15 Front Yard Landscaping Ideas For Lazy Gardeners

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Dreaming of a gorgeous front yard that won't require you to weed, trim, and toil for hours every weekend Whether you have a tiny plot or a huge yard, it's possible to create a practical but pretty outdoor space with low-maintenance landscape ideas for your front yard.

Low maintenance doesn't mean no maintenance, however. Even the best-designed landscapes require some upkeep. "But with thoughtful planning, you can create a space that looks good without constant work," says landscape designer Kat Aul Cervoni, founder of Staghorn NYC and The Cultivation by Kat. "It's really about good design that takes into consideration your wants and your lifestyle."

To create landscaping that's easy to maintain, focus on three key components of your outdoor space: Hardscape, such as your patio and paths; carpentry-type elements such as decking and fencing; and plants that won't make a huge mess or need constant trimming and babying. "All three of these design elements should be low maintenance so that your dreams of a beautiful landscape and the reality of how much time you actually have to work in your garden are in harmony," says Cervoni.

For perennials and trees, it's important to to do some homework before shopping. You need to choose ones that are suited to survive winters in your USDA Hardiness zone. Otherwise, you'll just waste time and money.

Read more: Chaos Gardening Is the Easiest Way to Grow Your Dream Garden

Ahead, we've rounded up low-maintenance front yard landscaping ideas that you actually can put into practice—not just dream about in your garden fantasies.

Pay Attention Sun Exposure

You've heard it before: Choose the right plant for the right place, says Cervoni. Always read the plant tag or description before buying a plant so you give it the conditions it needs to thrive.

Sun lovers need sun, and shade lovers will fry in the hot sun. If you try to cheat, you're just dooming a plant to struggle so that it looks bad and may eventually die (which is a waste of money!).

Read more: 32 Gorgeous Plants That Can Survive and Thrive in the Sun

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Go With Evergreens

Gorgeous evergreens come in every shade from teal to chartreuse. Opt for dwarf varieties if you're short on space, and stick with those that keep their natural rounded or conical shape without needing pruning for the most low-maintenance options.

SHOP EVERGREEN SHRUBS

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Use a Flowering Tree as a Focal Point

Get the most bang for your buck: A flowering tree accents your landscape but doesn't require tons of upkeep or constant pruning, if you choose well. Two of Cervoni's favorites include Kousa dogwood, which is more disease resistant than native dogwood, and redbud trees (seen here), which have gorgeous spring flowers that don't leave a big mess when they drop.

SHOP REDBUD TREES

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Invest in Raised Beds

Raised beds provide a boundary that keeps your front yard looking neat. Natural stone is especially appealing and will last forever.

Read more: Do You Need to Hire a Landscape Designer? Read This First

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Opt for Durable Materials

Choose long-lasting materials for projects such as fencing or decks, says Cervoni. Hardwoods such as Brazilian ipe and domestic black locust or composite materials for decking boards and vinyl or hardwood for fencing will outlast inexpensive pressure-treated pine.

Read more: 10 Cheap Fence Ideas Designers Actually Love

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Plant Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental grasses are particularly appealing because they're hardy, deer resistant, and incredible looking when they're blowing in the wind to add texture and interest, says Cervoni. Carex and hachnechloa are beautiful options.

SHOP CAREX PLANTS

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Add Shrub Roses to Beds and Borders

Do you love roses? Then stick with hardy shrub rose types such as Knockouts. They're self-cleaning (they drop their spent blooms without needing pruning) and are more disease resistant. They also bloom nonstop from spring to frost.

SHOP KNOCKOUT ROSES

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Plant Spring-Flowering Bulbs

Plant them once and enjoy them for years! Spring-flowering bulbs must be planted in the fall to bloom the following spring. The most reliable performers year after year include daffodils, hyacinths, and muscari. Tulips are lovely but don't bloom well in subsequent years, so they're considered annuals and must be replanted every fall.

SHOP DAFFODILS

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Hang Window Boxes

Window boxes provide color without having to invest in landscape plantings. You also can change up plantings by the season, say, if you want spring-flowering bulbs or autumn mums.

Invest in self-watering containers too so you'll need to water every week or so instead of daily.

SHOP SELF-WATERING WINDOW BOXES

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Make Perennials Part of Your Landscape

Perennials come back year after year, so they're an amazing long-term investment, says Cervoni. Some of her favorites for full sun include catmint and coreopsis. For part sun, go with heuchera and dicentra.

