When it comes to creating your dream home one of the biggest elements that affects how your home will look and feel is, of course, its exterior. From choosing specific exterior materials and cladding options to adopting a welcoming colour palette, the next step is to consider your front garden.
Planting a lush entry garden can add a dramatic and eye-catching feature to your home’s exterior, and there’s plenty of options to choose from! Depending on the style of your home and its location, you’ll want to consider which garden design style will suit your house best as well as which plants will thrive best.
Do you, for instance, prefer the neutrality of silver leaf plants or the dramatic silhouettes of succulents? Is cloud pruning a look you’re fond of? Or do you prefer the hardy nature of native Australian plants? The possibilities are endless.
To help inspire your home’s front garden, we’ve pulled together 23 of the best ideas to inspire you.
The sustainably-clad exterior of this contemporary Booker Bay home is surrounded by olive, yucca and rosemary, which come together to create a silvery garden border to the dark facade.
Landscaping: Pangkarra Gardens | Photography: Brigid Arnott
This Californian-style modernist home in Byron Bay is a mid-century lover’s dream, with its elevated aspect and white facade. In keeping with the home’s Palm-Springs-style aeshetic, the front ‘desert garden’ is minimal, featuring a Livistona palm, golden barrel cactus and a number of agaves.
Styling: Sarah Ellison | Photography: Jessie Prince
The garden of this very Australian mid-century era home in Adelaide Hills plays to its strengths; tiered planting, native shrubbery and a towering gum make up the centrepieces of this home’s quintessential exterior.
Landscaping: Catnik Design Studio | Photography: Jacqui Way
The classic exterior of this quintessential WWII Queenslander home was retained during the reimagining of its interiors. Here, a large tree shades the facade and perfectly kept grass below it. The garden is partially elevated, with the carport below.
Architect: Matt Kennedy | Photography: Mindi Cooke
The front entrance garden of this renovated 1930s home is much like the interiors that follow it; understated and minimalist. The planting lets the curves and linear details of the exterior speak for themselves, highlighting architectural details and features.
Landscaping: Formed Gardens | Photography: Simon Whitbread
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Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ spills over the wall, under the canopy of four crepe myrtle trees in the front garden of this home. A shallow bed of succulents on a reinforced and waterproofed garage roof is a clever solution to the sun glare that used to reflect into the house.
Design: Peter Fudge Gardens | Photography: Jason Busch.
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A pathway of steppers is a relaxed treatment where a solid path isn’t necessary. These steppers are mini pieces of the main paved area, formed in situ repeating the stone paving.
Design: Michael Cooke Garden Design and Nature’s Vision Landscapes | Photography: Jason Busch.
In keeping with the Palm Springs-inspired aesthetic of this Casuarina home the front garden features sculptural cactii and succulents whose low profile allows the facade of the home to stand as the hero.
Design: Create Architecture | Build: Sanctuary 28 | Styling: Sarah Ellison | Photography: Andy Macpherson.
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Creeping kidney weed (dichondra repens) is an effective groundcover in this front garden, preventing the growth of weed and adding a stunning visual alternative to grass. A mature tree such as this frangipani, adds instant age and character to this garden.
Design: Spirit Level Designs | Photographer: Michael Wee.
Trimmed hedges and young trees create a traditional and formal look in the front garden of this renovated Edwardian house. The rich greenery creates a striking contrast against the home’s red brick facade.
Design: Sarah Harris Design | Styling: Heather Nette King | Photography: Armelle Habib.
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An inviting and easy to maintain garden is achieved using sculptural plants and white pebbles that also provide texture in this Moroccan-style home in Melbourne.
Design: Giovanni Mangano | Styling: Glen Proebstel | Photography: Mark Roper.
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If you live near the sea, choose plants that will survive salty winds. Aussie natives, such as banksia and lomandra are great choices. The trio of banksia trees in this front garden are designed to provide privacy between homes.
Design: William Dangar + Associates | Photography: Prue Ruscoe.
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An array of lush plants set against a white weatherboard backdrop create a relaxed tropical entry.
Styling: LeeAnn Yare | Photography: Larnie Nicolson.
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While this lush front garden may not boast too many flowering plants, a rich mix of foliage in a range of different shades and silhouettes create a visually stunining effect.
Design: Eckersley Garden Architecture | Photography: Michael Wee.
This Macmasters beach house looks perfect at home in its bush surrounds. The home’s cedar battens highlight the stunning banksia tree in the entryway.
Architect: David Boyle Architect | Design: Arent & Pyke | Styling: Claire Delmar | Photography: Felix Forest.
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Don’t have enough space for a front garden? Create your own with a collection of potted plants of varying heights and textures for an interesting display.
Design: Peter Fudge Gardens | Photography: Jason Busch.
This timber-clad sustainable home features a lush entry garden that boasts hardy plants and shrubs that will grow along the stairs.
Design: Maxa Design | Styling: Ruth Welsby | Photography: Martina Gemmola.
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If you’re after a low maintenance sculptured garden, plants such as Westringia ‘Aussie Box’ and ‘Grey Box’, naturally grow into tight, round balls so you don’t have to clip them into shape.
Design: Budwise Garden Design | Photography: Priya Schuback.
Inspired by a childhood spent growing up in the bush, this nature-inspired home in Riverview features a front garden filled with shrubs and plants that wouldn’t seem out of place in the wild.
Architect: David Boyle Architect | Build: Graybuilt | Styling: Claire Delmar | Photography: Chris Warnes.
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Striking seasonal plants means the look of this garden is constantly changing. The sculptural pruned hedges to the front complement the rigid form of the entryway, adding height and visual depth.
Design: Outdoor Establishments | Photography: Natalie Hunfalvay.
The crisp white exterior of this minimalist-style home makes a statement with a pair of potted trees standing either side of the door.
Styling: Rachel Vigor | Photography: Derek Swalwell.
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Textural foliage serves as a counterbalance to the modern concrete steps. The slope by the steps is planted
with miscanthus ‘Hiawatha’ and chalksticks groundcover.
Design: Michael Cooke Garden Design and Nature’s Vision Landscapes | Photography: Jason Busch.
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The hand-like leaves of fatsia japonica at the front door of this coastal home start a semi-tropical theme that carries through to the back garden, in contrast to the stiffer plants that dominate the sloping front yard.
Photography: Michael Cooke Garden Design | Photography: Brigid Arnott.
WriterChristina Rae
WriterLucy Francis
Lucy Francis has a long-standing love affair with homes that began with a childhood spent picking out the nicest house on each street from the back of her parents' 2000s Subaru. Now, when not writing, she does an adult version - perusing real estate websites - and spends far too long browsing Facebook marketplace for 70s-style furniture.
