37 Low Growing Shrubs for the Front of the House (With Pictures): Identification Guide
Low-growing shrubs for front-of-house planting are a great way to add curb appeal and enhance your home’s appearance. Compact and bushy shrubs are perfect for planting in front of windows, along walkways and driveways, or as borders. They provide a neat and tidy look while adding color and texture to your front yard landscape.
Low-growing shrubs for a front yard can be deciduous, evergreen, or coniferous plants. Many dwarf, compact shrubs have beautiful flowers to brighten up the front of your house. Other evergreen broadleaf shrubs keep your front yard lush and vibrant throughout the year.
Choosing the right low-growing shrubs for the front of your house can be overwhelming. To help landscape your front garden, this article has descriptions and pictures of the best shrubs that don’t grow too tall. Additionally, you will find tips on how to care for these shrubs for optimal growth and maintenance.
What are Low-Growing Shrubs for the Front of House?
Dwarf shrubs are small, woody plants ideal for planting at the front of the house. Front yard shrubs typically grow 1 to 3 ft. (0.3 – 1 m) tall and wide. This compact size makes them perfect for lining walkways, planting along a foundation, and increasing the overall visual attractiveness without taking up too much space.
Some of the most popular low-growing shrubs for front-of-house planting are boxwoods, barberry shrubs, dwarf holly bushes, and low-growing azaleas. These attractive, compact, bushy plants help enhance your home’s exterior, boosting curb appeal. Many dwarf shrubs are suitable for growing in the shade—ideal if your front door faces north.
Low Growing Shrubs for the Front of House (With Pictures): Identification Guide
Let’s take a detailed look at the best low-growing shrubs for front-of-house landscaping.
Dwarf Japanese Pieris Shrub (Pieris japonica ‘Cavatine’)
The dwarf Japanese Pieris cultivar ‘Cavatine’ is a compact evergreen flowering shrub to beautify a front yard’s landscape for instant curb appeal. The striking shrub has clusters of small, bell-shaped white flowers dangling on arching stems. The lance-shaped leaves emerge bronze in spring, mature to dark green in summer, and turn reddish-bronze in fall.
Thriving in full sun to partial shade, the dwarf Japanese Pieris shrub is a versatile addition to any front garden. It doesn’t grow taller than 2.5 ft. (0.76 m), making the shrub ideal for foundation planting, lining a driveway, or growing in a container beside the front door. This compact shrub with its fragrant bell-shaped white flowers looks lovely at the front of the house, attracting bees, and other pollinators when blooming in early spring
USDA Zone: 5 to 9
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Rich, acidic soil with excellent drainage
Dwarf Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides ‘Radicans’)
Dwarf gardenia ‘Radicans’ is a compact, low-growing evergreen shrub with a spreading habit that enhances curb appeal. This gardenia cultivar is a popular low-growing shrub for front of house landscaping due to its beautiful, fragrant white flowers and glossy green foliage. The dwarf gardenia doesn’t grow taller than 1 ft. (0.3 m).
The compact shrub has many uses—it’s ideal for planting under windows, lining pathways, or creating a lush mat of greenery. Its spreading, ground-hugging habit makes it ideal for ground cover, decorating beds and borders, or growing in containers. Blooming late spring to early summer, the small shrub fills outdoor spaces with sweet and intoxicating fragrances.
USDA Zone: 8 to 11
Sun Exposure: Partial shade to full sun
Soil Type: Well-drained, acidic soil
Low-Growing Juniper Shrubs (Juniperus)
Low-growing juniper shrubs are versatile and hardy coniferous plants that add texture and evergreen color to front of house landscaping. Dwarf junipers are known for their low, spreading growth habit and attractive foliage. Junipers provide different foliage options depending on your landscaping requirements. These include green, blue, silver, and gold shades.
Small, compact juniper shrubs are drought-tolerant and can withstand various soil conditions. These facts make them low-maintenance and easy to grow. Here are a few low-growing juniper shrubs to bring an element of subtle elegance to a front façade.
Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis): The creeping juniper is a sprawling evergreen shrub forming a soft mat of blue-green needle-like leaves. The sun-loving shrub grows around 1 ft. (0.3 m) tall and 8 ft. (2.4 m) wide. It’s drought and heat-tolerant, suitable for USDA zones 3 to 9.
Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis)
Blue Star Juniper (Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’): This evergreen shrub stays close to the ground, bringing vitality and vibrancy to your home’s forefront. The conifer shrub has a mounding habit with silver-blue foliage. It’s ideal as a foundation planting, bushy ground cover, or a specimen shrub. Suitable for USDA zones 4 to 8 and grows 2 to 3 ft. (0.6 – 1 m) tall and 4 ft. (1.2 m) wide.
Blue Star Juniper (Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’)
Blue Rug Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’): This low-growing, mat-forming evergreen shrub has dense, silver-green foliage growing on long, horizontally spreading branches. It’s one of the best ground cover junipers for front yards in USDA zones 3 to 9. The juniper shrub grows less than 1 ft. (0.3 m) tall with a spread up to 8 ft. (2.4 m).
Blue Rug Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’)
Dwarf Colorado Spruce (Picea pungens ‘Globosa’)
The dwarf Colorado spruce is a small evergreen shrub with a compact, pyramidal shape. Ideal small shrub for front-of-house planting, this slow-growing conifer is identified by its blue-green rigid needles, low height, and horizontal branches. The small landscaping conifer grows 3 to 5 feet (0.9 – 1.5 m) with a spread up to 6 ft. (1.2 – 1.8 m).
The dwarf Colorado spruce is an award-winning low-maintenance shrub. It tolerates a wide range of soil conditions and is easy to grow and care for. It’s drought-tolerant and great for small front gardens, border fronts, and rock gardens.
USDA Zone: 2 to 8
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Acidic, well-drained, moist soil
Dwarf Bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis ‘Little John’)
The dwarf bottlebrush cultivar ‘Little John’ can enhance your home’s curb appeal despite its small size. This compact shrub is particularly charming at the front of the house due to its flowers, which have bristle-like stamens in cylindrical clusters resembling brushes used to clean bottles. The brush-like flowers bloom in spring and summer in vibrant red shades. This bottlebrush cultivar doesn’t grow taller than 3 ft. (1 m).
Dwarf bottlebrush is a slow-growing red-flowering evergreen shrub that attracts birds and hummingbirds to front yards. The compact size of the ‘Little John’ cultivar makes it ideal for small front gardens, borders, and containers. Thriving in full sun to light shade, this compact shrub can also be used as a hedge or as a focal point in the landscape. It’s also salt-tolerant, making it a good choice for coastal landscapes.
USDA Zone: 8 to 12
Sun Exposure: Full sun or light shade
Soil Type: Well-drained, acidic soil
Dwarf Encore Azalea Flowering Shrubs (Rhododendron spp.)
Azaleas from the Encore range are compact, evergreen shrubs growing less than 3 ft. (1 m) tall. These small, bushy plants have a long blooming time—first in spring before reblooming sporadically from summer to frost. Compact, dwarf azalea shrubs add a pop of color to the front of the house landscape throughout the growing season.
Encore azaleas are known for their trumpet-shaped flowers in various pink, red, purple, and white shades. These clusters of small, showy flowers contrast beautifully with the shrub’s glossy, dark green foliage.
Landscaping uses for these repeat blooming azalea shrubs include shrub borders, flowering hedges, foundation planting, and front lawn plants. They also make excellent container plants to place on either side of a front entranceway.
USDA Zone: 6 to 10
Sun Exposure: Partial shade to full sun
Soil Type: Humus-rich, well-drained, acidic soil
Shrubby Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa)
Shrubby cinquefoil is a beautiful low-growing yellow-flowering shrub to elevate your front yard’s style and elegance. The hardy shrub blooms in spring and throughout summer with beautiful, long-lasting yellow flowers. Shrubby cinquefoil looks lovely in front of a house due to its yellow blossoms that contrast nicely with the mound of bluish-green leaves. Shrubby cinquefoil grows 2 to 4 ft. (0.6 – 1.2 m) tall.
Shrubby cinquefoil is a versatile plant with many uses in front yard settings. The compact, bushy shrub looks attractive in mixed flower beds, shrub borders along a driveway, or as a low-growing hedge. It’s also cold-hardy and won’t wilt in hot summer temperatures, making it one of the easiest front-yard shrubs to grow.
