW’S your front garden looking at the moment? Does it bring a smile to your face every time you go in and out? Or is it just another area to keep tidy?

Front gardens are completely different from back gardens. I always feel I’m part of the community when I garden at the front.

People stop and gossip, or ask me about our roses. These were planted by our predecessors. They had the brilliant idea of edging the path and the front fence with lots of Rosa “Bonica”, which flowers effusively for months. It starts in June, and I’ve even picked the last few flowers for Christmas Day.

As a dog walker, I love other people’s front gardens, too. There are some wonderful front garden ideas in almost every street. Here are a few.

Try keeping it simple. Choose a very limited range of plants or colours. My predecessor planted our front garden entirely in pink. It starts with pink viburnum in winter, pink tulips in spring and pink wild gladioli (self-seeded – how obliging of it to stick to the approved colour scheme) in early summer. This is followed by the pink “Bonica” roses (June onwards), then pink nerines in autumn. I plan to add more pink hyacinths for next spring, and possibly cyclamen coum. It may sound a bit much, but it really is very pretty. All the pinks are out at a different time of year.

Another neighbour has a very formal front garden. It is planted only with box and lavender. The box creates good all-year round structure, and the lavender offers colour in the summer and texture in the winter.

Go wild and wonderful. “A wildlife garden” does not have to mean a patch of weeds. One local front garden is just planted with erigeron, which runs

rampant all over it. It looks wonderful with its 1950s wrought-iron gate and fence. It also has lots of ivy, which is great for shelter and winter food.

Themed to the house. This is surprisingly effective. If your house is made of yellow brick, then choose a yellow brick path. If your front door is painted blue, then blue and purple flowers or pots will look delightful. You don’t have to match your architecture, but it is really worth thinking about it when you plan the front garden.

Grow food in the front garden. I visited a garden in an Australian suburb which made use of every inch of space to grow food and herbs. People love to see a front garden “potager”. Fruit trees are a great choice for front gardens.

A riot of colour. Every so often I see a front garden where the owner has packed in every possible plant and flower. You can’t help smiling at the sheer love of growing that goes into this sort of garden. Even the tiniest area is bursting with life.

An exotic front garden. Exotic is particularly appropriate for a Victorian or Edwardian house. The Victorian and Edwardian plant hunters brought the exotics back from their travels in large numbers.

Slightly sad-looking cordylines are common in front gardens, but give them some love and attention. Partner them with hot colours (dahlias, marigolds, geraniums) and rock the tropical look.

I once overheard two commuters walking past our front garden. One said to the other: “When I see those roses, I know I’m nearly home.” A plant-filled front garden not only cheers you up – it also makes everyone else’s day a little brighter. Win win. n