Your front yard is your home’s first impression on everyone who stops by or passes through. If you’ve had the same layout for a number of years, or you think your front yard landscaping could use a refresher, let these popular trends for 2021 provide some inspiration!
Xeriscaping
More and more folks are opting for low-maintenance landscape designs, making xeriscaping a popular emerging trend. Xeriscaping is effectively a landscape designed to manage itself by eliminating the need for irrigation. This could involve building a channel system that distributes rainwater to the right places or using native plants that are well-adapted to our region’s natural conditions. The result is a yard that saves you time while also conserving water.
Perk Up Your Porch
As more of our social lives have begun to take place outside, more folks are moving their living areas outdoors. This has spurred a whole movement toward jazzed-up front-yard seating areas with features like bistro lighting, cozy textiles, enhanced hardscapes (like extended front porch areas), and lots of potted plants. This is an exciting trend that we anticipate will allow people to safely enjoy more face-to-face interaction and build stronger relationships with their neighbours.
Wildlife Wonderlands
Many city-dwelling species have become entirely dependent on our resources in order to survive, and embracing that fact is now in vogue. Winter birds, hundreds of pollinators, and even some small mammals see our landscapes as vital sources of food, water, and shelter. Fortunately, there are many attractive ways to make your front yard landscaping attractive to these vital critters. Birdhouses, baths, and feeders are simple and ornamental ways to attract a free show, while water features of all sizes create a hydration station for creatures passing through. Landscapes filled with perennial beds, shrubs, and trees offer plenty of wind cover and shelter for nesting. At the same time, pollen and nectar-rich flowers (especially native species!) are critical food sources for bees and butterflies.
Monochromatic Garden Designs
The single-colour theme has exploded in both backyard and front yard landscaping designs. While many lovers of this trend are opting for the Pantone Color of the Year, a glowing yellow called ‘Illuminating,’ any shade will do! Another massively popular version of the monochromatic garden is known as the ‘moon garden,’ which features white and silver shades throughout the space.
Front-Yard Food Gardens
Who says vegetable plots belong in the backyard? We’re in the midst of an edible gardening craze, and since food can take a lot of space to grow, using front-yard space to grow food is becoming increasingly commonplace. However, embracing this trend doesn’t have to mean replacing your hydrangeas with corn stalks! Container-grown food, such as tomatoes or strawberries, can make your front-yard food garden pretty and practical. Or, if you’re more serious about your edible garden, try a raised bed that intermingles healthy veggies and colorful flowers!
Limited Lawn Space
Are lawns going out of style? Not exactly—most of us are still attached to a little bit of open green space. However, it’s becoming part of the public consciousness how many resources go into maintaining that golf-green turf, and some folks are opting to replace it with something more multi-purpose. This could range from a paved front-yard patio to a perennial garden bed or a plot for your summer veggies. Ultimately, less lawn could mean more opportunities for enhancing the curb appeal and functionality of your front yard landscape while reducing the time and money you spend mowing, seeding, and fertilizing.
Interested in exploring these or other front yard landscaping ideas? Book a consultation today with one of our reliable team members! We can work with you to create a landscaping solution that reflects your goals and vision.