SHOP COREOPSIS PLANTS

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Substitute Ground Cover for Lawn

Unless you love the look of a beautiful lawn, your entire yard doesn't have to be grass. If you'd prefer an alternative, consider planting groundcovers, low-growing plants that add interest and color without requiring quite as much upkeep as a lawn.

Read more: 9 Reasons Your Lawn Looks So Much Worse Than Your Neighbor's

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Create a Container Garden

No planting beds in your front yard? Arrange a series of different-size pots for a garden you can relocate whenever and wherever you like. The various types of succulents seen here are drought tolerant but offer great form and texture to the garden.

SHOP PLANTERS

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Plant for Fall Color

Design your garden for fall too. Ornamental trees such as Japanese maple offer splashes of color but won't require a ton of raking since they're typically small trees. "There's a size and variety that will appeal to everyone," says Cervoni. Read the plant tag so you know what kind you're buying, paying attention to mature size and width so you don't plant too close to your house, which could cause maintenance headaches in the future.

SHOP JAPANESE MAPLES

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Stick to Drought Tolerant Plants

Cut back on how often you need to water by choosing plants that can stand up to heat and drought once they're established. Cervoni likes perennials such as Russian sage and lavender, which have beautiful color and bloom for weeks on end. They're also pollinator friendly and deer resistant.

SHOP RUSSIAN SAGE PLANTS

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Design for All Four Seasons

Plenty of low-maintenance plants can enhance your front yard landscape throughout the year, even during the long, dark winter months. Plant evergreens for year-round color, perennials such as hellebores that bloom in late winter to early spring, and shrubs such as red twig dogwood or winterberry that show off beautifully against the snow or faded landscape.

Read more: 17 Winters Flowers Thrive During the Coldest Months of the Year

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5 Gardening Trends To Inspire Your Landscape In 2024, According To A New Report

From container to night gardens, expect to see these core gardening trends everywhere next year.

Just as there are interior décor, paint color, and fashion trends, there are also trends that dominate in the garden. If you've been wanting to give your landscape an update, looking at current gardening movements may help you find inspiration for your own space. To help, Garden Media just released its 2024 garden trends report, and there are five themes that are expected to be big next year.

Related: 10 Xeriscaping Ideas That Will Make Your Garden More Hands-Off and Sustainable

Hortifuturism

Expect to see bold and bright colors in 2024 with gardens that look straight out of a science fiction movie. Coined "hortifuturism" by Garden Media, the trend replaces cold, metallic hues with vibrant color. With this trend, the brand anticipates more terrariums, survivalist gardens, night gardens, neon-colored plants, and foliage with bright variegation.

Delight in the Dark

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Gardeners that never shy away from a moody aesthetic will delight in this trend. With interest in gothic gardens growing on social media, this trend leans into Gen Z's fixation with dramatic landscapes. You can replicate this movement in your own landscape with eerie plants or pottery and statuary. "Think of evening experiences such as uplighting trees. Leave plants a bit untidy. Withered plants and faded blooms add to the theme. Utilize dying plants for merchandising instead of marking down or trashing," Garden Media says in the report.

Related: How to Design a Magical Moon Garden Full of Night-Blooming Flowers and Silver Foliage

Bugging Out

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Expect to see an interest in essential pollinators like bees and butterflies come 2024. According to Garden Media, these insects have even become popular interior décor motifs, such as on pillows, rugs, lamps, and wallpaper. "The growing intrigue and awareness of insects helps boost an interest in the plants that feed them," says Shubber Ali, CEO of Garden for Wildlife.  Experiment with this trend by growing pollinator plants, like bee balm, asters, and goldenrod.

Hanging in There

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As more people begin living in urban areas, container gardening has become more popular than ever. In fact, the report states that there was a 200 percent increase in households that engaged in container gardening last year. One way this trend can be applied to your own garden is by maximizing vertical space with hanging and trailing plants.

Nature Calls

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According to the report, concern for the environment defined almost every exhibit at the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show and many exhibits were focused on sustainable and efficient community gardens. An interest in sustainability efforts is expected to yield less curated gardens that are filled with native and carbon capturing plants in 2024.

Read the original article on Martha Stewart.

