Use Layers in the Garden

Some of the best garden ideas use layering. For this, you combine layers of plants that grow at different heights. This front garden idea is a great example. The white alyssum and purple-leafed lobelia in the front set the stage for taller tulips and butterfly flower,s which are in turn backed by society garlic and a wall topped in glowing pink bougainvillea.

Here's a tip: Even if you don't live in a warm-climate area, you can still take advantage of tropicals such as bougainvillea. Just treat them as annuals (or grow them in containers and bring them indoors for the winter).

• Layering is one trick used by the pros to create great landscapes—check out their other top tips

Create Interest with Curves

Curves are much more appealing to the eye than straight lines. So give your sidewalk garden an extra bit of pizzazz with flowing curves. Here, the strip of turf between the street and the garden sets off the planting wonderfully. And it gives folks a place to step when they get out of their cars. If your area is big enough, you could do the same thing between the planting and the sidewalk.

Here's a tip: Install landscape edging between your border and the turf to keep the grass from creeping into your beds.

• Create this look with our small-space garden plans

Make the Most of Your Space

A sidewalk garden doesn't have to take up a lot of room. This is a great front garden idea showing how you can pack in color and texture in just a little space; with only about a foot between the fence and the sidewalk, this garden is filled with tall, narrow plants, such as these pink and white foxgloves, purple delphiniums, and a climbing rose to attach to the fence. Tall, narrow plants are a great way to maximize narrow spots.

Here's a tip: If you use tall plants like these, be sure to add smaller plants around the bases, so there are blooms from the top all the way to the ground.

• Discover tips for growing foxgloves
• Learn great tips for growing beautiful delphiniums

Grow a Cutting Garden

Even though they take up little real estate, small sidewalk gardens can be great for growing your own cut flowers. In this garden, foxgloves, roses, and a host of other flowers are perfect for dressing up the front of the house, for table decoration, or for dropping in a vase as a great host gift.

Here's a tip: Look at landscape accents to give your sidewalk garden more appeal. Here, for example, a white picket fence and arbor create even more charm.

• Learn more about great cut flowers

Decrease Your Yard Maintenance

A fun idea: Instead of having to mow your front lawn once a week (or more), indulge in rich plantings. This crafty gardener mixed ornamentals, herbs, and vegetables to create a beautiful front yard that takes a lot less time to maintain than a lawn. Her front yard is the perfect place to grab some fresh herbs for dinner.

Here's a tip: Check your local rules concerning t front yard plantings. Some areas require a certain amount of lawn.

Our Best Curb Appeal Tips

Watch and follow these simple tips for stunning curb appeal.

Make Your Yard Feel Bigger

If your yard is small, create an illusion of space with street-side planting. This garden adds a layer of dimension to an otherwise shallow front space, and the mix of textures adds to the effect—the variety of shapes keeps your attention on the border.

Here's a tip: The border's simple color theme helps it feel larger, too. Cool colors, such as lavender, light pink, and blue, often feel farther away than they really are.

• Check out these other tips for making your landscape feel larger

Delight Passersby with Fragrance

A sidewalk garden doesn't just have to look good—it can smell great, too. This front garden combines a lovely, majestic Southern magnolia and shrub roses for low-care color and delightful fragrance spring to fall. The planting between the sidewalk and street helps soften the front yard plantings, and the result is privacy that's not unwelcoming.

Here's a tip: Use a 2- to 3-inch-deep layer of mulch to keep weeds down and help the soil stay moist longer. That way you'll have even more time to enjoy your lovely garden.

• Learn more about fragrant plants

Add Easy Elegance

Get inspired with this garden idea: Give your front yard a transformation by clearing out the turf between your sidewalk and the street and filling it with low-maintenance plants, such as these ornamental grasses, which include fountain grass (Pennisetum) and blue oat grass (Helictotrichon).

Here's a tip: Check your city's rules about planting in this space; some places have restrictions on how tall plants can be.

• Learn about other great, low-care ornamental grasses

Make a Statement

This relatively simple sidewalk front garden makes a big statement in a small space. A simple boxwood border and snaking line create pockets for the fireworks-like texture of ornamental grasses. We love the plant choice—the evergreen boxwood looks great all year and the grasses shine from summer through early spring.

