Planting shrubs in the front of your house is a great way to create a stunning landscape. Choosing the best shrubs for the front of your house can be tricky because of their many colors, shapes, and sizes.
Picking the most suitable shrubs will ensure you have a front yard that is as beautiful as you envisioned it to be.
Our choice as the best shrubs for the front of your house include:
• Emerald Green Arborvitae
• Boxwood
• Andromeda
• Blushing Bride Rose of Sharon
• Lilac
Now, let us discuss these shrubs:
1. Emerald Green Arborvitae
The Emerald Green Arborvitae got its name partly because of its color – emerald. This shrub can grow to be as tall as 15 feet and 4 feet wide. This shrub is best planted in spring, summer, or fall. It also needs to have at least 6 hours of sun a day.
This shrub does not need to be trimmed. Its foliage is resistant to disease. They can also serve as accents for flower beds, borders, mailboxes, and many items in your front yard. More importantly, its foliage is maintained even during winter.
2. Boxwood
Boxwood is a popular shrub for front yards because it is easy to maintain and manipulate. Boxwood is an evergreen plant with oval, tiny, and glossy leaves and can be shredded into hedges.
Most boxwood can grow up to 20 feet, while some types of cultivars can be smaller. Boxwood thrives in light shade and well-drained soil but can withstand drought, too. This shrub is hardy in Zones 4,5,6,7 and 8.
3. Andromeda
Andromeda is also often called the lily-of-the-valley bush. The andromeda shrub has drooping chains of wrinkled blooms in spring that looks similar to the lily-of-the-valley flowers.
Andromeda grows from between 4 feet to 12 feet tall. In spring, this broadleaf evergreen produces bundled white, fragrant flowers in the shape of an urn.
Andromeda is a slow-growing shrub that loves the shade, yet it can withstand full sun. It requires well-drained soil that is not too wet or too dry. It is hardy in Zones 6,7,8 and 9.
4. Blushing Bride Rose of Sharon
The pink-colored Blushing Bride Rose of Sharon can grow to be up to 6-feet wide and 10-feet tall. This shrub has upright and willowy branches. Its double blooms in pink are large.
This shrub is perfect if you want to achieve a colorful front yard in late summer. It grows best on semi-moist soil and partial sun to grow.
5. Lilac
Lilac is one of our favorites! In spring, lilac features a fragrant spray of white, pink, and lavender shades tubular florets. Its bluish-green, smooth, and heart-shaped leaves fall off in the fall.
Lilac is a slow-growing shrub with a long lifespan. It requires well-drained soil and thrives in part sun or full sun. It is hardy in Zones 4,5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
More about Shrubs:
Having the best shrubs for the front of your house enhances the curb appealing of your home. The shrubs also create a superb welcoming mat for your guests.
Shrubs are an essential component of every ecosystem in a garden. Shrubs improve air quality, make the soil more stable, and provide shade. Of course, they also look beautiful, especially when you plant the best shrubs that match your landscape.
Regardless of your front yard size, you will need to have attractive landscaping, and shrubs play an essential role in every home landscaping. Shrubs provide the “bones” or structure of your landscaping.
The best part about having shrubs for the front of your house is that they are easy to transplant should you have a change of heart regarding your front yard structure.
There is a wide selection of shrubs, and it can be difficult, especially for beginners, to choose from the different varieties on what to plant on the front of your house. To narrow your choices, you can start with easy-to-grow shrubs that can grow in any climate.
What are Shrubs?
Shrubs go with the standard definition of being a woody plant smaller than trees with several stems near the ground.
Shrubs are characterized by:
• Several stems growing from one point in the ground.
• Not being more than fifteen feet tall.
• Has foliage throughout the year.
• Reacts very well to maintenance and pruning.
Shrubs come in a variety of shapes, sizes, foliage, and flowers. They can transform a dull landscape into a dynamic and beautiful showcase. They are also sturdy plants that help create a solid foundation and fill-in beds to make your yard more inviting.
Reasons to have Shrubs for the Front of your House
Your house should not only look stunning inside but from the outside as well. An urban forest ecosystem in the front of your house is not all about having trees. Shrubs, similar to trees, have a good number of benefits when planted in the front of your house.
Shrubs Provide your Home with Added Privacy
Shrubs do not grow as high as most trees. However, some get to be tall enough when mature to provide some privacy from open spaces around your yard and curious neighbors.
Shrubs have many stems and are dense. They can also help conceal noise coming from the streets or your neighbors. All these provide your home with the privacy you need.
