The best low-maintenance small shrubs for the front of your house depends on your landscaping goals. You'll need to decide whether you're looking for compact shrubs for a tidy hedge for privacy or perhaps you want to create a more open, natural look in your front yard. Do you want colorful flowers and fruits, or just greenery? Would you like to focus on planting native shrubs, or would you rather keep your options open? This list of small, low-maintenance shrubs will give you a good place to start.
Bearberry
When you need a low-growing small shrub for your front yard border garden, bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) is perfect. Grow it as a dense groundcover that will block weeds. It offers four-season interest: its small pink spring flowers give way to bright berries favored by wildlife, and its dark green evergreen leaves turn purple in winter. This drought-tolerant plant will even grow in rocky and sandy soils where many other plants might struggle.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and average to poor soil
Size: 1 foot tall
Zones: 2-8
Bluebeard
Like most members of the mint family, bluebeard (Caryopteris spp.) requires very little care to look gorgeous. This naturally mounding shrub is best for sunny front yards, where it will produce beautiful, small, purplish-blue flowers that draw pollinators from July through September. In colder regions within its hardiness range, bluebeard will die back to the ground most years, but quickly jump back up again each spring.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in well-drained soil
Size: 3 feet
Zones: 5-9
Dwarf Fothergilla
Also known as bottlebrush, dwarf fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii) is a low-maintenance small shrub that can take some shade. 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 to multiple shades of yellow and orange.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Zones: 5-9
Dwarf Oregon Grape
Dwarf Oregon grape (Mahonia nervosa) is a low-growing native shrub that can add year-round interest to your front yard. Its evergreen, holly-like leaves are deep green throughout the summer before darkening to shades of red and purple as the cold of winter arrives. Its small yellow flowers appear in spring, followed by little bluish grape-like fruits. Topping out at about 4 feet, dwarf Oregon grape slowly spreads underground but never aggressively.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade with consistent moisture
Size: 2-4 feet tall
Zones: 5-9
'Nana' Purple Willow
Technically, purple willow (Salix purpurea) is a large shrub (or small tree) that grows about 10 feet tall, but 'Nana' is a more compact variety that only gets about half as tall. Plus, it can be kept shorter by being pruned to the ground every couple of years. Otherwise, it doesn't need much maintenance to look beautiful. 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.
Growing Conditions: full sun with consistent moisture; can tolerate soggy soils
Size: 3-5 feet tall
Zones: 3-7
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is a beautiful native shrub that provides long-lasting flowers, colorful fall leaves, and interesting peeling bark for winter interest. Naturally occurring in woodlands, they fit right into a front yard landscape with mature shade trees overhead. Because they stay under 8 feet tall, they can easily hold their own in an established garden but rarely get out of hand. 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.
Growing Conditions: full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 4-8 feet tall
Zones: 5-9
Paperbush
Paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha) is a small shrub that will add some uniqueness to your front yard thanks to its creamy yellow, very fragrant flowers that bloom on its bare branches in late winter to early spring. It also has a striking, architectural branch structure that naturally forms a tidy dome of green leaves. 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.
Growing Conditions: Part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 5-7 feet
Zones: 7-10
Showy Hebe
For those who live in mild climates and along the coasts, showy hebe (Veronica speciosa) is a gorgeous evergreen shrub hailing from New Zealand that should be on your short list of additions to your front yard landscaping. While showy hebes produce thick, shiny green leaves, they’re primarily grown for their bright pink flower spikes, which are produced throughout the growing season.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 6 feet tall and wide
Zones: 6-9
Virginia Sweetspire
Native Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) has gracefully arching branches that grow into a tidy, mounding shape without pruning. Pendulous, white flowers in summer give off a sweet fragrance. In fall, the leaves turn varying shades of yellow, red, and orange. This low-maintenance small shrub can take a bit of shade and will grow in a wide variety of soils–even clay.
Growing Conditions: full sun to part shade in average soil
Size: 5 feet tall and wide
Zones: 5-9
Weigela
Although a regular weigela (Weigela florida) can get quite large (up to 10 feet), there are many compact varieties that work beautifully as a small shrub for the front of your house. For example, 'Minuet' maxes out around 3 feet tall. Weigelas bloom profusely for weeks in late spring and again in summer, with colors ranging from white to pink and red. Leaves can be green to wine red or variegated.
Growing Conditions: full sun to part shade in average soil
Size: 2-10 feet (depending on variety)
Zones: 4-9
Add Container Shrubs to Your Garden
If you want to add containers to your patio or balcony, consider small shrubs instead of flowers for a more substantial-looking planter. Container shrubs will add the privacy you want in a smaller setting where planting in the ground isn't possible. If you have a sunny spot, spirea is a low-maintenance plant that attracts bees and butterflies in the spring. Beautiful camellia grows in containers in the shade with pink, white, or red blooms. For fine-textured foliage, opt for boxwoods that can be pruned into spheres or other unique shapes. Containers are a convenient way to add greenery where it might otherwise be challenging to grow due to lack of space or other restrictions.