21 smart and affordable small front garden ideas
All too often, we focus all our attention on our back gardens and ignore the little patch of land at the front of the house. It makes sense – we spend more time in our back gardens, after all. But as the front garden sets the tone for the house (both for you and your guests), it's just as important to keep it looking ship shape and joyful. It's the very first impression visitors get when they arrive, and in city gardens it provides welcome greenery against all the brickwork. There is fun to be had, too. However sprawling or petite your front garden is, there are innovative ways to make the most of the space. We explored small front garden ideas and discovered that, much like with a small room, a dinky garden allows for experimentation; it can encourage you to get creative in ways you might not have expected. And if privacy matters, there are all manner of climbing plants, verdant greenery and topiary to screen the house from prying eyes.
‘As Georgina Reid from Australia’s Planthunter magazine so beautifully put it, front gardens are our gift to the street,’ writes Lottie Delamain in three schemes for small front gardens. ‘They have been the botanical backdrop to our daily walks, registering the slow but deeply reassuring passage of time through the seasons during difficult times.
‘Tending to your front garden is not just an aesthetic gift to you and your neighbours, it has a myriad of other benefits too. Planting for pollinators provides bees and other insects a much-needed source of food and shelter in urban environments.
‘Less glamorous, but no less important, planting and porous hard-landscaping is extremely important for water management and to prevent flooding in cities, helping improve drainage in ever-more concrete jungles.’
Our garden editor Clare Foster advises ‘choosing tough, low maintenance plants that will give as much seasonal interest as possible.’ Start with a hedge structure, then infill it with seasonal flowers, low-lying grasses and perhaps climbing plants for walls and fences, and you'll have a beautiful scheme that will look fresh and smart all year round.
Small front garden ideas
Christopher Horwood1/22The front garden of Sophie Henderson and Jaime Williams's early 20th century red-brick house in Hampstead. Lush hedges line the brick path to the door.
Mark Anthony Fox2/22This wild front garden provides a welcoming and rather romantic entrance to interior designer Lucy Cunningham's Hampshire cottage which takes her signature approach to interior design of layering and colour and applies it to this small, verdant space.
3/22In an extract from his book ‘Containers in the Garden’, gardener Claus Dalby details how to recreate his favourite type of garden – a white garden inspired by Sissinghurst – in pots. Grey and silver foliage are supporting characters, emphasising the serene bright white of the main flowers.
Alister Thorpe4/22The front garden of this garden in west London designed by Sheila Jack screens this house from the street with two multi-stemmed Prunus serrula, underplanted with a matrix of Hakonechloa macra and Libertia grandiflora dotted with yew mounds. A successional planting of bulbs, including narcissus, tulips, alliums and martagon lilies emerges through this verdant arrangement.
Simon Brown5/22Designer Henry Jonsson Robinson created a verdant container garden outside of his front door of his 19th century cottage in Derbyshire, using foliage that hint a little at the cottage-style back garden he created in collaboration with gardener Steven Howard.
- elegant Georgian home in Oxfordshire</a>. The guest house was the conversion of a former garage behind the house, which means that friends who come to stay can be independent.","contentType":"photo","credit":"Simon Brown","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":480,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e55b028fc86ce487fbf/master/w_320,c_limit/160516_HGM_03291_0162-house-25jul17-simon-brown_b.jpg"},{"height":960,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e55b028fc86ce487fbf/master/w_640,c_limit/160516_HGM_03291_0162-house-25jul17-simon-brown_b.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":960,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e55b028fc86ce487fbf/master/w_640,c_limit/160516_HGM_03291_0162-house-25jul17-simon-brown_b.jpg"},{"height":1920,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e55b028fc86ce487fbf/master/w_1280,c_limit/160516_HGM_03291_0162-house-25jul17-simon-brown_b.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":1536,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e55b028fc86ce487fbf/master/w_1024,c_limit/160516_HGM_03291_0162-house-25jul17-simon-brown_b.jpg"},{"height":3072,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e55b028fc86ce487fbf/master/w_2048,c_limit/160516_HGM_03291_0162-house-25jul17-simon-brown_b.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":1920,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e55b028fc86ce487fbf/master/w_1280,c_limit/160516_HGM_03291_0162-house-25jul17-simon-brown_b.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":1920,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e55b028fc86ce487fbf/master/w_1280,c_limit/160516_HGM_03291_0162-house-25jul17-simon-brown_b.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
Simon Brown6/22A small vegetable garden sits in front of the guest house at this elegant Georgian home in Oxfordshire. The guest house was the conversion of a former garage behind the house, which means that friends who come to stay can be independent.
