Create a front garden to be proud of

Elspeth Thompson on putting together a front garden worthy of showing off

Front gardens can be fabulous places that welcome visitors, set the mood for the house and back garden beyond, and give pleasure to passers-by.

	Good first impression: Like many of us, Elspeth doesn't have much room in the front garden, but the area is still attractive and welcoming

Sadly, they can all too often be neglected spaces, missed opportunities where the main focal point is the rubbish bin or a rusty old bike.

Of course, the plots in front of our houses range enormously in size, from narrow urban strips a few feet wide to sweeping rural drives surveyed from the car, with countless permutations in between.

So I'm going to concentrate on what the garden designer John Brookes calls the 'doorscape' - the area immediately around and leading up to the front door.

These few feet are not only the part of the garden that you yourself will see most often, going in and out each day; they also form that all-important first impression of your home, for everyone from social visitors to potential purchasers. It doesn't take much effort to make the area tidy, attractive and welcoming.

We all have our bugbears when it comes to front gardens. John, in his excellent Well-Designed Garden (Dorling Kindersley, £16·99), insists on a clear path to the front door and a porch to stand beneath to shield him from the sun and rain.

He also makes a plea for a clear and attractive house name or number near the door so he is sure he has come to the right place, and illustrates this point with a photo that is stylish simplicity itself: a whitewashed brick wall with the house number in modern shiny metal numbers above a bank of fragrant lavender.

My personal pet hate is being greeted by a huddle of plastic dustbins and recycling bins, which are not only hideous but often smelly, too. With local councils getting stricter about where and when bins can be left, we all have to do our bit, but even in the smallest space it should be possible to screen the bins or remove them from the front path.

When I re-designed our London front garden a few years ago, I took down a section of the front wall furthest from the door to create access for the dustbins, recycling bin and wormery. These are now screened from view by a large and aromatic rosemary bush. I may have a little further to walk with my rubbish but I'm happy with my bin-free path.

The redesign was not an unadulterated success, however. In creating a new raised bed to one side of the entrance, I unwittingly created a situation high on my husband's 'most hated' list: getting his trousers soaked by rain-drenched foliage.

The plan had been for plants in the new bed to provide not only an attractive display but also some privacy from our neighbours.

But things got a little out of hand, and frequent drastic pruning was the only way to save his trousers from the wet and me from his wrath. Note to self and others: buddleia is not a good choice for this situation, no matter how much you love its long purple flowers and the butterflies it attracts. Not only did mine make a bid to obscure the front door, its strong roots meant the wall was in jeopardy, too. Out it came.

When planting around a front door, whether in beds or pots, do consider how plants will behave a few years down the line. Some friends of mine planted cordylines on either side of their entrance a few years ago.

Fine, you might think: a good formal plant for an urban front garden. But the plants have now grown so much that their pointed strappy leaves push right on to the path. You can't prune a cordyline - the leaves would look awful cut in half.

So they are being removed to another part of the garden. Incidentally, spiky or spiny plants are often recommended by the police to deter burglars, but the same reservations apply: you don't want to catch your coat - or worse, flesh - on prickles on your own path.

Some simple and stylish ideas for front gardens can be found in the box to the right. But one last word. A neighbour who stopped to admire my front garden told me she'd done nothing with hers for fear that people might take her plants or pots.

How sad that the fear of having nothing should keep someone with nothing. I prefer to believe that beauty is contagious. When one house starts, another will follow.

For further evidence and inspiration, head to the NGS open days at Malvern Terrace (April 27) and Choumert Square (June 8) in London, where the front gardens, many created on a shoestring budget, are the owners' pride and joy.

Ideas for front gardens

Picket fences or railings look great with bushy plants such as lavender pushing through the gaps.

Convert your front wall into a raised bed by building another wall parallel and filling the gap with soil. You’ll need to check the footings and drainage.

A large pot to either side of the door with a lollipop bay or box can look smart, pretty or funky depending on the style and colours of the planting.

Scented plants around the door or path will bring you and your visitors pleasure on the way in and out.

Less can be more — a simple hedge of bamboo with plain concrete paving; a low white wall with a hedge of lavender behind; a minimalist parterre with box-edged beds filled with seasonal bulbs or herbs.

Keep to a simple colour scheme.

Slate or gravel chippings are low-maintenance, and their crunch deters burglars. Avoid in areas of heavy bike or pram traffic though, and provide a protective buffer zone if you have polished floors inside.

Exclusive seed offer

Thanks to Plant World Nursery in Devon (www.plant-world-seeds.com), you can enjoy free seeds of two unusual and beautiful plants.

Sisyrinchium palmifolium was discovered high in the Andes. It has spectacular heads of iris-shaped golden flowers. Francoa 'Pink Giant' is a new strain of francoa or 'Bridal Wreath' from the Andean foothills. Crinkled, fleshy leaves push up large pink flowers on short, branching stems.

For a packet of seeds of each plant and a catalogue, send four first class stamps to Sunday Telegraph Offer, Plant World Gardens, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 4SE. One offer per reader, valid for three months.