USDA Zone: 3 to 7
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Most soil types, including dry, salt, and poor soils
Dwarf Spirea Shrubs
Low-growing spirea shrubs can form a beautiful fringe along your home’s façade, enhancing its visual appeal. Miniature spireas have a round, mounding habit and produce abundant pink and white flowers from spring to early summer. The flowering branches grow in all directions, giving the shrubs an eye-catching appearance.
Here are some examples of compact, low-growing spirea shrubs for planting in a front garden.
Spirea nipponica ‘Snowmound’: Growing 4 ft. (1.2 m) tall, this deciduous shrub has a rounded, compact form. It blooms in late spring with clusters of brilliant white flowers covering the branches until early summer.
Spirea nipponica ‘Snowmound’
Little Bonnie Dwarf Spiraea (Spiraea x bumalda ‘Little Bonnie’): This compact shrub has small, lance-shaped green leaves and clusters of pink flowers that bloom in the spring and summer. It grows 2 to 3 ft. (0.6 – 1 m) tall and wide.
Little Bonnie Dwarf Spiraea (Spiraea x bumalda ‘Little Bonnie’)
Spiraea japonica ‘Gold Mound’: The front-of-the-house compact shrub has golden-yellow foliage that turns a vibrant orange-red in the fall. In early spring, pink flowers appear and last until summer. It grows to 2 – 3 ft. (60 – 90 cm) tall and 3 – 4 ft. (0.9 – 1.2 m) wide.
Winter Heath (Erica carnea)
Winter heath is a low-growing evergreen flowering shrub with vertical flowering spikes to add height and beauty to a front yard. This hardy decorative shrub is identified by its small, bell-shaped flowers in various shades of white, pink, red, purple, and yellow. The attractive mounding plants grow 1 to 2 ft. (0.3 – 0.6 m) tall.
Winter heath spreads out to form a dense, ground-covering mat. It is easy to grow in rock gardens, containers, and along pathways. The low-growing shrub blooms early in the season and provides four-season interest for front yard landscaping.
USDA Zone: 5 to 8
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Well-drained, acidic soil
Bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis)
Bluebeard is a small deciduous shrub to add a splash of vibrant purple-blue colors to the front of the house. The blue-flowering shrub is known for its aromatic deep bluish-purple flowers that bloom in late summer to early fall. These blue flowers contrast with the dense foliage of lanceolate leaves. Bluebeard shrubs grow up to 3 to 4 feet (0.9 – 1.2 m) tall.
Bluebeard shrubs can bring lush foliage and vibrant flowers to your front yard late in the summer when many shrubs have finished blooming. The clusters of small flowers attract pollinators like butterflies and bees. You can grow bluebeard shrubs in mixed borders, perennial borders, butterfly gardens, and foundation plantings.
The flowers are excellent as cut flowers in bouquets and arrangements.
USDA Zone: 6 to 9
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Well-drained soils with medium moisture
Creeping Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’)
Transform your front yard into a lush carpet of green and purple with low-growing rosemary shrubs. The attractive ornamental appeal of creeping rosemary is its dainty lilac flowers and aromatic needle leaves growing on spreading woody stems. The dwarf shrub grows 1 to 2 ft. (0.3 – 0.6 m) tall and up to 3 ft. (1 m) wide.
Creeping rosemary is an ideal low-growing shrub for front-of-house landscaping. It’s a great aromatic shrub growing as ground cover, planted along pathways, walkways, and rock gardens. It’s also useful as an edging plant to add soft texture to flower beds.
Its dainty lilac flowers and aromatic leaves are perfect for adding beauty and fragrance to any garden.
USDA Zone: 8 to 11
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Poor soils with medium moisture and excellent drainage
Golden St. John’s Wort (Hypericum calycinum)
Golden St. John’s Wort is an eye-catching yellow-flowering shrub to add charm and beauty to your front yard without demanding excessive care. Native to Europe, the low-growing shrub is popular for its bright yellow flowers and attractive green foliage. Also, it doesn’t take up much room, only growing 18” (45 cm) tall.
