Hi GPODers!
Backyards are often the spaces that many of us spend the majority of our time outdoors, which makes it’s crucial to create a space that is inviting and comfortable. However, that doesn’t mean our front yards aren’t important or aren’t deserving of special attention. Today’s submission is a fabulous example of the impact an interesting front garden has.
After getting her back gardens to a place she was happy with, Brenda Kee in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada began work on the lush front landscape we see today. Though Brenda was starting off with more than bare dirt, unlike the submission we saw from Marty yesterday (Marty’s Garden From Scratch), the space was still far from planting ready. Over the years she has created enchanting front beds of mostly shade plants under mature maple trees, and in the process created a landscape that must delight visitors and anyone passing by.
My garden is in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Zone 5b. When we purchased the house 11 years ago the front yard had no lawn except for the front strip on either side of the sidewalk and was made up of mature maple trees, periwinkle, euonymus, yews, hostas and some large rocks. I was content to let it be while I concentrated on creating the gardens in the backyard.
Eventually, I got around to focussing on the front yard and the first step was to reduce the amount of periwinkle and get rid of the grass that had crept into it. I still have some patches of periwinkle and am working on digging up the rest of it. The newly opened up areas gave me space to add some pathways along with lots of new shrubs, perennials and bulbs.
This garden faces north and gets morning sun but by mid-afternoon it’s mostly a shade garden. I have added more hostas along with other perennials and shrubs some in darker purples, white and chartreuse tones to add some interest and contrast to all of the greens.
Happy gardening everyone.
Brenda Kee
This picture shows about 3/4 of the front garden as viewed from the sidewalk.
This section of the garden shows the rest of the front garden that is to the right of the first picture. It contains many hostas, a perennial geranium, Concorde barberry (Berberis thunbergii ‘Concorde’, Zones 4–8), All Gold Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’, Zones 4–9), woolly thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus, Zones 5–8) and Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum, Zones 3–8).
The left side of the front garden has more hostas with dark-leaved heucheras and Dark Towers penstemon (Penstemon ‘Dark Towers’, Zones 3–8), Herman’s Pride lamiastrum (Lamiastrum galeobdolon ‘Hermann’s Pride’, Zones 4–8), a bleeding heart, nepeta, Concorde barberry, alliums, purple irises and the white flowering shrub is a Dwarf Nikko deutzia (Deutzia gracilis ‘Nikko’, Zones 5–8).
This pathway is near the front of the house. In the back there are Yews on either side of a Rose Glow barberry (Berberis thunbergii ‘Rose Glow’, Zones 4–8) and Black Lace elderberry (Sambucus nigra ‘Eva’, Zones 4–7). The other plants are several variegated euonymus, Silver Scrolls heuchera (Heuchera ‘Silver Scrolls’, Zones 4–9), hostas, All Gold Japanese forest grass, Palace Purple heuchera (Heuchera micrantha var. diversifolia ‘Palace Purple’, Zones 4–9) and a Catching Fire heucherella (Heucherella ‘Catching Fire’, Zones 4–9).
Here is a close-up of the plants at the end of the pathway. There are Japanese painted ferns (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum, Zones 3–8) under the yew behind the All Gold Japanese forest grass. The Catching Fire heucherella is in front underplanted with creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum, Zones 4–8).
The other side of the pathway features a variegated euonymus, Spilled Wine weigela (Weigela florida ‘Bokraspiwi’, Zones 4–8), Emerald Blue creeping phlox (Phlox subulata ‘Emerald Blue’, Zones 2–9), Double Play Gold spirea (Spiraea japonica ‘Yan’, Zones 3–8), blue fescue (Festuca glauca, Zones 4–9), a self-seeded brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla, Zones 4–8) with Purple Sensation allium (Allium ‘Purple Sensation’, Zones 4–9) in the mix.
A view from my front window.
Thank you so much for sharing your incredible front garden with us, Brenda! While back gardens are often our own private oasis, front gardens are the gifts we share with our neighbors and anyone lucky enough to find themselves passing by. What a beautiful gift you’ve given!
How is your front garden looking this growing season? Have you recently given it more attention, or is it already the talk of the town for yet another year? Give your front garden space a little extra love this year by sharing photos with Garden Photo of the Day! Follow the directions below to submit photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.
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