Fazed by the Front

Quite simply, my front garden is a shambles. How do I begin to improve it?

 I find front gardens endlessly fascinating – they’re a public window onto the character of the owners. While one garden may be full of blowsy cottage flowers fronting a pink-painted door, another may be concreted over, with bins and three petrol guzzlers for decoration. Yes, a lot can be deduced from a front garden!

And therein lies the problem. Confidence often fails when faced with painting on such a public canvas. “Whatever will people think of me?” you cry.

As an extremely bosomy friend often says, fronts are more important than rears. Think about it though. We go in and out of them every day, as does every visitor, from the postman to the posh dinner guests. So, one could say that a front garden is the horticultural equivalent of a front parlour – and as such, it should be formal and always look its best!

So how do you achieve a good front face?

Crisp formality is achieved by using at least 60 per cent evergreens, making sure that you have contrasting shapes, with clipped box balls looking great next to spiky Euphorbia ‘Humpty Dumpty’ or the cascading foliage of Fuchsia magellanica. Front walls can be softened by growing shrubs to tumble over – a favourite is blue flowered Ceonothus thysiflorus repens, with a cream flowered Hydrangea Grandiflora adding drama alongside. I also like variegated plants to lighten things up a bit; you could try a yellow variegated myrtle: Myrtus communis Glanleam Gold if you have a sunny garden, or Rhamnus alaternus argentovariegata if it’s shady. Purple heucheras at their feet add yet more valuable contrast.

And do please stick to a limited colour scheme as ‘less is definitely more’ in such a small space. After all, the front garden should be providing the setting for the house, not detracting from it. Incidentally, this reminds me of a woman at a recent wedding who was wearing a hat covered in gaudy flowers and stuffed birds – I can’t remember her at all, just that hat! Blue, yellow, white and green is a winning colour combination and it’s easy to find plants in these colours for every situation.

It’s timely to remind you to plant small bulbs now too, to give a glorious splash of spring colour, especially small narcissi such as February Gold or creamy Thalia. Push them into the soil near where you walk and they’ll be cheerful in the bleakest months. And don’t forget that a scented plant near the front door is always welcome – a Daphne bholua provides exquisite scent from pink flowers early in the year.

I managed to lock myself out earlier this week and had to wait in my front porch with a damp smelly dog for an hour until rescued. But this wasn’t as unpleasant as it could have been due to my pretty porch display of clay pots filled with an ever-changing display of succulents, geraniums, ivies and bulbs. You could try it too.

Anne Britt is a garden designer. Contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .