The UK’s Best Front Door Plants Ideas
Are you tired of looking at the same uninteresting front door every day? Let’s face it; plain front doors can be uninspiring. So, how can you give your front door a new lease of life?
Front door plants! Make your front door more exciting by adding a splash of colour, texture, and life in the form of front door plants. Plants can also provide a sense of privacy, filter air pollutants, and attract beneficial insects and wildlife to your front door.
In this article, we’ll explore 37 incredible front-door plant ideas. Whether you’re new to the world of gardening or an experienced green thumb, these front-door plant ideas are sure to breathe some life into both your home and garden – plus, they’ll evoke envy in all of your neighbours!
1. Azalea
In spring, azaleas produce vibrant and showy blooms in shapes of pink, red, purple, and white, adding colour, interest, and a sweet aroma to any front door. These compact shrubs are well-suited to pots, making them an ideal choice for small front doors and entryways. Azaleas are also low-maintenance and hardy in the UK climate, making them a reliable option.
2. Carnations
Carnations are long-blooming plants that can provide flowers from spring to autumn, providing a continuous show of colour throughout the growing season. Carnations also have a sweet, spicy fragrance that will add an extra dimension of sensory appeal every time you walk through your front door.
3. Geranium
Planting geraniums near your front door is a great way to give your home’s exterior a bright and cheery look. These plants come in various colours, so you can find one that perfectly suits your style. When planting geraniums, ensure your chosen spot has enough sun exposure and water – geraniums like well-draining soil and regular watering. With the right care, geraniums can make any front door pop!
4. Primrose
Brighten up your front door with the perfect winter-to-spring blooming companion! Danova Series Primroses are small but mightily, boasting colourful clusters of flowers right through the colder months. This classic English plant is highly versatile, sitting proudly in a pot, basket, bed, or border! This provides the flexibility we so often need for the ever-changing weather conditions in the UK.
READ NEXT: 25 Best Plants for Winter Pots (Low Maintenance and Colourful!)
5. Dahlia
Add a touch of regal beauty to your front door with dahlias! These are the perfect choice for anyone looking for a stylish, unique, and long-lasting front door display. Dahlias have a subtle symmetrical shape and sport vibrant colours that will continuously inject life into any front door area throughout the growing season.
6. Hydrangea
For seasonal interest with a twist, try the hydrangea, an English favourite. Many love hydrangeas, not only for the sheer size of their flower clusters but for the interesting shades of pink, blue, purple, and white they display. Hydrangeas also come in a compact shape, making them a prime choice for pots or planting in beds where you’re working with limited space.
7. English Roses
English roses are a stunning choice when looking for beautiful foliage to add to your front door. They are renowned for their robustness, repeat flowering, and heady aroma, hitting all the right notes with all of our senses. As English roses are native to the UK, they are relatively low-maintenance plants that are easy to grow and care for, giving your front door maximum impact with little time spent tending to them.
8. Wisteria
Wisteria is a fast-growing climber, providing something slightly different from your average potted front door plant. Wisteria will quickly climb your front exterior wall, creating an eye-catching and dramatic display for your front door. And that’s before the long cascading clusters of fragrant flowers form! Wisteria is a convenient choice for front-door gardening as it’s hardy, well-suited to the UK climate, and low-maintenance.
9. Jasmine
Jasmine makes a great front-door plant for several reasons. Firstly, it has a strong and sweet fragrance, bringing pleasure every time you walk by. Secondly, jasmine produces delicate and attractive blooms in white or yellow, providing a cheery and aesthetically pleasing display. What’s more, jasmine is a hardy plant that you can grow in pots or trained on a trellis or wall, making it suitable for front-door gardening in a range of spaces.
10. Hebe
Looking to add some vibrancy and flair to your front door? Consider the hebe plant a stunning accompaniment to any front door. Hebes come in a range of colours and varieties, from green-leaved to purple-leaved and from compact to tall-growing, offering a range of options for your front door. These evergreens sport exceptional foliage all year round and a burst of colourful flowers in the summer.
11. Hellebore
Hellebores produce early and delicate flowers in late winter to early spring, making your front door a focal point that will wow before most other plants bloom. Gardeners love hellebores for their long lifespan; you can enjoy them for many years, making them a worthwhile investment for your front door. If your front door faces north or south, don’t fear – hellebores are shade-tolerant plants that can thrive in partial to full shade.
12. Spring-Flowering Bulbs
Spring-flowering bulbs celebrate the end of the colder days, welcoming warmer days ahead – for this reason, they’re perfect for front doors, as they will bring an element of cheer and delight to your entryway. Daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, crocus, and snowdrops are some of the best choices for pots and beds at your front door.