Here's a tip: If you plant between the street and sidewalk and your street allows for parking, leave a space so people can get out of their cars. Here, a flagstone border does the trick perfectly.

• Ornamental grasses are some of the most versatile plants in the garden—learn about other great ways you can put them to use in your landscape

Garden No Matter Where You Live

Use this idea, and you can have a stunning sidewalk, even if you live in an arid area. Here, yellow and orange ice plants make a stunning statement backed by yucca, agave, and cactus. Other attractive plants for hot, dry places include aloes and many salvias, penstemons, and flowering cacti.

Here's a tip: If you plant against a south- or west-facing wall, you'll want to select plants that can stand up to the extra heat the wall reflects.

Plan for All Seasons

This street-side garden keeps going all season. In spring, it benefits from a burst of color from bulbs and crabapples. Then perennials, such as Oriental poppy, come into play. Prolong the season with other easy favorites, including peonies, daylilies, coreopsis, coneflowers, and black-eyed Susans. In fall and winter, grasses take center stage.

Here's a tip: Another great way to help deter weeds is to plant densely. The closer together your garden plants are, the less room there is for weeds.

• Crabapples are great small trees—learn about other top picks

Solve a Slope Problem

If you're stuck with a sloping front yard, a retaining wall and sidewalk garden can be the perfect garden idea and solution for tough mowing. Here, a simple concrete retaining wall is dressed up with a variety of beautiful blooms. A charming white picket fence helps distract you from the blandness of the concrete wall, and gives the whole landscape a quaint cottage character.

Here's a tip: Vines like this ivy—or trailing plants, such as many varieties of campanula—will help cover walls as well.

• Get inspired with more flower-filled front yards

Utilize Containers

A great sidewalk garden doesn't have to be limited to planting in the ground. You can create the same effect with containers. This garden relies on a series of container gardens that line the sidewalk in front of this cute cottage. The biggest chore is watering—and that can be a breeze with a simple drip irrigation system.

Here's a tip: We love the cool, chartreuse color theme this gardener picked. Even a single-color garden can look great.

• The chartreuse flowers spilling between the pots and over the gravel walkway are lady's mantle—learn more about this great perennial

Add a Splash of Color

This charming home, with its shrub-filled front yard, felt a little bland, so the homeowners added curb appeal with a simple garden between their fence and sidewalk. Filled with fragrant red nicotiana, red-leafed Acalypha, and coleus, it's a treat for passersby and a practical garden idea.

Here's a tip: Don't forget about the importance of foliage color when you select plants. The red-leaf plants create just as much interest as the flowers—and look good from spring to fall, since they never go out of bloom.

Update Your Entrance

We love how sidewalk gardens instantly make a home more welcoming and inviting. In this front garden, a few flowers tucked along a split-rail fence create a boundary from the street, while adding charm and character. A similar planting (filled with easy-care annuals and perennials) between the street and the sidewalk creates an extra layer of interest.

Here's a tip: The curved walkway from the sidewalk to the home adds visual interest. Think about creating eye-pleasing curves in your landscape when possible.

• A great gate can also help make the entry to your yard more showy—check out our great gate ideas

Create Cottage Charm

Planting along your sidewalk can help accent your home's architectural style. In this garden, a lovely Victorian home is made all the more charming by a little cottage-style garden filled with roses and other great flowers for cutting. A white picket fence completes the scene. We love how the garden makes a big impact, but takes up hardly any space.

Here's a tip: Check your city's rules about planting in this space; some areas have restrictions on how tall plants can grow.

• Learn more about cottage gardening

Make Your Yard Feel More Intimate

If your house is set back from the street and feels isolated, a pocket of colorful flowers along the sidewalk can help it feel more inviting by creating color and interest up close. In this front garden, a colorful border, planted with daylilies, perennial geraniums, sedum, and other easy-growing varieties, looks good all season long and is a great accent to the house.

Here's a tip: If you have a deep front yard, planting along the sidewalk will also give you a beautiful, colorful view from inside your home.

• See more landscaping ideas for the front yard.