Give your home a front-yard facelift with a landscape design that pleases up close and from a distance. These four regional landscape plans will get you started. All of them feature handsome, adaptable plants that are easy to maintain. They’ll pay you back for your small efforts every time you walk up the front path.
NORTH/CENTRAL
Filled with summer color, this front-yard landscape features drought-tolerant plants. Grasses and a serviceberry bush provide multiseason interest when perennials are not blooming in this landscape plan for the Northeast and Midwest.
A) Zebra grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’)
B) Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida)
C) Feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’)
D) Potted annuals
E) Daylily (Hemerocallis spp.)
F) Eulalia grass (Miscanthus sinensis)
G) Apple serviceberry (Amelanchier grandiflora)
H) Sedum (Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’)
I) Dwarf fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’)
J) Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
NORTHWEST
With a lush mix of plants, this landscape has a vigorous and colorful look befitting the Northwest. Well-behaved shrubs and small trees are underplanted with a vibrant selection of perennials, annuals, and bulbs.
A) Pieris (Pieris japonica)
B) Rhododendron ‘Hotei’
C) Daphne ‘Carol Mackie’
D) Witch hazel (Hamamelis spp.)
E) Bishop’s hat (Epimedium spp.)
F) Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla)
G) Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii)
H) Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Butterfly’)
I) Tulip (Tulipa spp.)
J) Sweet box (Sarococca spp.)
K) Peony (Paeonia spp.)
L) Impatiens
M) Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla spp.)
N) Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Waterfall’)
O) Hellebore (Helleborus spp.)
P) Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)
SOUTHEAST
Here’s a Southeast landscape that is all about quantity. Plants are massed so they can be appreciated from the street. Meanwhile, formal elements such as clipped boxwood are softened by the informal habit of chaste tree and spirea for a fun, eclectic look.
A) Bridalwreath spirea (Spiraea prunifolia)
B) Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus ‘Shoal Creek’)
C) Caladium
D) Windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortune)
E) Candytuft (Iberis spp.)
F) Dwarf boxwood (Buxus sempervirens)
G) Cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior)
H) Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)
I) Variegated hosta
J) Lily (Lilium ‘Star Gazer’)
K) Oleander (Nerium oleander)
L) Pink Knockout rose (Rosa spp.)
SOUTHWEST
Varied plant heights, shapes, and colors combine to make a handsome statement in this Southwest desert landscape. Mulched with tan gravel to contrast with the house, the bed provides a low-maintenance solution for dry conditions.
A) Slipper plant (Pedilanthus macrocarpus)
B) Palo verde (Parkinsonia x ‘Desert Museum’)
C) Lantana (Lantana ‘New Gold’)
D) Red yucca (Yucca parviflora)
E) Bougainvillea ‘Barbara Karst’
F) Texas ranger (Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Compacta’)
G) Octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana)
H) Mexican evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa ‘Siskiyou’)
I) Aloe (Aloe x ‘Blue Elf’)