Britt Willoughby Dyer7/22There are many plants to train up the front of your house, but beware of those like Clematis montana and Virginia creeper that will quickly rampage up and over everything,' says garden editor Clare Foster in How to beautify the exterior of your house with plants. 'Climbing roses and wisteria are the classic country house choices. For urban spaces, Trachelospermum jasminoides (star jasmine) is one of the easiest climbers, happy in sun or semi-shade. Climbers are best trained using a wire and vineeye system. Screw the vine-eyes into the masonry to create a system of taut wires, either vertical or horizontal, and about 45cm apart. For smaller climbers such as clematis, screw a wooden trellis to the wall. Try Green Wall Systems or Stainless Steel Solutions for ready-made kits.
- this Cotswold barn conversion</a> a Mediterranean feel. The woodwork painted in Little Greene’s ‘Boringdon Green’.","contentType":"photo","credit":"Sarah Griggs","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":415,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/692dde914bd95ac8b3b23350/master/w_320,c_limit/V&G_25.0430_Exterior_04.jpg"},{"height":829,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/692dde914bd95ac8b3b23350/master/w_640,c_limit/V&G_25.0430_Exterior_04.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":829,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/692dde914bd95ac8b3b23350/master/w_640,c_limit/V&G_25.0430_Exterior_04.jpg"},{"height":1658,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/692dde914bd95ac8b3b23350/master/w_1280,c_limit/V&G_25.0430_Exterior_04.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":1327,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/692dde914bd95ac8b3b23350/master/w_1024,c_limit/V&G_25.0430_Exterior_04.jpg"},{"height":2653,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/692dde914bd95ac8b3b23350/master/w_2048,c_limit/V&G_25.0430_Exterior_04.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":1658,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/692dde914bd95ac8b3b23350/master/w_1280,c_limit/V&G_25.0430_Exterior_04.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":1658,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/692dde914bd95ac8b3b23350/master/w_1280,c_limit/V&G_25.0430_Exterior_04.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
Sarah Griggs8/22Gravel, wisteria and a potted tree give the front garden of this Cotswold barn conversion a Mediterranean feel. The woodwork painted in Little Greene’s ‘Boringdon Green’.
- Chelsea house</a>, filling it with his signature sophisticated arrangements for the festive season. Whilst Paul did not have space for full front garden, he nevertheless has added the perfect amount of greenery by way of geranium plants and other shrubs.","contentType":"photo","credit":"Paul Massey","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":419,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61ba1fccfbfb3637263ceae3/master/w_320,c_limit/Massey_H&G_Hawkins_186RT.jpg"},{"height":838,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61ba1fccfbfb3637263ceae3/master/w_640,c_limit/Massey_H&G_Hawkins_186RT.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":838,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61ba1fccfbfb3637263ceae3/master/w_640,c_limit/Massey_H&G_Hawkins_186RT.jpg"},{"height":1676,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61ba1fccfbfb3637263ceae3/master/w_1280,c_limit/Massey_H&G_Hawkins_186RT.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":1340,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61ba1fccfbfb3637263ceae3/master/w_1024,c_limit/Massey_H&G_Hawkins_186RT.jpg"},{"height":2681,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61ba1fccfbfb3637263ceae3/master/w_2048,c_limit/Massey_H&G_Hawkins_186RT.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":1676,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61ba1fccfbfb3637263ceae3/master/w_1280,c_limit/Massey_H&G_Hawkins_186RT.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":1676,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61ba1fccfbfb3637263ceae3/master/w_1280,c_limit/Massey_H&G_Hawkins_186RT.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
Paul Massey9/22Florist Paul Hawkins has created a comfortable country cottage in town at his Chelsea house, filling it with his signature sophisticated arrangements for the festive season. Whilst Paul did not have space for full front garden, he nevertheless has added the perfect amount of greenery by way of geranium plants and other shrubs.
