Brainstorming

• Before you start physically designing your front yard, you need to decide what it is exactly that you'd like to showcase in your yard. Do you just want to add foliage around your house, such as bushes that line the exterior? Do you want to add shade or citrus trees to the yard? Do you want to design and create gardens in the front yard? Do you want a fountain, a patio, a trellis, or any other added feature? Search the Internet for pictures and ideas from other front yards, and then write down exactly what you'd like to include in your yard.
  
  

Measuring

• According to The-landscape-design-site.com, you can usually obtain a plat map of your property from your builder, developer, or local county records office. This will show your property with its exact dimensions, and it will show you where property lines are located and any utilities placed underground. If you cannot obtain this plat map, purchase grid paper, measure the dimensions of your yard, and re-create these measurements on grid paper. Find out where all of your utilities and property lines are located. Make copies of the drawing with the final measurements.
  
  

Drawing

• Begin drawing on the grid maps of your yard. You'll want multiple copies because it will most likely take you a few tries to draw exactly what you want and where you want it. Begin drawing flower beds, trees, and bushes into the yard, in the exact locations that you'd like to place them. Draw the shapes that you'd like to design, such as bean-shaped or rectangular beds. Don't forget to include walkways in the design. Make sure there is enough space to walk between the beds, trees, sheds, and anything else you add to the yard. Once you have drawn a final copy that you're satisfied with, make this your working blueprint.
  
  

Choosing Foliage

• According to Landscape-design-advisor.com, you must find flowers and plants that fit into your blueprint plans, that will successfully grow in your region and your soil, and that will look appealing to the eye. After all, the front yard is the first part of your house that a person views. Buy from local growers to ensure that the plants will grow in your area, and choose a color scheme that will coincide with your yard and your personal tastes. Once you choose some options that you prefer, find out what season the flowers bloom in and how long the flowers remain alive, and make sure the options you choose for a garden can grow together. Begin placing specific flowers and plants into your blueprint.
  
  

Wrapping Up

• Once the specific flowers and plants are chosen, and once you decide exactly where they will be placed in the yard, you need to wrap up the design process with a few last-minute thoughts. Will you use an irrigation or sprinkler system? If so, you need to decide where you will place the system in the yard. Local irrigation suppliers can help you with this. Decide where to place landscape lighting, trellises, and other yard details. Decide whether you want bricks to surround your beds and if so, what type. Choose suitable ground covers to fill in your flower beds or pathways. Once you have these details worked out and your blueprint finalized, you are ready to begin building or to contact a landscaper.