Ninna Lu

How to Design a Low-Maintenance Front Yard That Still Wows

 

You don’t have to be a gardening enthusiast to enjoy a beautiful front yard. In fact, a well-designed, low-maintenance landscape can offer just as much visual appeal as a lush garden—without the hours of upkeep. Thoughtful choices in layout, materials, and greenery can create an outdoor space that enhances your home’s curb appeal while allowing you more time to enjoy it.

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Choose Plants That Thrive on Their Own

The foundation of a low-maintenance yard begins with the right plants. Native species are your best friends here—they’re naturally adapted to your region’s soil and climate, which means they’ll require far less watering, feeding, and care.

Think ornamental grasses, sedum, lavender, or evergreen shrubs like boxwood. These choices stay looking good year-round and don’t need constant pruning or fertilizing. Even better, they offer texture and structure that look intentional, not overgrown.

For added visual interest, choose a simple color palette and repeat it throughout your garden beds. This approach keeps your yard feeling cohesive without needing a complex planting plan. The result is a polished space that basically takes care of itself.

 

Create a Small Gathering Space That Invites Connection

Your front yard doesn’t need to be all plants and mulch. Consider carving out a small seating area—something that says “you’re welcome here” before guests even ring the bell. A circular firepit surrounded by modern benches or Adirondack chairs creates instant ambiance.

To keep it low-maintenance, skip the lawn underneath and go for gravel, decomposed granite, or large-format pavers. These materials require almost no care and bring a sleek, grounded look to the space.

This kind of outdoor feature doesn’t just boost curb appeal—it adds real lifestyle value. It turns your front yard into a place for morning coffee, evening chats, or simply soaking up a bit of sunshine on a quiet day.

 

Add Stone Elements That Ground the Space

Stone is one of the most timeless and durable elements you can add to a garden. It brings structure, texture, and a sense of permanence—without ever needing to be watered or pruned. Whether you opt for a walkway, a low wall, or a border that outlines your garden beds, the effect is instantly elevated.

With the right landscape and stone work, your front yard becomes both more functional and visually striking. These features hold up through weather changes and require little more than the occasional rinse to stay looking new.

Pairing these stone details with a quick pressure wash now and then will keep your whole yard fresh and clean, without ever needing to dig or replant.

 

Let Negative Space Do The Work

It’s tempting to fill every square foot of a garden, but open space is just as important as the elements you add. Negative space—gravel beds, open mulch areas, or minimal planters—helps highlight the features you love without overwhelming the design.

It also reduces maintenance. Fewer plants mean fewer things to trim, weed, or water. Adding a few solar lights or a sculptural planter can bring just the right amount of personality without increasing your to-do list.

This approach keeps your front yard feeling modern, serene, and intentional—an invitation to slow down before you even step inside.

A low-maintenance front yard doesn’t mean compromising on beauty. With the right layout and materials, you can create a welcoming, stylish space that works with your lifestyle. Think of it as designing ease into your everyday. Start small, stay consistent, and enjoy a yard that truly supports the way you live.

The Art of Remembering: Preserving Memories for Future Generations

 

Whenever we lose someone close to us, we often have that rush of fear that washes over us. What if you forget the person as the years go by? With every year that passes, their memory might fade, and the sound of their voice or all the things you remember them for, become harder to recollect.

While time can typically make a lot of your memories fade, there are ways to preserve the memories of your loved ones so that you can enjoy them in the future. This is not just for your future, but for the younger generations of the family who knew them or might know of them when family members talk fondly about them.

There are many ways in which you can remember your loved ones and ensure their memories live on forever. Here are just a few ways to help remember those who have passed for future generations to come.

 

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Look through and save previous video footage

For the last few decades or so, video footage has long been captured whether it be through hand-held video recorders to the smartphones we now have available.

When you lose a loved one, it’s always worthwhile going through all of your old footage, whether be saved on your phone or on a floppy disc - if you know what one of those is.

Sifting through video footage is a great way to collect all of the memories that would otherwise have been forgotten about. That’s why it’s good to collate everything together and perhaps load it all into an online space like the cloud so that you have it all within an easy and accessible reach, should you want to look back and reflect on your loved ones at any point.

Sharing experiences with others

When you’re looking to preserve the memory of all your loved ones while they’re still alive, it’s good to have shared experiences together. The more memories you can share together, the more you’ll have to look back on.

These shared experiences should be something you work hard to have even when there’s no sign of illness in sight. Don’t forget to record those memories where you can too, as this can help remember them when your mind starts to struggle to retain the information.

When you create shared experiences, you have more opportunities to reflect and relive those memories with those who are still alive in the future.

Reflect on the memories regularly for mental wellbeing

One of the hardest things to do when it comes to losing a loved one is the grieving process itself. You learn to live with the grief, rather than it disappearing completely. 

It can be particularly hard to look at certain belongings or memories at any given time during the loss of your loved one. That’s why it’s important to take the time and only look when you’re ready to do so. When you’re ready to do so, it’s worth taking a look at the memories because it can provide you with psychological benefits.

The nostalgia and fulfillment that you can often get from looking over previous memories is worthwhile for the benefit of your mental well-being, so do more of it where you can.

Keep a journal

Journals are a great way to keep your loved one’s memories alive, especially as our minds can only retain so much information over our lifetime. 

A journal can act as a great way of recording memories so that you don’t have to worry so much about retaining the information in your head. It’s nice to sometimes go back and see what happened during different times of your life, whether it’s in your early twenties to your late sixties.

You can simply write a brief note in the journal or input a larger paragraph if the day has been particularly exciting. Either way, it makes for a great keeper of your memories.

Create a memory box of trinkets and sentimental items

A memory box is a great addition to preserving the memories of loved ones. There are plenty of lasting tributes that you can create once they’ve departed from this earth. For example, if you want to keep a physical part of them with you, it could be that you make a piece of jewelry from their fingerprint. A piece of jewelry from Memorials.com is worth considering, for example.

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Memory boxes are helpful when you’re trying to keep everything in one place, especially when it comes to sentimental items and those that tend to be a little bulky or small that could otherwise get lost.

Label and update files and memories where required

To help keep everything in good order and an order that’s easy enough to distinguish, you may want to look at labeling and updating files so that your memories stay organized.

It doesn’t take long to label and update files but if you leave them unnamed, that can often lead to having hundreds or thousands of photos, videos, and other files all clumped together. The more you can organize the memories, even arranging folders by month or year where possible, it’ll help make it easy enough to go through as and when needed.

Update regularly: Keep your files up to date

Keeping your files updated is an important one, so you’ll want to ensure these are regularly updated to keep organized.

This not only helps you to ensure you can access all your loved one’s memories but it does the same for when you pass. Your loved ones are going to want as much in the way of updated files to go through carefully, so make sure you’re being proactive in keeping your life’s memories in a functional and updated space.

Preserving memories is important for any family. Therefore, it’s useful to make sure you do everything to create memories while you’re still living and to preserve them for a lifetime after the person or persons have passed away.