The visiting card of any estate is the area between the fence and the house, called the front garden. Now it is no longer just a flowering garden, but a specially designed area with a specific decor, which serves as a kind of aesthetic enclosure of the property. This article will tell you how to properly arrange a front garden in front of the house, create a beautiful fence, pick up plants, make the site pleasing to the eye and arouse admiration among passers-by.
Content
- 1 Methods and style of design of front gardens. Photo of examples of decoration
- 2 Stages of planning a front garden near the house
- 3 Front garden: types and style
- 4 Front garden design: choice of plants and landscape elements
- 5 Paths and fence of the front garden: features of choice
- 6 How to decorate a front garden with your own hands: examples of decoration
Methods and style of design of front gardens. Photo of examples of decoration
A well-groomed and tastefully decorated front garden near the house is an original addition and decoration of the estate. In addition to beauty and joy, it performs a number of functions:
- convenient approach and driveway to the house;
- place for installing mailboxes and garbage containers;
- a buffer zone between other areas on the side and behind the house;
- parking area for vehicles;
- aesthetic fence of the house from prying eyes;
- implementation of a hobby for fans of landscape design and lovers of growing plants;
For many, decorating the front garden in front of the house seems like a difficult and troublesome job. This task seems especially incomprehensible for those who are trying to create something supernatural and pretentious. At the same time, minimalism and simplicity become the keys to success. The basic rule is a successful combination of components: home decoration, fence selection and plant selection.
The beautiful design of the site, first of all, depends on the taste preferences and imagination of the owners. You should approach work responsibly: prepare carefully, compare your desires and capabilities, stock up on patience, materials and time. The process will take not a couple of hours or even a couple of days, and the real material costs can be many times higher than expected.
The main elements and stages of creating a front garden with your own hands
The beautiful design of the territory provides for a harmonious combination of a number of constituent elements, including plants, fences, paths, decor items. Based on this list, the stages of creating a front garden emerge, in particular:
- planning of the future site;
- choice of style and ideas;
- selection and purchase of plants;
- track design;
- installation of fences and fences;
- planting trees;
- creation of flower beds, flower beds, lawns or beds;
- decorative design of the front garden;
- installation of functional elements: mailbox, containers for garbage collection;
- creation of a recreation area (if there is a territory).
The listed stages are advisory in nature. Their sequence may also be different and depends on how it is more convenient for the owners to plan their actions. For example, by making a fence, you can start work or, conversely, finish the whole process.
Helpful advice! The chosen idea before its direct implementation must be depicted in the form of a plan. Its absence can lead to certain disadvantages, which after planting the plants will be difficult to eliminate. The plan is best made in accordance with the scale, diagram paper will help with this.
Stages of planning a front garden near the house
To begin work on the design of the front garden should be, first of all, with planning. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the following factors:
- Land area. This criterion is of fundamental importance, since in a small area it will simply be impossible to create certain compositions, and some models of flower beds may be lost in a spacious area.
- Time. It should be taken into account how much time the owner will spend not only on creating the front garden, but also on its constant care. A refined area requires constant attention. The assortment of plants depends on this.
- Material resources. Seeds and saplings of beautiful elite flowers, bushes and trees are not cheap. You need to think about where it is more profitable to buy them. This also applies to materials for a solid fence or paths.
- Seasonality. It is one thing if the front garden is located near the house where they permanently live, it is another thing if it is a summer house or summer cottage, where they come periodically.
- Location. The cardinal points play an important role, since a small front garden on the north side will be excessively darkened, and in the south, on the contrary, it will be exposed to the scorching sun. This affects the range of plants.
All of these factors must be taken into account before deciding how to arrange a front garden in front of the house. You should also not forget about the style and the general idea.
Front garden: types and styling
When creating an ideal front garden, it is important to know its main types, take into account its purpose and role. There are two main types of home garden:
- open;
- closed.
An open front garden is an area consisting mainly of lawns and flower beds separated by cobbled paths. Such a site contains a minimum of trees and shrubs. The openness creates a good overview of the house and the surrounding area. The name of the closed front garden is due to the presence of a fence, which can be in the form of a hedge or in the form of small architectural forms. The choice of the type of site depends on the preferences of the owner: indoor is recommended for those who love calmness, privacy and silence, open - for those who like to be in front of everyone.
Each owner of the local area, creating a front garden, must have his own idea and idea, based on which a specific style solution is formed. Here you can give free rein to your imagination, plant your favorite plants, while not forgetting about the sense of proportion. On the Internet, you can find many design options, using photos of the front gardens near the house as a sample.
Helpful advice! If you plan to arrange a front garden near a residential building, then you should provide for the planting of evergreens to decorate the territory in the winter. Small thuja, herringbones, as well as euonymus, honeysuckle or boxwood will especially delight the eye.
