Front garden design ideas that add value to your home

A gorgeous front garden is a precious pocket of outdoor space. It performs double duty, providing homeowners with a slice of sanctuary and giving the home a sense of presence on the street.

“The front garden is the first thing people see, so it’s an important statement about your home,” says Matt Leacy, landscape designer from Landart Landscapes in Sydney.

In real-estate terms, first impressions really do count. As Melbourne landscape designer Ian Barker puts it, “The space from the footpath to the front door is the most important component of any garden if you want to add value to your home.” Indeed, according to McGrath Estate Agents, investing $5000 in your garden could add as much as $25,000 to the property’s value by attracting stronger buyer interest.



This country-style garden by landscaper Inge Jabara hugs the house in every direction, giving its owner the feeling of being surrounded by nature. Bluestone pathways are flanked by lovely layers of Portuguese laurel, English box, lamb's ears, German iris and seaside daisies.


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This country-style garden by landscaper Inge Jabara hugs the house in every direction, giving its owner the feeling of being surrounded by nature. Bluestone pathways are flanked by lovely layers of Portuguese laurel, English box, lamb’s ears, German iris and seaside daisies.

But perhaps more important than lifting property values is the fact that a lovely front garden will lift the spirits of the garden’s owners and local residents alike.

“I love front gardens because they become part of the fabric of the neighbourhood and can encourage interaction between neighbours,” says Scott Leung, principal designer with Melbourne’s Eckersley Garden Architecture. “I love chatting and sharing cuttings when I’m gardening out the front of my home.”



Framing this garden is a low picket fence, in keeping with the heritage home. The 4cm gap between pickets allows the Portuguese laurel hedge to show through.


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Framing this garden is a low picket fence, in keeping with the heritage home. The 4cm gap between pickets allows the Portuguese laurel hedge to show through.

When designing your front garden, whether you’re working with driveways, gravel, or wanting something low maintenance, think outside the square – or beyond the boundary of your property, says Matt. “We always try to incorporate verge planting into any front garden we work on,” he says. “Why not start making a good impression from out on the street?”

Gallery: Outdoor rooms that get the balance right (House & Garden)

The key to a successful front garden design, Matt explains, is to blur the line of the front boundary with textured and layered planting. “If you need a front fence, it’s much nicer to be able to hide the fence among plants so it’s less visible and softer in appearance from the street,” he says. “Ideally, you want to try and disguise where the property begins and ends. This will open the property visually and make it seem bigger, rather than creating heavily defined spaces.”



The front garden of this home is simple and restrained, reflecting the architecture of the heritage facade, and consists of a row of Kalanchoe 'Silver Spoons' in front of a row of coniferous Cephalotaxus harringtonia.


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The front garden of this home is simple and restrained, reflecting the architecture of the heritage facade, and consists of a row of Kalanchoe ‘Silver Spoons’ in front of a row of coniferous Cephalotaxus harringtonia.






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Scott also encourages his clients to incorporate verge planting in their front-garden designs. “In the long-term, a verge garden is easier to maintain than a patch of lawn and you get the year-round benefits of lovely textural and floral displays,” he says.

You’ll need to obtain approval from your local council before planting the verge – and each municipality will have its own conditions for the types of plants allowed – but most are in favour of verge planting because it fulfils the wider community’s sustainability aims and improves the street overall.






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“You’ll need to ensure the plant heights don’t block the sight lines of cars, and create safe pedestrian access,” says Scott. But with those conditions observed, the rewards are many.



It measures only 4x3m, but the front garden of this Sydney terrace is big on textural display, thanks to a combination of clipped Buxus balls, strappy liriope, succulents and rampant herbs. It's the handiwork of Richard Unsworth at Garden Life.


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It measures only 4x3m, but the front garden of this Sydney terrace is big on textural display, thanks to a combination of clipped Buxus balls, strappy liriope, succulents and rampant herbs. It’s the handiwork of Richard Unsworth at Garden Life.