11 Design Ideas for Small Front Gardens

Unsure how to turn your tiny front space into something special? Check out these inspirational ways to make an entrance

Victoria Harrison 16 March 2017

Editor, Houzz UK and Ireland

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Want to increase the kerb appeal of your home but don’t know where to start when it comes to your tiny front garden? Take a look at these great ways to transform a small front garden into a super chic entrance. From a mini wildlife haven to a petite urban jungle, each of these tiny spaces makes a big impact.

Frame it with style
This tiny garden has oodles of style thanks to the smart iron fence and gate that neatly divide it from the public footpath, creating a sense of formality.

An open fence like this creates a physical barrier without blocking the flow of light into the garden. To add a more natural feel, plant some low box hedging teamed with pretty alliums and tulips.

These additional tips will give you more ideas about framing a garden.

Mark Hazeldine Photography

Make it wildlife friendly
Bursting with life and colour, this garden is a great example of how to make the front of your house appealing to both homeowners and wildlife.

Planting a wide variety of native plants and flowers is a great way of attracting bees, while a colourful mix helps to create a cottage garden feel. Most garden centres or nurseries can advise you on which flowers are best for attracting wildlife.

A woodpile like this also offers a refuge to a variety of insects. If you prefer something a bit neater, try a smaller woodpile tucked away in a quiet, shady spot near the front door. Check out this advice from the RSPB on how to boost the number of friendly insects in your garden. With these tips, you can create a wildlife friendly garden in no time.

Fancy creating a buzz in your garden? Here’s how to plant a bumblebee paradise

Dawn Garden Design

Cut a planting bed into paving
if you want to maximise colour and plant life in a small front garden, forget the traditional method of edging a path with a slim border of plants and put them front and centre instead.

This garden combines practical paving with an eye-catching large central border overflowing with plants and shrubs. Try planting fragrant herbs such as lavender or thyme next to your path for a burst of scent each time you walk past.

Chris Snook

Grow an urban jungle
If a cottage garden isn’t for you but you still want to green up the space in front of your house, why not create an urban jungle with lush, leafy plants and shrubs lining the path to your door?

Even in a tiny space a jungle-style garden can add colour, movement and vital green life to a city home. For the best results, consider which direction your home faces and which type of soil you have, then choose plants that will thrive in those conditions. The RHS has a useful plant finder tool to guide you.

Here are more tips on how to transform a small urban garden.

Garden Requisites Ltd

Ramble up the walls
If the ground area in front of your house is limited, use the walls as well. This pocket-sized space still has a cottage garden feel thanks to the rambling roses climbing either side of the door.

A hanging basket attached to a bracket above the window adds another shot of colour, while a painted bench tucked under the front window offers a sunny spot to sit and watch the world go by.

Joel Antunes photography

Keep it simple
If your front garden is just a small strip like this, it pays to follow the maxim of doing one thing and doing it well. Rather than try to cram in lots of plants, these homeowners have stuck to just two types: smart low box hedging and a plethora of tall purple blooms contained within the narrow border. It’s simple but very effective.

Clipped hedging like this needs regular upkeep to keep it looking crisp, but with such a small area to manage, it should be a fairly easy task.

PEEK Architecture + Design Ltd

Add height with an arch
The path to your front door may not be long and winding, but you can still add a sense of arrival with an arching pergola above the front gate.

This pretty climber-covered frame provides visual height and, when combined with a low gate, adds a real sense of drama to the front of your house. Lining the path with shrubs and perennials brings extra interest and colour.

Shop all pergolas and arbours >>

Chris Snook

Create crunch with gravel
A crisp gravel drive can give a crunchy alert of any visitors as well as being very low maintenance, so it’s ideal for small front gardens or shady areas if you don’t want to worry about the upkeep of planted borders. Get some inspiration with these gravel garden design ideas.

You can still add leafy interest though, by including a few pots planted up with colourful annuals, herbs or even a small tree such as an olive or bay. Here are some great trees for small gardens.

Got a tiny terrace? Be inspired by these great design tips

Mark Hazeldine Photography

Embrace formal symmetry
This tiny gravel courtyard has been imbued with a classical grandeur thanks to the formal planting of clipped box and a small standard tree in a stone raised bed.

To create a similar structure in your own space, design a simple, geometric framework and add structure with clipped box hedging or topiary. Small standard trees are key to this look and the petite proportions suit a compact garden.

The Garden Builders

Include some curves
If a small, square plot feels too linear for your liking, introduce organic curves and an element of fun using circular box hedges like these.

If you’re worried about box blight, the RHS has advice on preventing it and suggests alternative plants on its website. A similar effect could be created using circular flower beds or four oversized, round planters.

Noda Designs

Fill pots with colour
The tiny paved area in front of this smart townhouse is bursting with life and colour thanks to a profusion of flowers and greenery spilling out of pots and window boxes.

If you have a tiled or gravelled garden, add colour by grouping together a cluster of pots and planting lots of just one type of flower for maximum impact.

Shop all plant pots and planters >>

What do you think of these tiny front gardens? Let us know in the Comments below.