Your front garden gives the first impression of your home so – at the very least – it’s important it looks neat and tidy. If you have a small front garden, it can be hard to know what to do with it, but fortunately, as garden designers and landscapers will tell you, it is possible to turn even the tiniest of grounds into an outdoor haven. Here, Nelson Potter, suppliers of wooden garden products and fencing in Ipswich and Suffolk, gives six ideas on how to create an amazing front garden for your terraced house.
Courtyard Look
For ease of maintenance it’s a good idea to pave over any grassed areas and create a courtyard garden. You can make this space functional with seating, placing a wooden bench or a few chairs up against the house, then add interest with rustic timber planters filled with colourful blooms. This puts a Mediterranean slant on your garden design, creating a relaxed, holiday feel even in the heart of a busy town like Ipswich. A paved area keeps this space simple, and even token front gardens usually have room for a seat.
Rock Garden
Rockeries don’t have to be too elaborate but they give you plenty of scope for creativity. You could go minimal by sticking to greenery such as confers, or add splashes of colour with Alpine plants, or blooms such as Aubrieta Deltoidea, (purple rock cress) which is native to South Eastern Europe but can also be grown in the UK. A top tip is to start placing the largest rocks first, anchor them in with weed-free topsoil, and then fill in the gaps with smaller rocks.
Hanging Baskets
Hanging baskets (top picture above) are a great way to smarten up a small front garden, as they can be used to decorate even the smallest of spaces. You can either buy them readymade, which are a great idea if you don’t know where to start, or you can make your own hanging baskets. There are various different hanging baskets to choose from, such as plastic, wire mesh or rattan baskets, and you’ll also need a metal bracket to hang it up on. As hanging baskets dry out quickly in hot weather, don’t forget to keep them well-watered.
Creative Greenery
Having two Bonsai trees flanking the front door of your terraced home is a great way to add greenery without too much effort. However, you could take this idea one step further for a more exciting all-green garden. Pots of shrubs look fantastic in small gardens, and climbing plants often make outdoor spaces appear bigger than they really are. Add an element of fun by hanging painted wooden plaques on your fencing in Ipswich, containing messages such as ‘Gone to the Beach’ or ‘Gone Fishing’.
Raised Flower Beds
You can create pretty raised flower beds for any size of garden. These can be tiered or shaped beds that are either rectangular, round, oval, square or hexagonal in design, depending on how much space you have (and the nature of your garden). Once you have chosen the shape, have fun by creating different patterns out of flowers, or stick to a set colour scheme. If you feel that a raised flower bed is too time consuming to make, plant a few blooms in heavy pots or wooden planters instead to inject colour (see picture above).
Feature Fountain
Small is beautiful when it comes to outdoor fountains. These can be bought online or from a store near you; or if you are feeling creative, you can make your own. Fountains are not only aesthetically pleasing, but hearing the trickling sound of the water is incredibly relaxing as you go to or from your home. Why not set your fountain against a backdrop of contemporary fencing such as our Willow Panels? These popular fence panels can be bought direct from Nelson Potter’s retail yard, on the outskirts of Ipswich, or from our sawmill site near Bromeswell. Click on the link above to buy.