I do not have a front yard as I live in a townhouse and the buildings are lined with hibiscus but I would like to add a comment on your post. I hope it is not out of place.
Talking about curb appeal and doing what everyone else is doing is entirely up to you. As a gardener, you will do many things your own way even after getting the advice of others. We tweak things per se to our wants and needs. If it works better for you to put your show on in the front yard, then do it! I love driving by a yard and then realizing its time to close my mouth because of what I saw in their yard. Do it! As long as it does not hurt anyone, offend anyone or cause problems for you legally then do it!Do whatever works for you and makes you and your housemates happy. Its your house! :)

Michi in Miami
Michi81

{{gwi:44214}}

I made beds in my front yard. At first, we had just a few basics, a few azaleas, a rhodie, and a bunch of clumps to border the curve of the front bed. My opinion? BORING!!! TOO BLAH!
I 86'd the liriope (which got out of control over 8 years), we put in a Japanese Maple & a weeping cherry, and I stuck in a spirea, a few peonies, bearded irises, sedums, asiatic lilies, a few salvias. I then lined the path to the front door at first with annuals, then put in a few sedums.
I started a bed at the front of my driveway years ago. It started out small (with a buddleia) and expanded over the years (now has a nice variety to include more butterfly favorites). I hate perfectly manicured landscapes. But I personally think this bed looks horrendous, yet, people walking by, even driving by, will stop and comment how pretty it is. A few years ago I had an older gentleman stop his car, in the middle of the street, while I was walking out the front door, going to my car, which was parked right there. He told me how much he and his wife loved the variety of my plants and how pretty it all looked together. Just recently, he pulled up again and commented, and asked if I remembered a man commenting a few years ago. Now, I many not remember much, but I did remember, and was flattered.

Okay, rambling aside, I love beds in the front of the house. I want to see pretty flowers when I'm driving. Heck, I want to see color. I don't want to see boring houses with boring shrubery.

I also have a thistle and a hummingbird feeder in the front of the house, as well as the back of the house. People like to see my hummers. The love to see the dozens of golfinches on my plants and feeder. I love seeing young kids passing by and commenting on those "cool yellow birds".

I have curb appeal that only a gardener would appreciate.

Everyone should be thankful that I don't stick my snomingos, pink flamingos, and flamingo chachkies in my front beds...

Curb appeal is for people trying to sell a house. Nature is for people to enjoy THEIR house. ENJOY!

I live where we have 4.5 acres on most lots in the neighborhood. I have a huge front garden, but we have 2 acres of meadow between our garden and the road. NWF Backyard Habitat and a certified Monarch Waystation.

My outer garden (outside the fence) is deer resistant and I use no repellants, just plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: my gardening blog

My birdbaths, feeding stations and birdhouses are in the front yard where I can enjoy viewing from my living room window.

My vegetable garden and numerous fruit trees are also in the front yard because the rest of my 2 1/2 wooded acres is too shady. In the spring, the dandelions bloom (we just don't let them go to seed). My lawn consists mostly of clover and ground ivy but stays green during draught (unlike my neighbors).

It's lovely to me and my family. Luckily my neighbors agree but if they didn't, it wouldn't matter. There is no HOA to enforce their view of what's acceptable on me.

Linda

I don't think a naturalistic landscaper has to let some real estate magazine define how to decor his or her own landscape, anymore than a golf course has to follow guidelines in an Audubon magazine. Just like naturalistic landscapes are attractive to me, pesticide laden wastelands are attractive to others. It just depends on who you ask.

If the dogs' domain is the backyard, I'd emphasize the wildlife garden in the front away from the dogs. You can always use half barrels with vines and fruits if you want to be able to rearrange your plants later. I've seen entire frontyards turned into shade gardens and the backyard spared for family get togethers that looked quite nice.

My back yard is fenced for dogs also. I plant and feed in both the front and the back yards.

Though I did modify my feeder arrangements, because the dogs were incessantly sniffing and tromping the areas under the feeder. Good bird dogs that they are.

I have two feeders in the front lawn, hanging from a shepherds hook, in plain sight of my front picture window.

The feeders in the back yard are placed close to house, over a mulched flower bed. The dogs have been trained to stay out of the flower beds (well most of the time)... so I no longer have big dead spot in the lawn under the feeder from dog tromping...

I have been reading a lot of magazines and reading posts here on gardenweb and notice that gardens (flowers and such) and bird stations should always be placed in the back yard.

I wanted to comment on that also. My friend a master gardener has mentioned that she was reading a book by some famous landscape architect who wrote that landscapes should not have flower gardens in the front yard...

We laughed and laughed at that. How bogus is that?

Did that famous landscape architect write Home Owners Association rules, too? I'd love to plant up even more of my 2 acre front meadow...with wildflowers...like a REAL meadow...instead of having to keep it in grass that can't exceed 9" in height at any time.

When I moved into this house 6 years ago, the only part of the yard that got full sun was in the front (besides way back 150 feet behind the house). So that's where the gardens went. I wanted some more screening for privacy and windbreak, so the front gardens are mixed borders of small trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. There are LOTS of flowers.

At my previous house, I used to have a large vegetable garden in back yard, here the back had too many trees and overgrown vegetation (I've since removed some trees and cleared invasives). I didn't want to put veggies in the front - the front gardens are more formal - guess that a vegetable garden isn't formal or ornamental enough for the front yard.

I do have several bird baths in front, but the bird feeders are in back. I can watch the feeders from back windows, and it's more peaceful back there too, which the birds seem to appreciate.

I plant and feed birds in the front yard as well as the back - it just happens that the front windows are more conducive to wildlife viewing. I try to not make it too cluttered out front, in case i ever have to sell the house.

Im putting in a water garden, has to go out front - have a golden retriever that would live in it. As far as poisoning, he did get sick on green tomatoes/vines, have thought about planting at least some vegetables in front, they'd be closer to a garden hose.

I like variety in the landscape. Many homes to me are landscaped like a drs' office, I like something that the birds might enjoy.