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Whether It's Really Hot Or Rather Cold, Proper Mulch Is The Answer To Garden's Climate Control

This summer's extended period of extreme heat and drought has wreaked havoc on all plants great and small. One gardening practice that can make a considerable difference in combating extreme temperatures is mulching.

Fallen leaves are an excellent organic option for landscape beds, and are economical because they are free. 

PHOTO BY HEATHER KIRK-BALLARD

Mulch can provide several benefits to plants. It helps maintain soil moisture by reducing the amount of water lost to evaporation. It also helps regulate soil temperature.

During hot weather, mulch helps keep the soil cooler by creating a protective barrier between the soil and the external environment. It blocks direct sunlight from contacting the soil and thereby reduces heat absorption. Conversely, in cold weather, mulch provides a layer of insulation that prevents the soil from losing heat.

Mulch helps retain soil moisture by reducing evaporation. When the soil is covered with mulch, it is shielded from the drying effects of both wind and sun. This moisture retention not only benefits plant roots directly but also helps maintain a more stable soil temperature. Dry soil tends to heat up quickly in the sun, which can be detrimental to root health.

In colder temperatures, mulch provides protection against frost. When applied in the fall, mulch can keep the soil temperature more stable, preventing premature freezing and thawing that can damage plant roots during winter.

Mulch helps maintain a consistent environment in the root zone, reducing stress on plant roots. In addition, by preventing weed growth, mulch eliminates competition for water and nutrients, ensuring that the plants you want to support receive the resources they need to thrive, even during droughts.

It's important to apply mulch correctly to achieve these benefits. The mulch layer should be spread evenly around the base of plants in a sloping mound. Leave some space around the stem or trunk to prevent moisture buildup and potential rot. Regularly replenishing the mulch layer as it breaks down is a good practice to help maintain its insulating properties and ensure long-term benefits for your plants.

Bark mulches are one of the most commonly used, readily available and often the least expensive option.

PHOTO BY HEATHER KIRK-BALLARD

Check mulched areas every spring and fall as part of your routine gardening maintenance. Check for thinned areas that need to be replenished with fresh material. The best depth for a mulch layer is 2 to 4 inches. Too thick a layer can reduce oxygen reaching the soil. Too thin, and you give weeds a fighting chance.

There are two main types of mulch: organic and inorganic. Natural, organic mulches include wood chips, shredded bark, pine needles, leaves, compost and even paper or cardboard. Inorganic mulches can be rocks, plastic mulches and landscape fabrics.

One of the main benefits of organic mulches is that, as they decompose, they release nutrients back into the soil. In addition, organic materials can improve aeration of the soil, its overall structure and even enhance drainage.

Each type of mulch material offers benefits — and sometimes, drawbacks. What type you choose ultimately depends on the design, intended use of the area and the types of plants growing there.

Bark mulches are one of the most commonly used, readily available and often the least expensive. Available in larger nuggets or shredded, they come from several types of trees, including pine, cedar and cypress.

When weighing the benefits of bark nuggets versus shredded, be aware that nuggets break down much slower but do not stay in place well. Heavy rains can carry them away, and if not layered at a good depth, they leave large gaps where weeds can grow. Shredded bark provides good coverage and stays in place well but breaks down more quickly than nuggets.

Bark mulches are great for landscape beds but are not recommended for vegetable gardens because they can tie up nitrogen from the soil, making it less available to the plants. However, leaves, pine needles and straw are ideal for vegetable gardens.

Straw mulches, including pine needles, are excellent choices for both vegetable and ornamental landscape beds. They are readily available and affordable. Both help prevent soil from splashing up onto fruits and vegetables when laid properly. In addition, straw is an excellent insulator in the winter and protects against cold temperatures due to its hollow stems.

Fallen leaves are economical because they are free. You've got to get them cleaned up, so why not put them to work for you? Additionally, it is a sustainable landscape practice to use fallen leaves as mulch or to make compost.

One other organic option is paper and cardboard. Place a thick layer down and use a few rocks to hold in place or cover it with a thin layer of another type of organic mulch. Voila — you are reusing and reducing waste! Paper will eventually break down.

Mulch is an important tool for dry, hot summers by helping to retain soil moisture, regulating temperature and promoting plant health. It is essential in combating drought and extreme temperatures. Don't forget to check your mulch depth this fall and replenish where needed.

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