- Designer James Mackie’s cottage</a>, built of mellow local stone, sits on an attractive single-track road in a Cotswold village. Clipped round hedges and pots of geraniums make for a welcoming scene outside the door.","contentType":"photo","credit":"James McDonald","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":393,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61894a907a5ec7dd3a8b3bf7/master/w_320,c_limit/235-1.jpg"},{"height":786,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61894a907a5ec7dd3a8b3bf7/master/w_640,c_limit/235-1.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":786,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61894a907a5ec7dd3a8b3bf7/master/w_640,c_limit/235-1.jpg"},{"height":1572,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61894a907a5ec7dd3a8b3bf7/master/w_1280,c_limit/235-1.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":1258,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61894a907a5ec7dd3a8b3bf7/master/w_1024,c_limit/235-1.jpg"},{"height":2515,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61894a907a5ec7dd3a8b3bf7/master/w_2048,c_limit/235-1.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":1572,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61894a907a5ec7dd3a8b3bf7/master/w_1280,c_limit/235-1.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":1572,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61894a907a5ec7dd3a8b3bf7/master/w_1280,c_limit/235-1.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
James McDonald10/22Designer James Mackie’s cottage, built of mellow local stone, sits on an attractive single-track road in a Cotswold village. Clipped round hedges and pots of geraniums make for a welcoming scene outside the door.
- her front garden in Berkshire</a>. "The idea for the front was to have an unstructured, joyous cottage garden with a tumbling mix of bright flowers and soft grasses I could cut from. I wanted things to self-seed in the gravel, so that the garden would almost design itself and, three years on, this is happening just as I planned.\n<em>"Dianthus carthusianorum</em>, <em>Digitalis grandiflora</em>, white centranthrus, ammi, nigella and hollyhocks are making themselves at home, weaving around larger plants within an evergreen framework of domed <em>Teucrium fruticans</em> and <em>Hebe rakaiensis</em>.\n“With a loose and naturalistic garden like this, the crucial thing is to edit: to take out the surplus seedlings along with the weeds, leaving just the right balance of artfully arranged plants.”","contentType":"photo","credit":"Eva Nemeth","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":213,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6189453c9fad5833bd1742d3/master/w_320,c_limit/1d7a695105x.jpg"},{"height":427,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6189453c9fad5833bd1742d3/master/w_640,c_limit/1d7a695105x.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":427,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6189453c9fad5833bd1742d3/master/w_640,c_limit/1d7a695105x.jpg"},{"height":854,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6189453c9fad5833bd1742d3/master/w_1280,c_limit/1d7a695105x.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":683,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6189453c9fad5833bd1742d3/master/w_1024,c_limit/1d7a695105x.jpg"},{"height":1366,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6189453c9fad5833bd1742d3/master/w_2048,c_limit/1d7a695105x.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":854,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6189453c9fad5833bd1742d3/master/w_1280,c_limit/1d7a695105x.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":854,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6189453c9fad5833bd1742d3/master/w_1280,c_limit/1d7a695105x.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
Eva Nemeth11/22If you have a bit more space at the front of the house, a series of beds divided by paths is a beautiful look. Our garden editor Clare Foster devised this scheme for her front garden in Berkshire. "The idea for the front was to have an unstructured, joyous cottage garden with a tumbling mix of bright flowers and soft grasses I could cut from. I wanted things to self-seed in the gravel, so that the garden would almost design itself and, three years on, this is happening just as I planned.
