Garden curb appeal is a laudable idea, but what’s in it for you? When was the last time a stranger stopped the car, knocked on your door and told you your garden looked great? Thought so.

So, what if you could make a good impression for arriving guests and passersby, while at the same time turning the lion’s share of the eye candy toward yourself? Billy Goodnick Garden Design BEFORE: Most gardens are designed as a wedge that slopes toward the street, with taller plants against the house and lower perennials, ground covers and grasses tapering toward the curb.

That's fine if your only concern is what other people think about your garden, but where's the reward for yourself, given the time, money and imagination you've invested? Billy Goodnick Garden Design AFTER: Why not build a ridge into your front-yard garden — a fence, wall or medium-height grouping of shrubs that serves as both a backdrop for your street-facing plants and a generous composition you can see from your front windows?

My rule of thumb is to direct one-third of the composition toward the street and the rest so it can be viewed from inside the house. After all, you probably spend more time looking at your yard from the house than you do from across the street. Woodburn & Company Landscape Architecture, LLC This garden is totally about what's viewed by the owners. It has a stoutly constructed white fence as a neutral color foil for colorful flowers that are high along the fence and dip down as they approach the lawn. Westover Landscape Design, Inc. A narrow strip of grass leads the eye to a uniform massing of daylilies here. The rustic wood fence not only serves as a backdrop for these perennials, but divides the property into public and semiprivate spaces. The inner plants are arranged en masse, blocking the view of the curb from the house without being unneighborly. Westover Landscape Design, Inc. As revealed in this aerial view of the same yard, the plant massing to the left of the fence also provides a measure of intimacy for a gravel-topped conversation area. Where space is limited, do away with lawn and create masses of dense shrubs and perennials that greet arriving visitors and say "hello" when you open the door to fetch the morning paper. Lankford Associates Landscape Architects By setting the front yard entrance to the side, this designer created a courtyard feeling while allowing enough space for a handsome street-side garden. Dan Nelson, Designs Northwest Architects As revealed from this side view of the same area, the inner courtyard is a space unto itself, not only enriching the arrival view for guests, but acting as a work of art when viewed from the porch and inside the house.

Tour more of this Washington farmstead Kiesel Design - Landscape Architecture Lawn alternatives, as in this garden in Santa Barbara, California, are an increasingly strong trend, especially in low-rainfall climates. After removing the existing turfgrass, the designer created an abstract interpretation of a creek using ornamental grasses and colorful succulents. Where the garden meets the street, the plants become denser and more massive, providing a backdrop for the broad swaths of foliage texture. Billy Goodnick Garden Design With only 12 feet between the sidewalk (right) and the front-facing garage wall, there was not much room to create privacy for a path leading to a bistro table and chairs around the bend in this yard. Cape reed (Chondropetalum tectorum) stands tall, forming a vertical screen, while yellow poker plant (Kniphofia 'Malibu') and germander sage (Salvia chamaedryoides) add a colorful punch. The lush burgundy foliage of Forest Pansy redbud (Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy') adds drama and will eventually arch over the path.