Golden St. John’s Wort is ideal for ground cover or border planting because of its spreading habit. The small shrub bursts into life every summer with stunning yellow flowers until mid-fall. In warmer climates, you can enjoy evergreen foliage and prolific blooming.
Additionally, it’s drought-tolerant, low-maintenance, and withstands hot summer temperatures.
USDA Zone: 5 to 9
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Sandy, well-drained soil
English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
English lavender is a popular front yard shrub known for its fragrant purple blooms and gray-green leaves. This aromatic plant grows in small clumps. It’s characterized by upward-pointing flowering spikes that last the entire summer. English lavender grows 2 to 3 feet (0.6 – 1 m).
When it comes to low-growing shrubs for the front of the house, English lavender is a great addition due to its beautiful flowers. Its low-growing habit and dense foliage act as a natural border to divide areas. Lavender shrubs are also popular in front yards as perennial borders, low hedges, and containers.
The flowers can also be dried and used in potpourri or for culinary purposes.
USDA Zone: 5 to 9
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Light, sandy soil that is well-draining and relatively dry
Dwarf Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’)
Dwarf Hinoki cypress ‘Nana Gracilis’ is a popular low-growing conifer known for its compact size and lush, dark green foliage. The ‘Nana’ cypress cultivar has a globe-like growth habit that becomes pyramidal as it matures. Female shrubs also develop reddish-brown cones. This small evergreen shrub grows 3 to 6 feet (1 – 1.8 m) tall.
Dwarf Hinoki cypress shrub, with its delicate, feathery texture and attractive shape, adds a touch of elegance to any front garden landscape. The low-maintenance shrub requires minimal pruning or shaping, and its foliage is deer-resistant.
In front yard landscaping, the dwarf Hinoki cypress is a popular plant for a border, hedge, or planting along a fence line. Its compact size makes it suitable for smaller gardens or spaces. This versatile and attractive shrub boosts curb appeal and improves a property’s appearance.
USDA Zone: 4 to 8
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Average, moist, well-drained soil that is slightly acidic
Dwarf Butterfly Bush (Buddleja)
‘Blue Chip’ butterfly bush (Buddleja ‘Blue Chip’)
Dwarf butterfly bush cultivars don’t grow more than three feet (1 m), making them ideal compact shrubs for planting at the front of your house. The compact flowering shrub is known for its attractive conical clusters of fragrant flowers that attract butterflies. The low-growing shrubs bloom with long flower spikes in various colors, including purple, pink, white, and blue.
Dwarf butterfly bushes are drought-tolerant and thrive in full sun and well-drained soil. These shrubs are often used in borders, rock gardens, and containers to add color and fragrance to the landscape. Also, their attractive arching stems have visual appeal in front yards.
USDA Zone: 5 to 9
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Medium moisture soils that are well draining
Dwarf Indian Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica ‘Ballerina’)
Dwarf Indian hawthorn is a popular evergreen shrub for foundation planting to boost curb appeal. The attractive low-growing shrub has masses of fragrant, pink flowers in loose clusters that burst into color in spring. These crabapple-like blossoms contrast beautifully with thick, leathery, oblong leaves. This compact plant grows to a height of about 2 to 3 feet (60-90 cm) and is commonly used as a ground cover or border plant.
Dwarf Indian hawthorn is an easy-care landscaping shrub for front or backyards. It’s tolerant of drought and poor soil conditions. Typical landscaping uses in front-yard landscaping include shrub borders, planting along a foundation line, and an evergreen flowering hedge. It’s also useful for coastal landscapes and seaside yards as it is highly tolerant to salt spray.
USDA Zone: 8 to 11
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Well-drained, moist soils
Shrub Roses (Rosa)
Shrub roses are popular shrubby plants to grow in front yards. The hardy perennial shrubs have spectacular single and double blooms that emerge in late spring and continue reblooming to fall. Shrub roses come in a variety of colors to suit any landscaping options, such as red, pink, apricot, yellow, white, and multicolored blooms.
Thriving in full sun, typically, shrub roses grow 2 to 4 ft. (0.6 – 1.2 m) tall. Characteristics of shrub roses are ruffled double flowers, thorny stems, long-blooming period, and small oval leaves with serrated margins.
