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How Do I Choose the Best Front Yard Garden Designs?
Many front yard garden designs can add eye-catching appeal to the front of your home, transforming the space from a bland area to a comfortable and beautiful one. When choosing the best front yard garden designs, you will need to consider what type of garden you would like to plant and how much space you will need to plant it. You may want to take a few days to observe patterns of sunlight throughout the day to determine what parts of the yard get a lot of sunlight and which parts get little sunlight; this will have an effect on what type of plants are appropriate for the space.
You may also want to consider a xeriscape, which is a garden that uses little or no irrigation and instead focuses on using available water sources. These front yard garden designs are common in dry landscapes such as the desert in the Southwest United States to avoid the need for extra watering. Plants must be chosen carefully, and the layout of the garden must be drawn up with flowing water in mind as well as the ability to absorb rainwater when it falls. Specific materials must be used to help collect available water and store it for longer periods of time in the soil.
![Flower pots can add color and interest to a front yard.](http://images.wisegeek.com/slideshow-mobile-small/container-plants.jpg)
Consider what kind of aesthetic you want out of the front yard garden designs you are considering. Some gardens are designed for aesthetic purposes only, with flowers and other greenery planted to accent the look of the home. Other gardens focus more on functionality, with vegetables and fruits planted so the homeowner can gather the fruits and vegetables for cooking. Exceptionally small front yards may only feature herb gardens that do not take up a lot of space and still provide useful plant life that can be used for cooking or other purposes.
![Xeriscapes are popular in desert locations.](http://images.wisegeek.com/slideshow-mobile-small/cactus-rocks-sand.jpg)
Other front yard garden designs focus on filling space in much larger yards. Larger spaces often require trees and shrubs in addition to smaller, accenting plants like flowers that are planted in beds. The best front yard garden designs will be appropriate for the amount of space you need to fill. Large or medium trees will probably be inappropriate for especially small yards, though some shrubs and many types of flowers will fill the space nicely without making the yard feel cluttered or smaller than it actually is. Think about how the yard will be used to ensure there is enough open space included with the front yard garden designs.
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