Style and design landscape in front of the house
Depending on the type chosen, the style and design of the front garden is chosen. Some prefer classics, others like modern or country. More details about each - below.
- Country, or rustic style, is very common due to its simplicity and originality. A popular design method is to plant perennial plants, enclosed by a low wooden or wicker fence.
- An Asian front garden is usually decorated with mixborders, which are planted with perennial flowers with discreet colors. Small conifers are perfect. The presence of tiers is ensured by the distinction exclusively from natural stones: this style does not allow other materials.
- Mediterranean décor provides for the presence of mobile objects. Plants are planted in specially designed tubs and containers. In such a front garden, they usually create a relaxation area with sun loungers and tables made of natural wood. Crafts, figurines, and lanterns serve as decor.
- In the romantic style, the main emphasis is on vegetation, personifying beauty and sophistication. Forged fences and arches with weaving plants serve as an addition.
- Contemporary style includes original and exotic plants that can be shaped. Sheared boxwood or larch is especially popular. Elimination paths and natural stones complement the composition.
- The Japanese style involves a combination of natural stones with conifers. Flower beds are planted with perennial crops such as daylilies, irises, or cereals.
It is quite difficult to maintain a specific style independently, without involving designers. Among other things, this requires certain financial costs. Therefore, quite often the owners give preference to a combination of several (more often two) styles.
Front garden design: selection of plants and landscape elements
In order to facilitate the care of flowers and ensure their normal development, it is necessary to take into account several principles for choosing plants for the entrance area of the yard:
- exactingness of flora representatives to care;
- the compatibility of species and varieties of plants with each other;
- germination time, period and duration of flowering;
- decorative characteristics after the plant has bloomed;
- resistance to cold and frost;
- life span (flowers and herbs can be annual, biennial, or perennial).
The ideal design of the front garden depends on the competent selection of landscape elements and their harmonious arrangement on the site. The main ones in this list are lawns, flower beds, trees, shrubs, beds and paths between them.
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The lawn is the most popular and beautiful element, as it fits into almost every style and is able to highlight any composition. At the same time, its creation and maintenance require some effort.
Helpful advice! A regularly mowed lawn can be a lazy alternative to a troublesome free-style garden lawn.
Depending on the style, flower beds can look like a front flower bed or be located along the fence. The main thing here is not to overdo it, since an excess of flowers in the front garden leads to their merging, which gives it a goofy look.
Even the smallest area should contain at least one tree or a couple of bushes. These plants are able to add volume to the area. You can break several garden beds in the front garden, decorating them in the form of flower beds, beautifully plant them with herbs, cabbage or tomatoes.
Beautiful front garden with your own hands: plant selection
Plants are a key component of the front garden, the beauty and manifestation of a certain style primarily depends on them. Most often, owners give preference to perennial flowers that frame ornamental shrubs and trees. Among the shrubs, the most popular and practical are juniper and its subspecies, boxwood, various varieties of barberry.
Typically, standard trees are planted in the front gardens, since flower arrangements can be broken around them. This series of woody plants includes Norway maple and thuja varieties.
Among flowers, preference should be given to crops that will not allow flower beds to lose their decorative qualities over a long period. For example, in April daisies, viols and forget-me-nots bloom actively. In May, they are replaced by daffodils, tulips, pansies, and with the arrival of summer, the flower garden is decorated with peonies, carnations, irises or lilies. At the end of summer, petunias, phloxes, marigolds and dahlias look beautiful on flower beds. Asters and chrysanthemums will decorate the garden throughout the fall and until frost.
Vegetable crops and flowers for the front garden must be correctly combined with each other, taking into account the compatibility and individual characteristics of plants, and a beautiful design will help create paths, fences and decorative elements.
Tracks and front garden fence: features of choice
You cannot do without paths in any front garden, even the smallest. Correctly designed, corresponding to a single style, they contribute to the unification of the territory into a single whole and serve as a demarcation between flower beds and lawns. Various materials are used for the tracks. The most popular of them are screenings, paving slabs, broken brick or stone.
As a division of the territory, you can use hedges made of shrubs. They serve as a frame for paths, flower beds or different areas. To emphasize the flower beds, special fences are used for them.
Photos of fences for the front garden, of which there are many on the Internet, indicate that fences are most often installed from natural materials. Wood and metal products are very popular due to their luxurious and beautiful appearance, although their cost is not available to everyone. They also use plastic, stone, live plants. The style and originality are emphasized by low and neat fences for the front garden.
Helpful advice! When creating a mono flower in the front garden, it is necessary to take into account the flowering period of different species. A rose garden is ideal, since the variety of varieties provides for the flowering of this culture from spring to late autumn.
