9 Best Flowering Bushes for Front-of-House Landscaping
Whether you are looking to up the ante on your curb appeal so you can sell your house or you just want to beautify the front of your home, plant one (or more!) of these flowering bushes for front-of-house landscaping with easy maintenance and instant charm.
The front of your house offers the first impression guests and neighbors will have of your home. You can choose to ignore that space or put it to use by making it an inviting, charming space for anyone who visits.
That’s a good reason to put in some time to up your landscaping game! You can do that with simple tweaks like adding flowering shrubs, pretty bushes, and other plants to your front yard.
Flowering plants bring beauty, texture, sweet smells, and a touch of drama to the yard space they occupy. In addition, with thoughtful placement, they can create a natural flow from the street to the front porch, guiding visitors right to your front door.
Add Some Great Curb Appeal with Flowering Shrubs
When it comes to landscaping, a little thoughtful planning will go a long way.
You want something that looks attractive and beautifies the front of the house, as well as plants that fit your personality and require just the right amount of maintenance.
Annual flowers can add that pop of color that you may be looking for, but they require time and maintenance, as you need to replant them every year. Some perennials may also achieve your goals, but they require some work!
However, if you want the greatest impact with the least amount of work, consider planting flowering bushes at the front of the house as part of a well-thought-out landscape plan to add an instant welcoming and attractive feel. The best perennial shrubs add height and depth to your property line, fence, or foundation plantings, without having to replant every year.
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How to Choose Flowering Shrubs For the Front of The House
When choosing and purchasing shrubs for your landscaping, there are several factors to consider.
As shrubs have a more permanent, long-term landscaping feature than most other flowers, you’ll want to keep these factors in mind as you plan your front yard garden and pick shrubs for the front of your house.
- Consider how much sun exposure the areas of your front yard receive as well as the light requirements of the shrubs you’re considering.
- Think about the water requirements of the shrubs you want and how much water your yard receives from rain or a sprinkler/drip system.
- Some shrubs do well in colder climates; others flourish in warmer climates. Know your hardiness zone so that you can pick plants that will thrive in your area.
- Consider the size of the shrub you want to buy. Some shrub plants can grow very large while others are smaller or even dwarf size. Keep size in mind so that your shrubs are an asset to your landscaping and don’t take away from your overall look or block windows or doors. If you just want some small bushes for front-of-house landscaping, but plant a panicle hydrangea (which grows to 15 feet tall), you’re gonna have a bad time.
- Think about bloom times! Many flowering shrubs bloom at different parts of the year. Include variety in your landscaping plan to add visual interest and sustain blooming as long as possible.
- Consider whether you want evergreen shrubs or deciduous. Evergreen foliage can help keep your foundation plantings from looking like a barren wasteland through the winter.
THE BEST SHRUBS FOR THE FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE
Here are some of the best (and my favorite) perennial flowering bushes to consider adding to your yard. To help you know whether these shrubs may work for your yard, I also include some basic plant information about each type of shrub.
Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas are a top choice for both southern and northern gardeners because they are easy to grow, tolerate almost any amount of sun exposure, can grow in a large variety of climates. When they bloom, the flowery bushes put on an impressive show of large, colorful blossoms.
Different varieties of hydrangeas offer different flower shapes and colors, shrub sizes, and growth requirements. Shorter varieties make a great low growing shrub, perfectly suited for a foundation plant. But, all in all, they give you a huge bang for your buck!
Blooms: Summer and fall.
Foliage: Deciduous (though a few evergreen shrub varieties are available in warmer climates)
Light Needs: Shade, partial shade, or full sun. They aren’t picky!
Water Needs: Keep moist in rich, well-drained soil.
Height: 1-3 feet, 3-8 feet, 8-20 feet (depending on variety)
Width: 2-12 feet
Zone Requirements: 3-9
Color: Red, pink, blue, purple, green or white flowers.
Roses
While the classic rose is beloved for its beauty and aroma, it requires a lot of maintenance and doesn’t look very pleasant during the winter. However, if you love roses and just have to have them, shrub roses may be an ideal choice.
Shrub roses are one of the easiest types to grow and merge all the best characteristics of roses into one attractive, low-maintenance plant! They are 3-5 feet tall and only 3 feet wide and have large, beautiful clusters of blooms with glossy foliage. Plus, they smell heavenly and make excellent cut flowers.
Blooms: Spring, summer, fall
Foliage: Shrub roses are a deciduous shrub with glossy green leaves.
Light Needs: Sun
Water Needs: Moist, well-drained soil
Height: 3-5 feet
Width: 3 feet
Zone Requirements: 3-10
Color: Yellow, red, purple, orange, and pink flowers.
Lilacs
Lilacs can grow quite large if you need a flowering shrub in ample space, or you can plant dwarf varieties that stay much smaller (and even rebloom later in the season). Revered for their beauty, lovely green foliage, sweet aroma, and ease of care, lilacs are a top choice when it comes to flowering bushes for front-of-house landscaping. You can plant them anywhere you need to add curb appeal to your landscaping.
Blooms: Spring, early summer
Foliage: Typically deciduous.
Light Needs: Part-sun, full sun.
Water Needs: Let the soil dry out a little; does best with deep but infrequent watering.
Height: 3-8 feet, 8-20 feet (depending on variety)
Width: 3-20 feet
Zone Requirements: 3-7
Color: Pink, purple, white
- Learn More: Lilacs do well in areas where watering is a challenge. For more ideas on what to plant in dry zones, check out our list of drought-tolerant plants for your garden!
