Woodland Front Garden

Meet Nina’s front garden. Previous owners tried to grow grass here but between the northern exposure and the huge oak in the middle, their attempts were doomed. Nina knew better and created instead this charming woodland retreat. (Fitting, since it’s located on Woodland Avenue, just a few houses down the street from me.) She filled it with understory trees, like dogwords and serviceberries, that are just now coming into bloom, plus spring bulbs, pathways and some brand-new perennials. So like any real garden, it keeps getting better. It just needs a load of leafmold mulch every spring.

The top photo was taken from the sidewalk and the lower one from her house facing the street.

Security an issue?

One drawback to such a design scheme close to your home in the front OR back is losing the openness that makes most folks feel more secure in their homes. (A burgler could, one supposes, hide among shrubs and trees and not be seen from the house or from the street.) So if security is an issue, this scheme could be modified to retain visual openness using perennials and groundcovers instead of the taller plants.