Plants add an undeniable beauty to our homes, giving areas that look empty life. When it comes to the front yard, the right plants will turn even the most ordinary front yard into a charming, visually stunning area. Evergreen plants are a fantastic choice as they retain foliage throughout the year.
With evergreen plants in your yard, your home will turn passersby’s heads even during the bleakest months. Fortunately, there’s an evergreen plant to suit your style, whether you want a naturalistic landscape, a formal front yard, or something in between.
Below is a list of the best evergreen plants for your front yard.
15 Best Evergreen Plants For Front Yard
1. Boxwood
Let’s kick off our list with a classic choice. Boxwood with small, dense, evergreen foliage is a fine choice for creating a formal, structured front yard since you can shape it to your desired shape and size. You can make diverse designs with boxwood, from intricate shapes to simple ones.
Below are ways to use boxwood in your front yard:
- Hedging- boxwood’s dense leaves make excellent low hedges and borders that are neat and formal. Use this plant to define your walkway.
- Container specimens- grow dwarf boxwood varieties in containers and place them on your flanking entryway, along paths, on your porch, near windows, or even in borders.
Hardiness zones: 5-8
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2. Holly
This timeless evergreen plant has different sizes and shapes, from tall, pyramidal trees to compact shrubs. Hollies are primarily evergreen, but some varieties are deciduous. Use tall varieties such as American Holly and Chinese Holly for hedges and privacy screens.
Large hollies also make excellent focal plants. On the other hand, smaller varieties like Japanese Holly and Yaupon Holly are better candidates for foundation planting. The leaves of most hollies are dark green and glossy, with sharp spines along the edges.
Hardiness zones: 5-9
3. Evergreen Azalea
The glossy, dark green leaves of evergreen azaleas stay interesting at all times and turn reddish in winter. However, there’s more that this plant offers. Evergreen azaleas produce white, pink, red, or purple star-shaped flowers nestled between their broad leaves.
Some evergreen azalea varieties are low-growing, while others are about 1-6 feet tall shrubs. With evergreen azaleas, you can create colorful edges, a stunning focal point, or brighten your front yard’s shaded areas.
Some popular evergreen azaleas suitable for your front yard include ‘Encore’ series and ‘Gable Hybrid.’
Hardiness zones: 7-9
4. Juniper
Junipers are versatile enough to fit different front yard landscaping designs, from creating a sprawling groundcover to a towering, spectacular display. They offer a consistent green or green-blue color as they retain their needle-like or scale-like leaves.
This evergreen also produces berries, which are not only ornamental but also used in cooking and gin production. Tall junipers can reach over 100 feet tall, so you can rely on them to provide privacy. Like boxwood, you can prune junipers into different forms, including geometric shapes.
Hardiness zones: 3-9
5. Heavenly Bamboo
While it bears the name bamboo, this evergreen plant isn’t a true bamboo but has slender stems that resemble bamboo. This shrub grows upright, dense, bushy, and gracefully, reaching 3-8 feet high. Heavenly bamboo features bright green leaves that often turn red, orange, or purple, especially in fall and winter.
The vibrant foliage alone will give your front yard some character throughout the year. Heavenly bamboo looks even better in late spring or early summer when it produces small, white, or pinkish flowers. After that, bright red berries emerge, persisting to winter.
Hardiness zones: 6-10
6. Dwarf Mugo Pine
This miniature evergreen will fit your small front yard perfectly, giving it some personality. Dwarf mugo pine stays small, reaching 3-5 feet with a rounded, compact growth. You don’t need to prune it much since it retains its rounded, bushy shape.
Size and shape aside, dwarf mugo pine is also stunning. Its foliage features short (1-2 inches long) dark green needles that grow dense and bushy. As this plant ages, its reddish-brown bark becomes more rugged.
If possible, ensure your dwarf mugo pines get full sunlight, but partial shade will also do.
Hardiness zones: 2-7
7. Hinoki Cypress
Are you looking for a specimen plant for your front yard? Plant this majestic, revered evergreen native to southern Japan. Hinoki cypress has a unique structure. Its lush, scale-like leaves are arranged in flat, overlapping patterns.
Moreover, this plant is naturally columnar or pyramidal with slightly drooping branches for a graceful appearance. Hinoki cypress also has an interesting reddish-brown bark.
Hinoki cypress is a big plant that reaches 20 to 40 feet high and spreads 10 to 15 feet. There are dwarf varieties.
Hardiness zones: 5-8
8. Rhododendron
For a showstopping display in your front yard, plant rhododendrons. This colorful evergreen will adorn this part of your home with attractive white, pink, red, purple, or yellow flowers that are either small and delicate or large and showy.