Front garden fence: types and materials
It is the front garden fence that creates the first impression, so special attention should be paid to the design of this element. When choosing a material for making a fence for a front garden with your own hands, several factors should be taken into account:
- aesthetic characteristics;
- lifetime;
- features of care;
- the possibility of self-processing of the material;
- availability of special tools and fastening parts;
- production time;
- the cost of the material itself and other details.
In the choice of the fence, like other elements, the general idea plays a key role. So, a wrought-iron fence is suitable for a romantic style, a wattle fence or a wooden fence - for a rustic one. A stone fence is used for modern style... Let's consider each of them in more detail.
Let's start with a natural hedge that the plants themselves create. There are three nuances to consider here. Plants should be unpretentious and have a lush crown. Ensure the correct distance between the seedlings. The hedge needs to be watered, fertilized and trimmed on time.
Another natural hedge does not require special care - made of wicker branches. Better to use twigs of willow or other trees with long flexible branches. To create a wicker fence for the front garden with your own hands, the branches are pre-steamed in order to give them maximum flexibility. Then the stakes are driven into the ground, and between them branches are woven in random order.
Metal and wrought iron front gardens. Photos of structures
A front garden made of metal is characterized by increased strength and durability, especially if it is forged metal. He is not afraid of the most unfavorable weather conditions and mechanical influences. Additional benefits are reliability and ease of maintenance. It's hard to get through such a fence. In addition, it does not require an obligatory annual painting. A variety of colors and shapes will also delight those who prefer wrought-iron front gardens.
Forged hedges are divided into several types, based on the main function:
- Protective sections consist of one-piece sections that are connected by welding. Decorative elements are attached to the spans with special joints.
- The decorative look is more attractive, but it is made exclusively in the forge by experienced specialists according to individual drawings, using special equipment for connecting parts with clamps and tabs.
- Combined models combine the first two types. They are made using twisting, bending, adhesions, rivets and clamps.
The professional sheet front garden is a modern construction, the main task of which is to protect the site from atmospheric influences. Additional and integral elements of the fence made of corrugated board are a frame made of posts and girders for fastening. The benefits also include:
- unpretentious operation;
- good sound insulation;
- modernity of design;
- a wide range of colors and shapes.
Helpful advice! When choosing between wood and metal, the latter material is often preferred, since metal, unlike wood, does not require additional protection from external influences. You don't have to paint it every year.
Picket fences-fences for the front garden. A photo options from different materials
The appearance of a metal picket fence depends solely on the idea of its manufacturer. To create a beautiful front garden with their own hands, they prepare the pillars and dig them into the ground at the same short distance. Further, strips are attached to the posts, and on them - metal or wood. The appearance depends on the arrangement of the elements at the top of the fence. The picket fence can be placed horizontally, vertically or even diagonally.
The front garden made of euro shtaketnik is practically no different from the classic material, but at the top the fence is supplied with a horizontal cut or the upper edge is rounded, the end is closed with a horizontal bar. Seamed edges are a must. In addition, each part must be molded during special processing.
To create a picket fence, a professional pipe is often used, the main advantage of which is the ability to take any shape. For this, short pipe sections are used. The strength of the fence depends on the thickness of this part and its dimensions.
Traditional and at the same time easy-to-use, affordable material for a picket fence is wooden planks. Various design ideas can be realized with wood. Also, this material is easy to install and inexpensive.
Fences made of concrete and stone require a professional approach in the manufacture and construction, although these types of fences are characteristic of many styles, create a solid look and reliable shelter.
How to decorate a front garden with your own hands: examples of decoration
The main decoration of the front garden is plants, but decorative elements in the form of small architectural forms give a special flavor and originality, which include:
- trellises, stands and ladders for climbing plants made of wood, metal or plastic;
- garden clay, wood or metal figurines that you can buy or make yourself;
- gazebos, tables, benches with practical and aesthetic functions;
- pots, flowerpots and barrels with plants;
- artificial reservoirs and fountains;
- decorative lanterns;
- stone boulders that will smooth out the height differences.
In the question of how to decorate the front garden, imagination and improvised materials will help. It is recommended to create many decoration elements with your own hands (at minimal cost). For example, you can arrange flower beds using old tires or plastic bottles, painting the potential material in different colors.
Correctly selected decor elements will help to give the front garden completeness, harmony, to place accents and to zone the site.
Important! When using additional elements, you need to remember about the sense of proportion. On a small area, it is enough to arrange one thing, for example, build a rockery or install a pergola entwined with roses.
Thus, in the design of the plot in front of the house, it is important to adhere to the chosen style, which will ensure its aesthetics. You also need to use quality seeds, seedlings and decor materials. It should be remembered that decorating a front garden is a creative process that should not be burdensome, but bring pleasure and joy.