Viburnums
Good luck finding a flowering shrub with various options and diversity than the viburnum! It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for beautiful foliage colors, sweet aromas, brightly colored berries, or colorful flowers. These low maintenance shrubs have a ton of varieties that seem to have it all.
Blooms: Spring
Foliage: Typically deciduous.
Light Needs: Partial shade, sun
Water Needs: Moist, well-drained soil
Height: 3-8 feet, 8-20 feet (depending on variety)
Width: 3-12 feet (depending on variety)
Zone Requirements: 2-9
Color: White, pink
Forsythias
These shrubs are known for the brilliant yellow blooms that cover their branches early spring before their leaves even show themselves. These showy shrubs can provide a cheery background that’s perfect as a border or the centerpiece or backdrop of any landscape garden.
Butterflies and bees love them, and they are a fast-growing, low-maintenance shrub!
Blooms: Early spring
Foliage: Deciduous.
Light Needs: Part-sun, full sun.
Water Needs: Prefers well-drained moist soil.
Height: 2-10 feet (depending on variety)
Width: 4-12 feet (depending on the type)
Zone Requirements: 5-8
Color: Yellow
Rhododendrons
This evergreen flowering shrub is a favorite for shady areas and garden borders. They bloom dramatically in the spring with clusters of showy blooms and offer a wide range of bloom colors. Depending on the type and the hardiness zone you live in, rhododendrons can be evergreen or deciduous.
Blooms: Spring
Foliage: Rhododendrons are broadleaf evergreen shrubs, but some deciduous varieties exist.
Light Needs: Partial shade, shade
Water Needs: Keep moist in well-drained soil
Height: 3-15 feet (depending on variety)
Width: up to 25 feet (depending on the type)
Zone Requirements: 3-9
Colors: Red, purple, orange, yellow, pink, white
Azaleas
A close cousin to the rhododendron, azaleas tend to be smaller and have smaller leaves than a rhododendron would have. They are also a favorite among spring-blooming shrubs to add to your curb appeal landscaping.
Blooms: Spring
Foliage: Most azaleas are deciduous shrubs.
Light Needs: Part-sun or full sun.
Water Needs: Keep moist in well-drained soil
Height: 4-8 feet
Width: 4-8 feet
Zone Requirements: 4-9
Color: Purple, white, red, orange, peach, pink
Hibiscus
You may know this shrub by the name Rose of Sharon. However, not part of the rose family, the large, spectacularly plentiful hibiscus blooms attract hummingbirds and butterflies from the summer into the fall. In addition, they are drought-tolerant and low-maintenance, making them one of the best floral bushes to spruce up the front of the house!
Blooms: Spring, summer, early fall.
Foliage: Deciduous.
Light Needs: Full sun.
Water Needs: Keep moist in well-draining soil
Height: 5-10 feet
Width: up to 6 feet
Zone Requirements: 5-9
Color: Purple, white, red, orange, yellow, pink
Weigelas
Weigelas may not have the name recognition that the lilac, rhododendron, or azaleas may have, but it’s a flowering shrub staple, nonetheless. The flowers and foliage come in various colors, making this low-maintenance, drought-tolerant shrub a natural fit with your foundation plants.
Blooms: Spring, summer
Foliage: Deciduous.
Light Needs: Sun
Water Needs: Keep moist in well-drained soil
Height: 6-10 feet
Width: 6-10 feet
Zone Requirements: 4-8
Color: White, red, yellow, pink
Final Thoughts About Flowering Bushes For Front-of-House Landscaping
Now all you have to do is choose! Planting any of these flowering bushes gives you the attractiveness of flowering plants for the front of your house without the hassle of planting new plants every year.
When choosing the best shrubs to plant in front of your house as part of your landscaping, you can’t go wrong with any of these nine options!
Editorial Note: This post was originally published on May 12, 2020, and was updated on January 27, 2023.
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Have put these plants in my front yard 4 knockout roses on each corner of d house,2 dogwood one white one pink one each side of d house about 20fts from house 2 forsythia bushes on each corner of front yard n 3 azaleas bushes
I have replanted these bushes twice they didn’t live my soil is a clay like dirt l planted these bushes in April 15 2023 I water then every evening they still living so far need help in keeping them alive m I packing d dirt to tight around them r What?
Hi Janice, all the plants you mentioned in your comment, the dogwood, roses, azaleas, and forsythia, require very well-draining soil, and your clay soil will give them a hard time. They will not be able to thrive and grow when their roots are waterlogged and trapped. Your best bet is amending your soil before planting, and your clay soil will need lots of sand and loam as well as organic material like compost to get the soil healthy enough for the plants you want to plant there. Your other challenge is your azalea; they will want acidic soil. They will not thrive in the same soil as your roses unless they are planted well away from each other, and you amend the soil around the azalea with something like sphagnum peat moss ( anything that will make the soil more acidic for the azalea but will not interfere with the rest of your plants). You will also not want to pack dirt around your plants – packing tightly around transplants makes it difficult for them to break through the soil and push out new roots. You want them to be stable but not compacted. When you pick up and move plants, it also sets them back in their growth cycle, so every time you transplant them, it knocks off a year or two of their development. But the good news is most of the plants on your list are very hardy. Even if you think they are done for, they might surprise you if they are provided with a good soil foundation and springing back is very likely. I you need more help, feel free to contact us again via email (send us some pictures, and we can try to help as best we can).