Shrubs can Help you Breathe
Trees help filter polluted air and improve air quality. So do shrubs. Shrubs and trees trap harmful pollutants (ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide) in their leaves to prevent you from having respiratory issues.
Aside from making the air breathable and clean, shrubs also suck up greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, that help minimize climate change.
Shrubs can be Tasteful Snacks
Do you want to have some fruits fresh from your front yard? You can choose to plant some fruiting shrubs in your front yard. They not only provide one of the best snacks, but they are also food for wildlife.
Be careful, though, and make sure the fruits from your shrubs are fit for human consumption.
Shrubs are Great for De-Stressing
Enjoying the warmth of nature is an excellent way to de-stress. Enjoying the shrubs in your yard can be an excellent coping mechanism for a stressful day. Urbanization has altered nature in many areas. There are more residential areas than green environments; thus, there has been less access to green spaces in many cities.
Seeing more structures than green spaces can make you more vulnerable to stressful events in your life. Shrubs in your yard can re-connect you with nature when you are under so much stress.
Enhances Biodiversity
Shrubs provide shelter and habitat for wildlife. Their flowers and fruits also attract songbirds and pollinators. Urbanization has led to crumbled landscapes where habitats of wildlife are no longer interconnected.
Shrubs in your yard fill in the gap between sources of food and existing habitats for wildlife in your community and, at the same time, increase and attract diverse species.
In effect, shrubs are good for the urban environment. They bring nature to the heart of urban life.
How to Choose the Right Shrubs for the Front of your House
Planting shrubs in your front yard provides many benefits. But of course, as a homeowner, the topmost in your made is the beauty and curb appeal these plants can bring to your home.
Here are some tips on these plants can achieve all the benefits that go with planting shrubs:
• Choose shrubs that can draw year-round interest.
• Avoid planting too many different varieties of shrubs.
• Choose the right spots to plant shrubs as their positions can strongly affect their beauty and appearance.
• Position them properly, so they are not visually distracting and not make moving difficult.
• Shrubs should be planted together in borders and beds for maximum aesthetic effect.
Considerations when selecting Shrubs:
1. Plant shrubs in the right places in your yard.
In choosing your shrubs’ best positions, you need to determine what function these shrubs will have in your yard.
Plant a low-growing shrub if you need the shrub to control erosion and enhance your home’s curb appeal. After a few years, the slope will be filled with low-growing shrubs.
Small and medium shrubs can be used as accents for walkways and patios if you want to control the climate in winter and summer, plant larger shrubs.
2. Always consider the size of the shrub.
You should give the mature size of the shrub you wish to plant a lot of thought. This is to determine the right spot to plant them and how close or far they should be planted from other plants.
Ensure you only plant shrubs that you can handle and those that will blend with the rest of the trees and flowers in your front yard.
3. Consider the Proximity of the Shrub to other plants.
Consider the mature size of the shrub before planting. The shrubs and other plants in your yard should have a good mass. They should not be overcrowded, too.
Some shrubs are low-growing, while some can grow up to 10 feet or taller. Larger shrubs can provide some shade depending on where they are planted. If you are planting shrubs in close proximity to other plants, it is wise to position them on your yard’s northeast part.
4. Consider the shrubs and other plants’ mass appearance.
Shrubs should be planted in odd numbers (3, 5, 7, etc.) to balance their massing appearance. If you are trying to create a symmetrical design or a formal look, you can plant them in even numbers. If you want an informal look, scatter the shrubs instead of planting them in a straight line.
5. Plant Shrubs that are suitable for the climate in your area.
Not all shrubs grow in varied growing conditions. If you live in the east and north, choose shrubs tolerant to cold, such as blueberry and arborvitae. If you live in the south or southwest, shrubs such as spirea and boxwood are ideal because they are tolerant to drought and heat.
It would be best if you also considered the salinity of the climate. Consider shrubs such as lilac, snowberry, and bayberry. These shrubs can tolerate salt if you live near the beach or in cold climates where salt should be used for ice and snow control.
6. Consider the color of the shrub.
Shrubs come in a wide range of varieties and colors. Shrubs can add more long-lasting beauty to your front yard than most trees and flowers.
Flowering shrubs come in the colors white, blue, red, and many other colors.
Final Thoughts
Planting the best shrubs for the front of your house is an easy way to enhance your home’s curb appeal. Beautiful flowering shrubs are often the best choices. Choose the shrubs that you love and create a beautiful front yard and a green space for your home.
Jenny M
Tribal Writer
Edited by
Patrcia Godwin