"Dianthus carthusianorum, Digitalis grandiflora, white centranthrus, ammi, nigella and hollyhocks are making themselves at home, weaving around larger plants within an evergreen framework of domed Teucrium fruticans and Hebe rakaiensis.
“With a loose and naturalistic garden like this, the crucial thing is to edit: to take out the surplus seedlings along with the weeds, leaving just the right balance of artfully arranged plants.”
Simon Upton12/22Evergreen indigenous shrubs, such as rosemary, lavender, teucrium and myrtle, set off the pale limestone walls in this glorious country house in the South of France by Lucy Hammond Giles
- Foxgloves are a classic cottage garden flower, and here at the front of <a href=https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/"https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/tobias-vernon-cottage/">Tobias Vernon's Somerset cottage</a>, where there is no garden to speak of, they create the sense of one by spilling out from the grass verge.","contentType":"photo","credit":"James McDonald","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":400,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/64199d8342656199c29b9d87/master/w_320,c_limit/200528TobiasCottage24285.jpg"},{"height":800,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/64199d8342656199c29b9d87/master/w_640,c_limit/200528TobiasCottage24285.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":800,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/64199d8342656199c29b9d87/master/w_640,c_limit/200528TobiasCottage24285.jpg"},{"height":1600,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/64199d8342656199c29b9d87/master/w_1280,c_limit/200528TobiasCottage24285.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":1280,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/64199d8342656199c29b9d87/master/w_1024,c_limit/200528TobiasCottage24285.jpg"},{"height":2560,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/64199d8342656199c29b9d87/master/w_2048,c_limit/200528TobiasCottage24285.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":1600,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/64199d8342656199c29b9d87/master/w_1280,c_limit/200528TobiasCottage24285.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":1600,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/64199d8342656199c29b9d87/master/w_1280,c_limit/200528TobiasCottage24285.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
James McDonald13/22Foxgloves are a classic cottage garden flower, and here at the front of Tobias Vernon's Somerset cottage, where there is no garden to speak of, they create the sense of one by spilling out from the grass verge.
- cottage on the Bradford Estate</a> by its owners, Viscount and Viscountess Newport, Emma Ainscough has created something magical – and the best bit? You can rent it out for holidays. The front garden's landscaping was done by Tig Cameron-Goodman; a central path leads from the sitting room doors to a swing between the trees at the end of the garden.","contentType":"photo","credit":"Christopher Horwood","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":427,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/62fa498b36fcbc4f6a41704b/master/w_320,c_limit/Shot-32_1329_RT.jpg"},{"height":853,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/62fa498b36fcbc4f6a41704b/master/w_640,c_limit/Shot-32_1329_RT.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":853,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/62fa498b36fcbc4f6a41704b/master/w_640,c_limit/Shot-32_1329_RT.jpg"},{"height":1707,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/62fa498b36fcbc4f6a41704b/master/w_1280,c_limit/Shot-32_1329_RT.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":1366,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/62fa498b36fcbc4f6a41704b/master/w_1024,c_limit/Shot-32_1329_RT.jpg"},{"height":2731,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/62fa498b36fcbc4f6a41704b/master/w_2048,c_limit/Shot-32_1329_RT.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":1707,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/62fa498b36fcbc4f6a41704b/master/w_1280,c_limit/Shot-32_1329_RT.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":1707,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/62fa498b36fcbc4f6a41704b/master/w_1280,c_limit/Shot-32_1329_RT.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
Christopher Horwood14/22Tasked with reinventing this cottage on the Bradford Estate by its owners, Viscount and Viscountess Newport, Emma Ainscough has created something magical – and the best bit? You can rent it out for holidays. The front garden's landscaping was done by Tig Cameron-Goodman; a central path leads from the sitting room doors to a swing between the trees at the end of the garden.
Sean Fennessey15/22In an extract from her book 'Spaces for Living', Australian interior designer Tamsin Johnson details the design she created for her sister's home. The front garden is small but adds the perfect amount of green with its built-in beds full of cacti.