Shrub roses are low-maintenance plants with a high tolerance to drought. It’s recommended to prune them in late winter or early spring to maintain shape and encourage abundant blossoms.
USDA Zone: 4 to 11 (depending on the cultivar)
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Rich, fertile soil with excellent drainage
Dwarf Chenille (Acalypha Reptans)
Dwarf chenille is a low-growing evergreen shrub with stunning vibrant crimson flower spikes. Growing less than two feet (60 cm), the free-flowering blossoms appear throughout the year in warm climates. Dwarf chenille spreads out, creating a dense ground cover. The ground-hugging plant creates a mat of lush foliage and fuzzy red flowers.
You can transform your front yard’s landscape into a vibrant space with the effect of dwarf chenille’s distinctive red bottlebrush-like flowers. Thriving in full sun or partial shade, the dwarf shrub is a great choice for red-flowering ground cover in tropical regions or hanging baskets in temperate zones.
USDA Zone: 9 to 11
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Well-drained, humus-rich, moist soil
Dwarf Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)
Petite Plum crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica ‘Monum’)
Dwarf crape myrtles are compact flowering shrubs for foundation plantings that add a burst of color to your garden landscape. They have a dense, spreading habit with thin, peeling bark and clusters of summer-blooming flowers. Their lush foliage turns orange, red, or yellow in the fall.
Low-growing crape myrtle shrubs grow 3 to 5 ft. (0.9 – 1.5 m) tall. Their endearing quality is the clusters of papery flowers in shades of pink, red, white, and purple. Blooming from summer to fall, dwarf crape myrtle shrubs are ideal for adding color and fragrance to enhance a foundation line, cover a fence, and create a privacy hedge. Additionally, these stunning shrubs perform well in containers to add beauty and charm to any landscape.
USDA Zone: 7 to 9
Sun Exposure: Full sunlight for at least six hours daily
Soil Type: Well-drained clay, loam, or sandy soil
Garland Flower (Daphne cneorum)
Garland flowers create a beautiful mat of star-shaped purple-pink flowers and lush evergreen foliage in front of your home. Fragrant blooms burst into color in spring and continue blooming sporadically throughout the summer. The flowers are small and clustered, creating a beautiful garland-like effect growing close to the ground.
Garland flowers don’t grow taller than one foot (30 cm) and spread up to 3 ft. (1 m). The spreading, carpet-forming shrub is ideal for pink-flowering ground cover, beds and borders or to line a driveway. Additionally, the ornamental shrub is a lovely addition to the front of a border.
USDA Zone: 5 to 8
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade and dappled sunlight
Soil Type: Neutral to alkaline, well-drained soils
Lydian Broom (Genista lydia)
Lydian broom is a compact, low-growing shrub covered in bright yellow flowers in late spring and early summer. This slow-growing ornamental shrub brightens front yards with its profusion of golden flowers blooming on arching or trailing stems. Lydian broom shrubs don’t grow taller than two feet tall (0.6 m).
The small Lydian broom shrub thrives in full sun, and it is one of the easiest yellow-flowering landscaping shrubs to care for. The gorgeous shrubs transform front yards with yellow flowers along a foundation line, full-sun ground cover, or trailing stems cascading over containers. It’s an ideal shrub for xeriscaping front yards.
USDA Zone: 4 to 9
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Poor, infertile, well-drained soils
Rockrose (Cistus spp.)
Rockrose is a group of small flowering evergreen shrubs that work well in front-of-the-house landscaping. The low-growing shrubs produce beautiful five-petaled star-shaped blooms in white or pink shades. Thriving in full sun, these shrubs have a compact, rounded shape with foliage consisting of small, waxy dark green leaves, giving the shrubs a unique appearance.
Thriving in full sun, rockrose shrubs grow 2 to 3 ft. (0.6 – 1 m) tall. Rockrose is a favorite in the category of low-growing shrubs for the front of the house because of its tolerance to heat, drought, salt, and wind. You can plant rockrose shrubs in cottage or city gardens, foundation plantings, or as ground cover.