13. Sweet Alyssum
Sweet alyssum is a fragrant, floral plant perfect for a wildlife-friendly or cottage garden due to its innate ability to attract pollinators in abundance. Sweet alyssum is drought-tolerant, so it is ideal for spots with limited rain exposure and for gardeners looking to avoid plants with high maintenance requirements. If your entrance area is small and tight on space, why not try planting sweet alyssum variety in a hanging basket? This will bring life and beauty to even the most cramped of spaces!
14. Miniature Fruit Trees
Miniature fruit trees make wonderful accents to any front door or entryway and come in a variety of shapes, colours and sizes. Dwarf apple, plum, cherry, peach, and lemon trees are some of the best choices for UK front doors, as they’re perfect for pots. Plus, they’ll add an attractive and edible feature to the entrance of your home.
15. Petunias
Elevate your front door style with some beautiful, old-fashioned annual plants. Petunias are not only hardy and reliable, but the newer varieties won’t require tedious deadheading to keep them in full bloom all summer long – just make sure to give them plenty of sun!
16. Boxwood Topiary
Instantly evoke sophistication with classic boxwood at your front door. The boxwood’s glossy leaves offer an evergreen touch and won’t require too much maintenance, making it ideal for the modern homeowner looking to create a more formal vibe for their front door. Place them in part to full sun – you can thank me later!
17. Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle is easy to care for, requiring minimal pruning and fertilisation to thrive. It also has attractive, fragrant tubular flowers that come in subtle shades of pink, orange, yellow, red, or white. One quality that makes honeysuckle an excellent choice for a front doorstep is its versatile growth habit – it can grow as a climbing vine, shrub, or as groundcover, making it suitable for various front door spaces and garden styles.
18. Lavender
Lavender has a pleasant aroma that can help refresh the air around your front door and make it more welcoming than ever. If you’re looking for low-maintenance, you can’t beat lavender – it is resistant to pests and diseases and is highly versatile, thriving in any container, bed, or border. Lavender is an English classic ideally suited to a cottage, wildlife, or even a contemporary garden.
19. Rosemary
Rosemary is a popular herb that makes a great addition to any garden. Choose rosemary to flank your front door to enthral the senses. The texture of its needle-like leaves offers an attractive contrast to other plants in the garden, and its culinary uses make it a particularly beneficial choice, especially for keen cooks. Pair rosemary with other hardy herbs, such as thyme, sage, oregano, and lavender, and plant in pots or in the ground to create a fragrant and flavourful display.
20. Ivy
Ivy is among the best front-door plants due to its hardy and low-maintenance nature. Ivy is a versatile plant that can be grown in pots or a bed or border, making it a great option for those who want to add greenery to their front door without spending much time and effort on maintenance. This fast-growing plant is also ideal for those who want to add privacy to their front door, as you can train ivy to climb walls and fences.
21. Fuchsia
Fuchsia is a popular perennial plant native to Central and South America. Despite their native location, fuchsias are well-suited to the UK’s cool and damp climate. Fuchsias thrive in shady or partially shady locations and are perfect for planting in pots or hanging baskets near the front door. They prefer moist, well-drained soil and require regular watering, so I don’t recommend them for novice gardeners or those who can’t get out into the garden often.
22. Pansy
Pansies are hardy, cold-tolerant plants with cheerful, colourful blooms, fit for a front door. Pansies prefer some sun, so place them in well-drained soil in a spot that receives partial to full sun exposure. To keep pansies healthy, water them regularly and fertilise them every few weeks – this will encourage vigorous growth and beautiful, full blooms.
23. Japanese Maple
Japanese maples feature stunning foliage and have a slow growth habit, so they’re a delightful choice for a front door, whatever the size of your entrance. These deciduous trees come in various colours and leaf shapes, providing interest and beauty throughout the year. Japanese maples prefer well-drained soil and partial shade. And take care to protect them from strong winds and intense sunlight, as they won’t do well in these conditions.
24. Verbena
Want a plant with showy, vibrant flower clusters and an incredible ability to attract pollinators in droves? If so, verbena may be the plant for you. This hardy plant is easy to grow and is well-suited to our temperamental UK climate. It performs its best in full sun and soil with good drainage – if you provide these conditions, this plant will pay you back with up to 60cm of height and long-lasting blooms from spring right through to fall.
25. Clematis
A touch of beauty, a bundle of elegance, and robust versatility are all qualities you can be sure to find in the clematis. Clematis is a climbing plant that can grow up to 3-4 meters in height, making it perfect if you wish to add vertical interest to your front door or to cover your home’s front wall, fence, or arbour.
26. Begonia
Begonias are hardy plants that flourish in partially shady spots and moist soil with good drainage, so long as they have some protection from harsh winds. These low-maintenance plants can be grown in pots or in the ground with very little intervention on your part, so they’re the prime choice for busy gardeners. With the combination of their vibrant flowers and attractive foliage alongside everything else, begonias are a winning addition to any front door.