Rhododendrons have evergreen, leathery leaves with a glossy or matte finish. The dense foliage helps provide privacy and offers a backdrop for other plants.
Established rhododendrons are pretty low maintenance, only needing occasional fertilizing and pruning. Growing rhododendrons could also turn your front yard into a pollinator playground.
Hardiness zones: 4-9
9. Camellia Japonica
When plants go dormant, spaces often look dull and lifeless. This is when camellia japonica shines, gracing your front yard with magnificent white, pink, red, or even multi-toned, rose-like blooms in winter and early spring. The flowers are either bold or delicate.
Once you get a taste of this plant’s appeal, you will want to plant more and more. Once established, camellia japonica is drought-tolerant and long-lived evergreen. You can keep this plant as a bushy shrub or train it into a small tree.
Hardiness zones: 7-9
10. Brilliant Hibiscus
Make brilliant hibiscus the hedge plant for your front yard to give this section of your home a lustrous tropical look. This versatile flowering shrub stands out for its red, pink, orange, yellow, or white, large, trumpet-shaped flowers.
The flowers have ruffled or frilled petals and glossy, dark green leaves. Brilliant hibiscus is highly tolerant of many conditions but sensitive to temperature changes. So, if you grow it in partial shade or full sun, don’t change the conditions later.
Hardiness zones: 7-10
11. Densa Japanese Yew
Consider mass planting the densa Japanese yew to make borders for your front yard. The dark green, needle-like leaves closely packed together will form a dense border. Besides creating a low hedge, this plant makes a great ground cover with a low, rounded mound.
When winter comes, this yew cultivar’s foliage turns reddish-green. Densa Japanese Yew tolerates full shade and often thrives in dappled light. However, this doesn’t mean you cannot grow it in full sun. Keep the ground moist and mulch the roots in winter.
Beware that all Japanese yew species are poisonous to pets when ingested. The small, red fruits it bears harm humans and pets if consumed.
Hardiness zones: 4-7
12. Gardenia
Have your front yard smelling sweet with a hint of jasmine in spring, especially in the evening when Gardenia blooms. Aside from the intoxicating aroma, this plant’s sophisticated appearance, featuring beautiful white or cream flowers and glossy green leaves, will make your front yard even more attractive.
Warmer climates suit Gardenias best, but you can still grow them in colder climates, provided you give them extra care.
Hardiness zones: 7-10
13. Arborvitae
There are numerous kinds of arborvitae. You could choose the tall, narrow varieties or rounded, compact forms for your front yard. Use tall varieties like ‘Green Giant’ or ‘Emerald Green’ to develop a natural privacy screen and smaller varieties as accents at the front of your home.
Arborvitaes can adapt to various soil types; just make sure they drain well. Also, ensure these plants get sunlight a minimum of 6 hours daily if you want to see optimal growth.
Hardiness zones: 3-8
14. Chinese Fringe Flower
This stunning evergreen with pink, white, or red fringe-like flowers can be a splendid addition to your front yard. Use taller varieties such as ‘Blush’ and ‘Ever Red’ for privacy and hedging.
On the other hand, compact varieties like ‘Ruby,’ ‘Snow Muffin,’ and ‘Purple Pixie’ do well in containers, hence suitable for the front walkway, porch, and deck.
You don’t necessarily have to prune your Chinese Fringe Flower. However, doing so can help maintain its shape and size, as well as remove dead branches.
Hardiness zones: 7-9
15. Daphne
To complete our list is a fragrant option with evergreen or semi-evergreen foliage. Daphne’s small, tubular flowers that are often clustered at the branches’ tips have a strong, sweet aroma.
You can consider incorporating popular varieties such as Garland Daphne, Daphne odora, and Daphne retusa into your front yard. Do not prune your Daphnes heavily because they can take a long to recover. This plant grows best in partial shade.
Hardiness zones: 4-9
To Summarize,
Evergreen plants are timeless. They continue to provide interest and beauty to your home regardless of the seasons. You should find suitable choices for your front yard from the list above. However, before selecting, decide what you intend to use it for —a privacy screen, a focal point, or a ground cover.
Hey there, I’m Derek Schew, a writer for Lawnholic.com, where we cover everything and anything related to lawns. As someone who’s spent countless hours tending to my own lawn, I’m passionate about sharing my knowledge and helping others achieve the perfect yard. From lawn care tips to product reviews, I’m committed to providing our readers with the most accurate and up-to-date information available. So whether you’re a seasoned lawn enthusiast or just getting started, I invite you to join our community and discover the joys of a lush, green lawn.