USDA Zone: 8 to 11
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Well-drained soil
Shrubby Bindweed (Convolvulus cneorum)
Shrubby bindweed is a small evergreen shrub with silver-gray foliage and delicate trumpet-shaped white flowers. This low-growing shrub is ideal for planting at the front of the house because it blooms from late spring through summer. Its mounding, spreading growth habit makes it highly versatile for yard landscaping.
Shrubby bindweed doesn’t grow taller than two feet (60 cm). It’s heat and drought-tolerant and can thrive in dry soils. Its silvery leaves and brilliant white flowers give the shrub an inviting appearance in front yards. Bindweed performs well as a foundation planting, border plant, ground cover, or container plant to add color and texture.
USDA Zone: 8 to 11
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Moderately fertile soil with excellent drainage
Creeping Mahonia (Mahonia repens)
Creeping mahonia is a low-growing evergreen shrub with multi-seasonal interest for front yards. The ornamental features of this mat-forming shrub are its stunning yellow flowers, compact growth, bluish-purple berries, and holly-like glossy leaves. The tough ground-hugging shrub grows no taller than three feet (1 m).
Creeping mahonia is an ideal small shrub for a property’s sunny and partially shaded front areas. This yellow-flowering ground cover plant performs well in borders, rock gardens, and underplanting shrubs. Additionally, it’s a good landscaping option for erosion control and for growing on banks and slopes.
Creeping mahonia is a great choice for adding color and texture to your garden, and it is also attractive to bees and butterflies.
USDA Zone: 5 to 8
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Average moisture, well-drained humus-rich soil
Dwarf Mock Orange (Philadelphus ‘Snow Dwarf’)
The dwarf mock orange cultivar ‘Snow Dwarf’ is a compact, low-growing shrub with abundant beautiful white flowers in spring. The multi-stemmed shrub features an arching habit, four-petaled double, white blooms, and oval, dark green leaves. Ideal for planting in tight spaces, this dwarf shrub grows 2 to 3 ft. (0.6 – 1 m) tall and wide.
The name dwarf mock orange comes from the beautiful, fragrant white flowers resembling orange blossoms. The white-flowering shrub performs well when planted along a foundation line, fence, or shrub border. It’s also suitable for creating a low screen or to divide areas of a yard.
USDA Zone: 4 to 8
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Most soil types that have excellent drainage
Dwarf Chaste Tree (Vitex agnus-castus)
Dwarf chaste tree is a compact shade-tolerant shrub that produces beautiful, rounded clusters of lavender flowers. This hardy perennial blooms throughout the summer, attracting butterflies and bees to front yards. Its compact nature and low growth habit make it ideal for planting along a property line.
Dwarf chaste tree is a low-maintenance plant that typically grows 3 to 6 ft. (1 – 1.8 m) tall, with many cultivars of various sizes. It’s a drought-tolerant shrub and can withstand hot summer temperatures. This versatile shrub is ideal for perennial borders, flower beds, or as a low hedge in a curb area.
Due to its drought tolerance, dwarf chaste tree shrubs are ideal for xeriscaping and planting in rock gardens. Chaste trees grow as perennial shrubs in the north, meaning they die back in winter. However, in warmer regions, the attractive shrub thrives throughout the year as a small shrub.
USDA Zone: 5 to 9
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Well-draining acidic to neutral soils
Rock Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster horizontalis)
Rock cotoneaster is a low-growing, spreading shrub known for its vibrant red berries and attractive foliage. This deciduous shrub features woody stems growing in a herringbone pattern, white, five-petaled flowers in spring, and vibrant scarlet berries in late summer. Ideal for front-of-house ground cover, rock cotoneaster grows 2 to 3 feet (0.6 – 0.9 m) tall and spreads up to 8 feet (2.4 m) wide.
Rock cotoneaster has four-season interest thanks to its spring flowers, lush foliage, and red berries that persist through winter. Besides being an excellent ground cover shrub, cotoneaster performs well as front yard hedging, screening, and cascading over walls or fences.
The drought-tolerant shrub thrives in a wide range of soil conditions. Rock cotoneaster is great for adding color and texture to any front garden or landscape.
