The right landscaping doesn’t just add beauty to your yard—it enhances your home’s architecture and highlights your windows. Whether you’re designing around a wide bay window, a cozy garden window, or a large picture window, your plants can create a polished look that frames your home perfectly. Discover front window landscaping ideas, creative plant pairings, and layout tips designed to work with a range of window styles.
Bay & Bow Windows
Bay & bow windows are as functional as they are beautiful inside and outside. Thanks to their expanded view, more natural light is welcomed into your space creating a warm interior environment. With their panoramic view, you should choose plants that add visual appeal without overwhelming your yard.
Landscaping Techniques
To avoid blocking your view, use low-growing shrubs, perennials or evergreens below the window for year-round interest. Place taller plants like ornamental grasses or columnar trees on the sides to create a natural frame that enhances the window’s shape. For a charming, classic look you can enjoy inside and out, add window boxes with cascading flowers or trailing plants like petunias or ivy.
Garden Windows
Have a green thumb? Nurture plants inside and outside with a garden window over your kitchen sink. Their three-dimensional, outward-projecting design adds a unique element to your home while acting as a mini-greenhouse for your plants and herbs.
Landscaping Techniques
Plant herbs like basil, thyme and mint for a functional and fragrant indoor garden that can be easily accessed for harvesting. On the outside, you can add a trellis to support vertical growth below the window and enhance the garden effect. Climbing plants like jasmine or clematis around the window frame adds a more dramatic look. For a low-maintenance option, you can create a rock garden full of succulents and small alpine plants for a textured backdrop.
Picture Windows
Show off your yard with an unobstructed view of the outside. Whether you want to keep things simple or create a focal point, picture windows’ large, fixed panes are designed to wow your guests and make the outdoors a stunning backdrop for your home.
Landscaping Techniques
Clean lines and symmetry are key characteristics of picture windows, so consider using simple, low-profile plants to avoid blocking the view. For increased visual interest, place a dramatic tree or sculpture within the window’s view without overwhelming the scenes. You can also plant trees and shrubs with colorful foliage and blooms that change with each new season.
Casement & Awning Windows
Due to the unique hinge-opening mechanisms, casement and awning windows perfectly balance natural light and functionality. Since they both open outward into your yard, they have a larger impact on landscaping than other types.
Landscaping Techniques
Avoid placing tall plants directly in front of the window so you can still see outside and allow fresh air inside during fair weather. Hanging baskets from the top (for awning windows) or the side (for casement windows) will not obstruct the window’s opening path. For vibrant, cascading blooms, choose plants like fuchsia or begonias. Use low-growing annuals or perennials along the window’s bottom edge to add color without interfering with functionality.
Best Plants for Landscaping Under Windows
For landscaping directly under windows, opt for plants that stay compact and don’t obstruct your view. Great options include:
- Dwarf hydrangeas
- Boxwoods
- Coral bells
- Japanese holly
- Carex ornamental grasses
These plants maintain clean lines while adding rich color, texture, and seasonal interest to your home’s exterior.
Window Planting Ideas for Extra Curb Appeal
Adding window boxes or planters is a simple way to personalize your landscaping. Try trailing petunias, vinca vines, begonias, or fuchsias for a cascading effect that softens your home’s lines and adds instant charm. These colorful accents work especially well with bay, garden, and kitchen windows.
Enhance Your Home’s Aesthetic with Window World of Richmond
Sometimes, a new landscaping design isn’t enough to dramatically boost your curb appeal and create your dream home. Whether you’re ready to give your home a fresh look or lower your monthly electric bill, beautiful, new energy-efficient windows could be exactly what you need. Contact us today to request a free estimate and see how the experts at Window World of Richmond can help bring your vision to life.