The Top 5 Low-Maintenance Plants and Shrubs for Your Front Yard
The Top 5 Low-Maintenance Plants and Shrubs for Your Front Yard
So when it comes to shrubs, bushes, and/or small plants for your front yard, where do you begin? There are so many different options for beautiful, decorative plants that will give your home the best entryway.
Your front yard, walkway, and porch are the first things guests are going to see when visiting, so having proper landscaping there is key. To help you on your journey to finding easy to care for, beautiful shrubs, we are going to be sharing five of our favorites with you today.
First let’s start with what you should look for in choosing the shrubs for your home. There are a lot of factors that will need to be used to help you decide.
What Should I Look for in my Shrubs?
So how do you know what is appropriate for your front yard?
First you will want to consider how much space you have. If you haven’t done anything to your front space yet, consider any walkways, mulched areas, flower beds, etc. that you will want to take up additional room in the area.
Once you have all of the areas mapped out, make sure to only consider plants that are appropriate for the hardiness zone you are in. Not every plant is going to be able to bloom and thrive in the area you live in – think about the weather and temperatures that your yard will receive, it will narrow down your options easily.
Make sure that you know the size that your plants will grow to if you don’t buy them fully grown. You may start out with a small plant or bush and have it expand past the space you put it in. Do your research and you should have a much easier time in the future.
Now that you know what to look for, here are some of our absolute favorite choices for front yard plants and shrubs.
1. Purple Smoke Bushes
Photo by David J. Stang via Wikipedia Commons
First on our list is the Purple Smoke Bush. This is a gorgeous, dark, purple bush that will take up quite a bit of space when it is fully grown.
This shrub is definitely appropriate for those of you who have room for a plant that is going to grow up to 15 feet wide and tall. Because of this, they are perfect for long borders in front of the house or down a long walkway.
You can easily prune these back at the beginning of each spring season to tame them, and that way they won’t be too large for your space.
This bush has stems that will grow straight up and out just like pipe cleaners. If they are grown in the full sun they will flower beautifully, and in the fall they will turn a striking orange-purple shade.
The Purple Smoke Bush is best kept in zones 5 to 9, so use the chart we talked about earlier to make sure you’re in a good area to grow this plant. Ideally, this plant should have full sun to partial shade, and average soil is fine.
2. ‘Emerald Gaiety’ Wintercreeper
Photo by David J. Stang via WIkipedia Commons
If you want something a little smaller, the ‘Emerald Gaiety’ Wintercreeper is a fantastic choice. This shrub will grow up to three feet tall and five feet wide, so it can really be placed anywhere.
The plant has gorgeous green and white foliage that will last all year, even throughout the winter. We especially love that during the cold seasons the edges of the leaves turn pink, giving it an even more unique look.
Just like the Purple Smoke Bush, this shrub is appropriate in zones 5 to 9, and should be planted in full sun to partial shade with normal, well-drained soil.
3. ‘Blue Star’ Juniper
By Melvil via Wikipedia Commons
Next up we have the gorgeous ‘Blue Star’ Juniper. Now while this is a little more expensive than an ordinary juniper plant, we love its consistently blue needs and its beautiful, refined appearance.
When the colder seasons come, the needles begin to have a silvery gray tint to the normally blue needles. It stays fairly low, only growing up to 16 inches tall, and it is extremely slow growing. This makes it perfect for the front of a border.
If you are concerned about how slowly it may grow, have several of them growing together. That way it will get to its full spread of three feet much faster with other plants surrounding it.
This shrub is perfect for zones 4 to 9, and should be in normal soil in full sun to partial shade.
4. Coneflower
If you are interested in something with a little more color, Coneflowers may be perfect. These are gorgeous, striking blooms with bright purple petals that surround a warm orange-gold cone.
The flowers are fantastic for bringing butterflies and bees to their surrounding areas, so keep that in mind if it’s something you want to avoid. They do best in zones 4 to 8, and are tolerant to drought.
These are plants that benefit from being divided when clumps enlarge and their flowering slows. You are also able to lift and transplant young seedlings that start to form around the base of the mother plant. They should be grown in full sun and in loamy soil.
5. Rhapsody Blue Hydrangea
By Heather Coleman via Flickr: Blue Hydrangea
Lastly, we have the beautiful and colorful Rhapsody Blue Hydrangea.
While this plant does have the color ‘blue’ in the title, you may get pink blooms as well! It all depends on your soil’s pH. These plants get up to 2-3 feet tall, so they are perfect for walkways, flowerbeds, and the border of your house.
Ideally, these should be kept in partially shady areas and in normal soil. They are tolerant to the cold and are perfect for zones 5 to 9.
These are definitely a popular choice and will make your yard pop with color for most of the year.
Our Final Thoughts on Choosing Shrubs for Your Front Yard
We hope you found our list helpful, and that you were able to find some plants and advice that you liked. If you are having difficulty knowing what will be best, feel free to contact us anytime for guidance and assistance.
Did any of your favorite shrubs make the list?
