Kritsada Panichgul
The best low-maintenance small shrubs for the front of your housedepends on your landscaping goals.
Do you want colorful flowers and fruits, or just greenery?
Would you like to focus onplanting native shrubs, or would you rather keep your options open?
Credit:Kritsada Panichgul
This list of small, low-maintenance shrubs will give you a good place to start.
Thisdrought-tolerant plantwill even grow in rocky and sandy soils where many other plants might struggle.
requires very little care to look gorgeous.
Credit:Getty Images / siur
In spring, it produces lots of feathery white flowers that are pollinator magnets.
In fall, the leaves of this deciduous native shrub turn from green tomultiple shades of yellow and orange.
Its small yellow flowers appear in spring, followed by little bluish grape-like fruits.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Topping out at about 4 feet, dwarf Oregon grape slowly spreads underground but never aggressively.
Plus, it can be kept shorter bybeing pruned to the groundevery couple of years.
Otherwise, it doesn’t need much maintenance to look beautiful.
Credit: Doug Hetherington
This willow offers fine-textured, blue-green leaves throughout the summer and purplish stems.
It’s especially useful planted in a rain garden or low-lying spot prone to flooding.
Naturally occurring in woodlands, they fit right into a front yard landscape withmature shade trees overhead.
Credit:Stephen Cridland
If you’d prefer a small shrub version, try ‘Ruby Slippers’.
This variety grows about 4 feet tall and wide,perfect for a small front yard.
It also has a striking, architectural branch structure that naturally forms a tidy dome of green leaves.
Credit:Better Homes & Gardens
Paperbush is a slow grower, eventually reaching about 7 feet tall and wide, and rarely needs pruning.
‘Gold Rush’ is a more compact variety that gets about 5 feet tall.
Pendulous, white flowers in summer give off a sweet fragrance.
Credit: Denny Schrock
In fall, the leaves turn varying shades of yellow, red, and orange.
This low-maintenance smallshrub can take a bit of shadeand will grow in a wide variety of soilseven clay.
For example, ‘Minuet’ maxes out around 3 feet tall.
Credit: Denny Schrock
Leaves can be green to wine red or variegated.
If you have a sunny spot, spirea is a low-maintenance plant that attractsbees and butterfliesin the spring.
Beautifulcamelliagrows in containers in the shade with pink, white, or red blooms.
Credit: Denny Schrock
For fine-textured foliage, opt forboxwoodsthat can be pruned into spheres or other unique shapes.
Credit: Lynn Karlin
