Agents put a number on it, but you feel it before you can name it: a front garden with structure makes the whole house look loved. This design is the reliable formula, evergreen bones, one seasonal showpiece, scent at the door, scaled for a standard suburban frontage.
The idea
Front gardens are seen at walking pace and from the street, so they reward simple, confident moves: matched feature trees framing the façade, low clipped structure guiding the eye to the door, and repetition that reads as calm rather than busy. Save the plant collection for the back; the front is architecture in green.
The palette
The frame: two Teddy Bear Magnolias. Compact, densely conical, glossy green above and felted bronze beneath, the most requested front-garden tree in Australia, and for good reason. One each side of the path or façade, and the house instantly has bones.
The structure: Japanese Box hedging. Twenty at 30 cm centres gives you six metres of low formal edge along the path or porch bed, the clipped line that pulls everything together. The hedge calculator will resize it to your exact frontage.
The welcome: Gardenias flanking the entry. Glossy leaves all year and that unmistakable perfume exactly where guests pause. Ten carries a generous porch bed.
The seasonal event: one Crepe Myrtle. Summer's fireworks, then handsome mottled bark all winter. Position it where it won't fight the magnolias for attention.
The softeners: Tanika Lomandra along the drive, Star Jasmine under the windows. Fine texture against the clipped box, green cover where lawn refuses to grow.
How to plant it
Set the magnolias first, symmetry matters here, measure twice. Run the box hedge parallel to the path, not the fence, so it leads to the door. Everything here handles full sun; water deeply through the first summer. Kerb appeal in a weekend, or add professional planting in the cart and have it done for you.
Good to know
Prefer looser, more relaxed structure? The formal garden shows the fully clipped version of this idea; the native showpiece does street appeal with banksias and kangaroo paw instead. Browse feature trees or price your frontage in the garden pricer.
Ready to make it real? Your instant garden pack is just below: every plant in this design, live-priced from today's stock, one click to add the lot to your cart or open in the garden pricer and make it yours.