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# A front garden in one weekend
- URL: https://haven.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/a-front-garden-in-one-weekend/
- Published: 2026-07-28T09:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-28T09:00:00.000Z
- Description: Gravel, brick edges, plants that need nothing and a screen for the bins.
- Author: Jun Park
- Tags: Outdoors, #room Front garden, #budget £380, #time One weekend, #style Gravel and lavender, #Import 2026-10-02 16:14

A front garden is the first thing visitors see and the last thing most of us look after. Jun and his neighbour transformed theirs in one weekend, with gravel, a few large pots and plants that need almost nothing. Here is the plan.

![The new path: gravel edged with brick, and planting on both sides.](https://haven.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/content/images/2026/10/front-path.jpg)

The new path: gravel edged with brick, and planting on both sides.

## Start with the path

The path from the gate to the door decides how a front garden feels. Theirs was cracked concrete. They broke it up, laid a weed membrane and covered it with gravel, edged with reclaimed bricks on their sides. Gravel is cheap, drains well and makes a pleasant sound underfoot. It also tells you when someone is coming.

## Plants that look after themselves

A front garden should look good all year with almost no work. They chose plants that are tough, evergreen or long-flowering:

- **Lavender** along the path, for scent and bees.
- **Rosemary** by the door, for cooking and for its winter structure.
- **Grasses**, which move in the wind and look good even when dry in winter.
- **Geraniums**, the hardy kind, which flower from June to October.

All of them like sun and dry soil, and none need watering once they are established.

> Plant for the weather you have, not the garden you saw in a magazine.  
>  
> **Jun Tanaka**

## Pots by the door

Two large pots by the front door make the entrance feel welcoming. Bigger pots are easier than small ones: they hold more soil, dry out more slowly and look more generous.

![Two big pots by the door, planted for winter with box and trailing ivy.](https://haven.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/content/images/2026/10/front-pots.jpg)

Two big pots by the door, planted for winter with box and trailing ivy.

## Bins and bikes

Most front gardens also have to hold bins, recycling and often bikes. They built a simple timber screen at the side of the garden, planted with a climbing jasmine, so the bins are hidden but still easy to reach.

## The weekend

| Day                | Job                                  |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------ |
| Saturday morning   | Break up and remove the old concrete |
| Saturday afternoon | Lay membrane, edge with bricks       |
| Sunday morning     | Spread gravel, plant borders         |
| Sunday afternoon   | Build bin screen, plant pots         |

The whole project cost about £380, most of it on gravel and plants.

🌿

Check whether your front garden drains into the street. Gravel and planting let rain soak in, which helps prevent local flooding.

#### Will weeds come through gravel?

A few, from seeds blown in. Pull them while they are small; it takes ten minutes a month.

#### Is gravel a problem for buggies?

Small, rounded gravel compacted well is easy. Avoid deep, loose gravel.