15 Best Low Maintenance Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

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

Read more: 10 Cheap Fence Ideas That Designers Actually Love

Cervone says ornamental grasses are particularly attractive because they are hardy, deer-resistant, and look stunning when blown in the wind to add texture and interest. Carex and hachnechloa are great options.

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Do you like roses? Then stick to hardy shrub roses like Knockouts. They are self-cleaning (dropping their spent flowers without the need for pruning) and are more resistant to disease. It also blooms non-stop from spring to frost.

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Plant them once and enjoy them for years! Spring flowering bulbs should be planted in the fall to bloom the following spring. Among the most reliable performers year after year are daffodils, lilies and muscari. Tulips are beautiful but do not flower well in later years, so they are considered annual plants and should be replanted every fall.

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Window boxes provide color without the need to invest in landscape plantings. You can also change the plantings depending on the season, for example, if you want spring flowering bulbs or fall mums.

Invest in self-watering containers too, so you’ll need to water every week or so rather than daily.

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Perennials come back year after year, so they’re a great long-term investment, Cervone says. Some of its favorites for full sun include mint and coreopsis. For part sun, use heuchera and dicentra.

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No planting beds in your front yard? Arrange a collection of pots of different sizes for a garden that you can move whenever and wherever you want. The different types of succulents shown here are drought-tolerant but provide great look and texture to the garden.

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Design your garden for fall, too. Ornamental trees like Japanese maples provide splashes of color but won’t require a lot of raking because they are usually small trees. “There is a size and variety that will appeal to everyone,” says Cervone. Read the plant tag so you know which type to buy, and pay attention to mature size and width so you don’t plant it too close to your home, which could cause maintenance problems in the future.

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Reduce the number of times you need to water by choosing plants that can tolerate heat and drought once established. Cervone loves perennials like Russian sage and lavender, which have beautiful colors and bloom for weeks on end. It is also pollinator-friendly and deer-resistant.

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

Read more: 17 Winter flowers bloom during the coldest months of the year