27. Marigold
Marigolds have a rich history and are native to the Americas. It’s not difficult to understand their gross popularity when you witness their bright, showy flowers. These blooms are also good for pollinators, adding a burst of colour to your front door while supporting local wildlife populations. What’s not to love?
28. Impatiens
Impatiens, also known as Busy Lizzie, started out as houseplants, but gardeners relish their easy care requirements, shade-loving tendency, and showy flowers. It’s due to these attractive characteristics that you can now find impatiens in abundance in UK gardens, including flanking front doorsteps. As these plants do well in the shade, they are the perfect choice for north or east-facing front doors.
29. Holly
Holly is a classic Christmas plant, with bright red berries symbolising the winter season. But that’s not where this plant’s awe-inspiring qualities end. Holly is an evergreen plant that retains its foliage year-round, providing a green backdrop for other plants and adding structure to your front door all year long. It can survive in a wide range of soil types and growing conditions, so it will suit you well, whatever your level of gardening expertise.
30. Cyclamen
If you have a small entryway to work with, you may be tempted to choose cyclamen, and rightly so. Cyclamen is a fantastic option for small spaces, as it’s a compact plant with a low profile, making it well-suited for planting beside front doors. It’s partial to a bit of shade, so it will suit a spot with limited sunlight. However, the one characteristic that makes cyclamen stand out is its blooming period – flowering from fall to spring; this winter bloomer shows off vibrant colours when many other plants are sitting dormant.
31. Nasturtium
Nasturtium is a popular front-door plant in the UK due to its attractive and colourful flowers, easy-to-grow nature, and ability to thrive in partial shade. Nasturtiums are hardy plants that are low maintenance, making them one of the top choices for gardeners looking for a plant that requires little effort but delivers big results. Nasturtiums also have the added twist of being edible, making them an interesting and unique addition to your front garden.
32. Zinnia
Haven’t heard of zinnias before? While less known than some other options on this list, they are more than worthy of a spot. Many gardeners choose zinnias to flank their front doors for their bright and cheerful appearance. Different varieties sport differing flower colours, from red to orange to yellow to pink. Whatever colour you choose, you can expect an exceptionally long blooming season and reliability from the good ol’ zinnia.
33. Salvia
Salvias, also known as sage, have a long history of use in both culinary and ornamental gardens. They produce beautiful blooms but also show off attractive foliage, producing a double whammy of visual appeal. And you won’t be the only one admiring your salvias if you place them on your doorstep – they’re a favourite among wildlife, too, due to their long-lasting blooms, stretching from early summer to fall, and their sweet fragrance.
34. Sunflowers
If you want to create a front door display that packs a punch, there’s no better plant for the job than the popular sunflower. In the UK, sunflowers are grown as stand-out annual plants and are loved among gardeners for their large, yellow blooms. If you are short on space at your front entryway, why not try a miniature sunflower variety? Some varieties of particular interest are the “Dwarf Sunspot,” “Dwarf Russian,” and “Teddy Bear.”
35. Heather
Heather, also known as Scottish heather, is a superb choice for a front door plant as it’s drought-tolerant, provides winter excitement, and is slow-growing. Its slow-growing tendency is especially appealing for a front doorstep as it can remain in place for a number of years without needing much pruning. If you’re one for symbolism, then this may be the choice for you, as heather is supposedly a symbol of good luck and protection in Scotland – two excellent omens for your front door!
36. Agapanthus
Agapanthus is a resilient plant that can survive in tough conditions like drought and poor soil. So, if you’re looking for something you can plant and leave to its own devices, you’ve found a winner! Interestingly, agapanthus can not only be grown in a pot or bed but can also be displayed submerged in water. Therefore, if you want to do something different and add a water feature to your front door, why not incorporate the brilliant agapanthus?
37. Bay Laurel
Bay laurel has a classic, elegant look with glossy, dark green leaves that provide a beautiful contrast to the surrounding environment. When crushed, the leaves of the bay laurel plant release a fragrant aroma, adding a pleasant scent to your front door whenever you brush past it. On top of this, bay laurel is versatile, capable of growing in pots, containers, or in the ground.
A Final Word on Plants For Your Entrance
You can use many plants to enhance the entrance of your home, as you can see. From colourful flowers such as azaleas and geraniums to fragrant herbs like rosemary and lavender to evergreen shrubs such as boxwood and hebe; there are numerous options.
Whether you prefer bold and bright blooms, subtle and understated foliage, or a mix of both, there is a front door plant that is perfect for your home.
When selecting plants for your front door, consider the amount of sunlight and shade your entrance receives, the soil conditions, and the size of the plant at maturity. By carefully choosing the right plants and properly caring for them, you can create a welcoming and eye-catching entrance that will impress your guests and add curb appeal to your home.
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