Entryway Gardens: 3 Distinctive Designer Ideas

Photos by Monrovia: Doreen Wynja

You have no doubt driven through a neighborhood at one time or another and nearly slammed the brakes when you saw a front yard that was so compelling it made you stop and look. This is the magic that happens when house, hardscape, and horticulture come together to create a picture of visual cohesion (or a study in contrasts) with the end result an overall sense of happy harmony. It looks like someone lives there, everything is intentional and nothing is an afterthought.

We chatted with Robin Parsons of Spring Greenworks based in Seattle, WA about how to approach landscaping a front yard. For Robin, the choices you make in landscaping your front yard are all about making the most of what you have, infusing the space with what you love, and defining what you want to bring to the community around you.

Join us as we explore how plants can amplify the style and architecture of three very different homes. Plus, find Robin's top five tips for entryway garden design below.

Entryway Garden Design: Three Ways

1. Plants Soften a Sleek Modern Design

Above: Olympic pavers and bioretention planters in soft, pale tones create a neutral backdrop that allows plants to shine. The lines of those elements intentionally mirror the strong horizontal planes of the house and provide a sense of privacy without interrupting the impact of the building. On the other side of the wall is a courtyard with yellow bamboo in a Corten steel planter that provides privacy as well as a relaxed feeling.

The Style and Setting

This mesmerizing contemporary house is located on a high slope overlooking Puget Sound. Robin took her cues from the views when creating this natural front yard plantscape. Plants here have to do triple duty. "They need to add visual interest that is strong enough to stand up to the dominant architecture, tolerate extreme conditions of wind and drying, hot sun, and provide efficient stormwater mitigation and infiltration," she says.

Rather than create a typical "modern" garden with lots of right angles that you might find in such a setting, Robin instead created a warmed-up contemporary garden with shapely shrubs, billowy grasses, and a smattering of flowering perennials. This is a garden with movement and color that is lively year-round.

The Plant Palette

In the raised concrete planter to the left, native plants such as Kelsey’s dwarf redtwig dogwood and soft rush are interesting all the time, but especially so in fall. That is when the red foliage of the dogwood mirrors the Corten steel walls of the garage. More red was provided by the Japanese blood grass along the left side of the walkway. Along the pathway grasses including gray-green Elijah blue fescue, Fox Red curly sedge and Orange New Zealand sedge billow in the breezy location.

Bold forms and textures of fuss-free shrubs including privet honeysuckle, Georgia Petite Indian hawthorn, and Sky Pencil Japanese holly provide structure. To the left, Robin planted a pair of Ginkgo trees to add height and lit up the neutral sea of green with stands of Hidcote English lavender and purple agapanthus.

For Robin, the challenge of working in demanding conditions while honoring surrounding views and the dynamic energy of the watefront location led to this stunning front yard garden that is open and airy while still providing privacy.

Double ball topiary forms of Green Spire Euonymus in black planters are a bit of a visual surprise but serve a purpose, too. Looking through the front door you can see straight out to the water views beyond, so plants here were chosen for their softening effect and visual impact without blocking any of the front door views.

Robin added a few groupings of natural stone boulders to this garden as a reference to the shoreline of the water below the property. "Rocks add so much geological character," she says. "They give a sense of age and make me feel like the property is more integrated with the environment."

Get the Look

white flowers on georgia petite indian hawthorn

green kelseys dwarf red osier dogwood foliage

Georgia Petite
Indian Hawthorn

Improved selection prized for strong disease resistance, dense, compact growth habit and dark green foliage. White flowers and blue ornamental berries. Full sun. Up to 3' tall and wide. Zones 7 - 10.

Kelsey's Dwarf
Red-Osier Dogwood

Dwarf shrub with low, compact form and lush green foliage. Works well in mass plantings. Bare red stems provide seasonal color to dormant winterscapes. Full sun. Up to 30" tall and wide. Zones 2 - 8.

Elijah
Blue Fescue

Icy-blue clumping ornamental grass holds up through the heat of summer. Buff-colored plumes create contrast. Use for edging borders or mass planting as a groundcover. Full sun. Up to 1' tall and wide. Zones 4 - 11.

Sky Pencil
Japanese Holly

Narrow, columnar form with year-round dark-green foliage. Leaves lack sharp points so ideal for decks, patios, or entryways as a vertical accent or privacy screening. Full sun. Up to 8' tall, 3' wide. Zones 5 - 9.

Orange
New Zealand Sedge

Finely textured, bronze-green evergreen leaves age to electric orange in the cool season. Ideal for containers, massing in borders or spilling over rocks. Full sun. Up to 2' tall and wide. Zones 6 - 10.

Midknight Blue®
Agapanthus

Tight clusters of dark violet-blue flowers appear on tall stalks with lush clumps of bright green, strap-like foliage. Mass for a dramatic effect. Full sun. Up to 2' tall, 3' wide. Flowers to 4' tall. Zones 6 - 11.

2. Pollinator Paradise Meets Spanish Style

Above: Robin amped-up the Spanish influence by taking wrought iron metal work left over from the interior renovation and used it on the windows and to make custom windowboxes. She added a black wrought iron arch at the upper left to transition to the backyard.