USDA Zone: 5 to 7
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Dry to medium moisture soils with excellent drainage
Small Shade Tolerant Shrubs for Front of the House (With Pictures)
Many low-growing shrubs thrive in dappled sunlight, partial shade, or deep shade. Here are a few shrubs that don’t grow very tall and are ideal for creating a vibrant landscape in your front yard.
Wintergreen Barberry (Berberis julianae)
Wintergreen barberry is a versatile cold-hardy evergreen shrub to add visual interest to your front yard throughout the year. This shade-tolerant flowering shrub features clusters of golden yellow flowers, glossy, dark green leaves, and vibrant waxy bluish berries that persist through fall. Wintergreen barberry grows up to 4 to 6 feet (1.2 – 1.8 m) tall.
In addition to its attractive flowers, foliage, and berries, wintergreen barberry has spiny branches. These thorn-covered stems make the evergreen shrub ideal for a security barrier under a window or along a front fence. Other landscaping uses for this thorny shrub are a privacy hedge, screen, or natural barrier.
Apart from improving your front yard aesthetics, wintergreen barberry flowers also attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies, adding even more life to your garden.
USDA Zone: 6 to 8
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Well-drained soil
Small Hydrangea Shrubs (Hydrangea macrophylla)
Beautiful hydrangea shrubs add focal point to any landscaped garden
Small hydrangea shrubs are compact low-growing flowering shrubs that tolerate shade. The attractive features of the hardy shrubs are their large mophead flowers that fill front yards with pink, white, purple and blue colors. Dwarf hydrangeas typically grow 2 to 4 feet (0.6 – 1.2 m) tall and wide, with many cultivars of various sizes.
Hydrangea shrubs suitable for front-yard planting have large, showy flowers creating stunning floral displays. The compact shrubs perform best in partial shade and well-drained soil. Small hydrangea shrub landscaping uses include foundation plantings, hedges, accent plants, and containers.
Hydrangea flowers also make beautiful cut flowers for indoor arrangements.
USDA Zone: 5 to 9
Sun Exposure: Partial shade to full sun
Soil Type: Well-drained soil
Minuet Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia ‘Minuet’)
Minuet mountain laurel is a compact evergreen shrub that produces beautiful clusters of pink and white flowers in late spring to early summer. This variety of mountain laurel is known for its smaller size, growing up to 3 to 4 feet (0.9 – 1.2 m) tall and wide. The dark green foliage adds year-round interest to the garden.
Minuet mountain laurel is a low-maintenance plant that thrives in partial shade to full sun. It prefers well-drained, acidic soil and is tolerant of drought once established. This shrub is ideal for woodland gardens and borders and as a focal point in the landscape. It also attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.
USDA Zone: 5 to 9
Sun Exposure: Partial shade to full sun
Soil Type: Well-drained, acidic soil
Dwarf English Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’)
Dwarf boxwood shrubs stay low and well-groomed, providing a neat appearance for your front yard.
Dwarf English boxwood is a compact evergreen shrub commonly used for hedging and borders. It has small, glossy, dark green leaves with an oval shape. This slow-growing shrub grows up to 2 to 4 feet (0.6 – 1.2 m) tall and wide.
Dwarf English boxwood is easy to grow and maintain. It tolerates a wide range of soil conditions and is drought-tolerant once established. It prefers full sun to partial shade and is deer-resistant. This versatile shrub can be used in formal gardens, as foundation plantings, or as a low hedge. It can also be shaped and pruned into topiaries or other decorative forms.
USDA Zone: 5 to 8
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Well-drained soil
Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica)
Virginia sweetspire is a deciduous shrub native to the eastern United States with eye-catching cylindrical white flower clusters. The creamy-white flowers bloom in mid-spring to early summer, covering the shrub, making it look white. The front-yard landscaping shrub has attractive dark green foliage that turns vibrant shades of red, orange, and purple in the fall.
Virginia sweetspire grows 3 to 10 ft. (1 – 3 m) tall and wide, making it suitable for small and large front yards. The white-flowering shrub is great for foundation planting, hedgerows, and shrub borders. Additionally, you can plant it near water features due to its tolerance for wet conditions.
USDA Zone: 5 to 10
Sun Exposure: Full sun, partial shade, deep shade
Soil Type: Medium to wet soils that drain well
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