- Toronto house</a> has been given a dramatic look by Colette van den Thillart that is both glamorous and easy to live with. The front garden is tidily landscaped, adding balance to the taupe- and iron ore-coloured façade.","contentType":"photo","credit":"Alex Lukey","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":412,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6213b610d7d42135a3811705/master/w_320,c_limit/CVT1.jpg"},{"height":824,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6213b610d7d42135a3811705/master/w_640,c_limit/CVT1.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":824,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6213b610d7d42135a3811705/master/w_640,c_limit/CVT1.jpg"},{"height":1649,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6213b610d7d42135a3811705/master/w_1280,c_limit/CVT1.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":1319,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6213b610d7d42135a3811705/master/w_1024,c_limit/CVT1.jpg"},{"height":2638,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6213b610d7d42135a3811705/master/w_2048,c_limit/CVT1.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":1649,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6213b610d7d42135a3811705/master/w_1280,c_limit/CVT1.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":1649,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/6213b610d7d42135a3811705/master/w_1280,c_limit/CVT1.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
Alex Lukey16/22With lacquered surfaces, large-scale mirrors and enticing hints of gold and silver, this Toronto house has been given a dramatic look by Colette van den Thillart that is both glamorous and easy to live with. The front garden is tidily landscaped, adding balance to the taupe- and iron ore-coloured façade.
- Katharine Howard</a> edged it with ball boxes to define the pathway and keep it simple.","contentType":"photo","credit":"Paul Massey","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":213,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efdaa6a21034f136f4c/master/w_320,c_limit/massey_hg_howard_0315rt.jpg"},{"height":427,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efdaa6a21034f136f4c/master/w_640,c_limit/massey_hg_howard_0315rt.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":427,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efdaa6a21034f136f4c/master/w_640,c_limit/massey_hg_howard_0315rt.jpg"},{"height":853,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efdaa6a21034f136f4c/master/w_1280,c_limit/massey_hg_howard_0315rt.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":683,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efdaa6a21034f136f4c/master/w_1024,c_limit/massey_hg_howard_0315rt.jpg"},{"height":1365,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efdaa6a21034f136f4c/master/w_2048,c_limit/massey_hg_howard_0315rt.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":853,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efdaa6a21034f136f4c/master/w_1280,c_limit/massey_hg_howard_0315rt.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":853,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efdaa6a21034f136f4c/master/w_1280,c_limit/massey_hg_howard_0315rt.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
Paul Massey17/22With a small section of lawn outside her Kent home, Katharine Howard edged it with ball boxes to define the pathway and keep it simple.
Paul Massey18/22The façade of tech entrepreneur Rose Hulse’s 18th-century house in the West Country has been carefully restored, and now rises elegantly from a simple, formal front garden with clipped hedges and traditional ironwork fences.
- Charles Rutherfoord’s elegant London home</a> is a lesson in harnessing contrasts and the smart façade is softened with abundant planting.","contentType":"photo","credit":"Michael Sinclair","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":480,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd54d217939a0710ab/master/w_320,c_limit/160506-HG-Charles-Rutherfoord-001-print-house-23may17-michael-sinclair_b.jpg"},{"height":960,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd54d217939a0710ab/master/w_640,c_limit/160506-HG-Charles-Rutherfoord-001-print-house-23may17-michael-sinclair_b.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":960,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd54d217939a0710ab/master/w_640,c_limit/160506-HG-Charles-Rutherfoord-001-print-house-23may17-michael-sinclair_b.jpg"},{"height":1920,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd54d217939a0710ab/master/w_1280,c_limit/160506-HG-Charles-Rutherfoord-001-print-house-23may17-michael-sinclair_b.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":1536,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd54d217939a0710ab/master/w_1024,c_limit/160506-HG-Charles-Rutherfoord-001-print-house-23may17-michael-sinclair_b.jpg"},{"height":3072,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd54d217939a0710ab/master/w_2048,c_limit/160506-HG-Charles-Rutherfoord-001-print-house-23may17-michael-sinclair_b.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":1920,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd54d217939a0710ab/master/w_1280,c_limit/160506-HG-Charles-Rutherfoord-001-print-house-23may17-michael-sinclair_b.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":1920,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd54d217939a0710ab/master/w_1280,c_limit/160506-HG-Charles-Rutherfoord-001-print-house-23may17-michael-sinclair_b.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
Michael Sinclair19/22Architectural designer Charles Rutherfoord’s elegant London home is a lesson in harnessing contrasts and the smart façade is softened with abundant planting.
- London home of garden designer Butter Wakefield</a>, neatly clipped hedges line the pathway to the front door.","contentType":"photo","credit":"Simon Brown","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":480,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd62b737ababca1235/master/w_320,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_01_0003_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"},{"height":960,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd62b737ababca1235/master/w_640,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_01_0003_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":960,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd62b737ababca1235/master/w_640,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_01_0003_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"},{"height":1920,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd62b737ababca1235/master/w_1280,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_01_0003_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":1536,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd62b737ababca1235/master/w_1024,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_01_0003_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"},{"height":3072,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd62b737ababca1235/master/w_2048,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_01_0003_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":1920,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd62b737ababca1235/master/w_1280,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_01_0003_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":1920,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893efd62b737ababca1235/master/w_1280,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_01_0003_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
Simon Brown20/22At the London home of garden designer Butter Wakefield, neatly clipped hedges line the pathway to the front door.
Simon Brown21/22The red brick exterior of this home is modernised by large black-framed windows by Caroline Holdaway. A hedge adds a touch of green and creates privacy.
- home of the late Roald Dahl</a>, was laid by the author himself. He was assisted in his efforts by a gentle giant of a local builder, Wally Saunders, who provided the inspiration for one of Dahl’s most popular novels, <em>The BFG</em>.","contentType":"photo","credit":"Jan Baldwin","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":480,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/618938fb7ec4df9dbbfebd4f/master/w_320,c_limit/Jan-Baldwin-easy-living-26feb14_pr_b.jpg"},{"height":960,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/618938fb7ec4df9dbbfebd4f/master/w_640,c_limit/Jan-Baldwin-easy-living-26feb14_pr_b.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":960,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/618938fb7ec4df9dbbfebd4f/master/w_640,c_limit/Jan-Baldwin-easy-living-26feb14_pr_b.jpg"},{"height":1920,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/618938fb7ec4df9dbbfebd4f/master/w_1280,c_limit/Jan-Baldwin-easy-living-26feb14_pr_b.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":1536,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/618938fb7ec4df9dbbfebd4f/master/w_1024,c_limit/Jan-Baldwin-easy-living-26feb14_pr_b.jpg"},{"height":3072,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/618938fb7ec4df9dbbfebd4f/master/w_2048,c_limit/Jan-Baldwin-easy-living-26feb14_pr_b.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":1920,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/618938fb7ec4df9dbbfebd4f/master/w_1280,c_limit/Jan-Baldwin-easy-living-26feb14_pr_b.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":1920,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/618938fb7ec4df9dbbfebd4f/master/w_1280,c_limit/Jan-Baldwin-easy-living-26feb14_pr_b.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
Jan Baldwin22/22No rural English garden is complete without a garden path. The stone walkway leading to Gipsy House, the home of the late Roald Dahl, was laid by the author himself. He was assisted in his efforts by a gentle giant of a local builder, Wally Saunders, who provided the inspiration for one of Dahl’s most popular novels, The BFG.
Garden gate ideas
A garden gate can can do so much more than simply mark the entrance to your home. And for small gardens – whether back or front – where every detail has to work a little harder, the right design can set the tone and create a visual narrative that makes the exterior of your home feel more considered. Whether you opt for a wrought-iron design or a wooden picket fence, there are stylish options for every budget.
