A front yard has a harder job than a backyard. It has to look good from the street all year, take road salt and a winter of snow piled on it, get people to the door safely, and ideally need very little of your weekend. The ideas below are the ones we build most often across Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville, grouped from cheapest to biggest, with what each one costs and where it goes wrong.
What front yard projects cost in 2026
| Project level | Typical scope | Typical 2026 price |
|---|---|---|
| Simple refresh | Re-edge and re-mulch beds, add shrubs and perennials, fix the lawn | $4,000 - $12,000 |
| New walkway and beds | Replace the front walk, reshape and replant beds, new edging | $12,000 - $25,000 |
| Full front yard rebuild | Walkway, front steps or landing, planting, lighting, lawn or lawn replacement | $25,000 - $50,000 |
| Element | Unit | Installed price |
|---|---|---|
| Poured concrete walkway | Per sqft | $12 - $22 |
| Concrete paver walkway | Per sqft | $22 - $38 |
| Flagstone walkway | Per sqft | $30 - $55 |
| Planted and mulched garden bed | Per sqft | $19 - $46 |
| River rock or stone bed with fabric and edging | Per sqft | $8 - $18 |
| Steel or aluminum edging | Per linear foot | $12 - $25 |
| New sod | Per sqft | $1.50 - $3.00 |
| Landscape lighting, 6 to 8 fixtures | System | $2,400 - $4,800 |
The walkway prices come from our walkway material comparison, the planting and project bands from our Ontario landscaping cost guide.
Cheap and simple front yard ideas
1. Cut crisp bed edges
The fastest upgrade there is. A clean spade edge, or a steel edge that holds its line, makes an ordinary yard look designed. Curves should be broad and easy to mow around. Steel or aluminum edging runs about $12 to $25 per linear foot installed and lasts for decades, where plastic lifts after a couple of frosts.
2. Mulch properly, once
A 5 to 7 cm layer of shredded bark mulch over every bed hides soil, holds moisture and blocks most weeds. Keep it off stems and the foundation. Our bulk vs bagged mulch guide covers which type to buy and how much you need.
3. Plant in groups of three or five
A front bed with one of everything looks busy from the street. The same plant repeated in drifts of three, five or seven reads as calm and planned, and it is easier to care for. Pick one evergreen, one flowering shrub and one or two perennials, and repeat them.
4. Upgrade the house number, mailbox and door planters
Low cost, high impact. Large planters either side of the door, planted with a dwarf evergreen for winter and swapped seasonally, frame the entrance without any construction.
5. Shrink the lawn
The front lawn is usually the most work and the least used part of the property. Widening the beds along the house and the walk, or replacing a strip along the driveway with planting, cuts mowing and watering. If you keep grass, keep it in one simple shape that a mower can finish in a few passes.
Low-maintenance front yard ideas
6. Evergreen structure first
An Ontario front yard spends five months with no leaves on anything. Boxwood, dwarf yew, dwarf spruce, juniper and arborvitae give it shape in January. Plan them first, then add colour around them. Our best perennials for Ontario gardens list covers the flowering layer.
7. Rock and mulch beds with grasses
River rock, clear stone or armour stone accents with ornamental grasses and drought-tolerant perennials make a bed that needs a spring cut-back and very little else. Use landscape fabric only under stone, not under mulch, and use a solid edge so the stone does not migrate into the lawn. Expect about $8 to $18 per square foot.
8. Salt-tolerant planting along the street and driveway
The first metre or two along the road and the driveway gets salt spray and salty meltwater every winter. Plants that cope include daylilies, switchgrass and other ornamental grasses, juniper, rugosa rose, sea thrift and catmint. Keep boxwood, most cedars and delicate perennials further back.
9. Native plants for sun and clay
Coneflower, black-eyed Susan, little bluestem, wild bergamot and serviceberry handle Hamilton and Halton clay and dry summers once they are established, and they support pollinators. Our drought-tolerant landscaping guide goes deeper, and the clay soil planting guide explains how to prepare the beds.
Bigger front yard makeovers
10. A wider walkway
Most builder walkways are about 90 cm (3 ft) wide, which feels narrow and makes two people walk single file. Widening to 1.2 to 1.5 m (4 to 5 ft), or flaring it where it meets the driveway, changes how the whole front reads. Pavers at $22 to $38 per sqft are the usual sweet spot. Flagstone suits older and heritage homes.
11. Rebuilt front steps and a landing
Precast concrete steps that have tilted or cracked are a common front yard eyesore. Armour stone, natural stone slabs or interlock steps with a proper base, plus a landing big enough to stand on while you open the door, are a big upgrade in both safety and looks. Steps need consistent heights, and a handrail becomes a code question once there are more than three risers.
12. Front yard lighting
A few path lights along the walk, two uplights on the facade or a feature tree, and a light at the steps make the house look finished at night and make the walk safer in winter. A small 6 to 8 fixture system runs about $2,400 to $4,800. Use warm white, 2700K or 3000K. Our landscape lighting cost guide has full pricing.
13. A low retaining wall on a sloped front yard
A front yard that drops toward the street is hard to mow and hard to plant. A low wall, usually under 60 cm (2 ft), creates a flat bed along the house and a cleaner slope below. Walls over 1 m generally need an engineer and a permit. See our retaining wall cost guide.
14. A front courtyard or sitting area
On a deep lot or a corner lot, a small paver or flagstone area with a bench or two chairs turns part of the front yard into a place to sit. Keep it inside the fence and hedge limits below if you want some screening.
Front yard fence and hedge rules
Front yard fences are much lower than backyard ones, mainly so drivers and pedestrians can see each other at driveways and corners.
| City | Front yard fence limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | 0.9 m within 3.0 m of the front lot line and inside corner or driveway visibility triangles, 2.0 m elsewhere. Hedges in those areas count as fences | Hamilton Fence By-law 10-142 |
| Burlington | 1.2 m in a front yard within 3 m of the street line, 2.0 m elsewhere | City of Burlington fences |
| Oakville | 1.5 m in a front yard, with anything over 1 m in open lattice. 2 m in other yards | Oakville Fence By-law 2002-034 |
Checked September 2026. By-laws change, and heritage districts and corner lots can add rules, so confirm with your city before building. In Hamilton, the by-law treats a hedge or grouping of shrubs as a fence when it is used for privacy or enclosure inside a visibility triangle or within 3 m of a street line, so a tall hedge along the sidewalk can be a by-law problem too.
Things that are easy to forget
- The city boulevard. The strip between the sidewalk and the curb, and often a strip inside the sidewalk, is usually city road allowance. Check before you build, plant trees or install anything permanent there.
- Snow storage. Every metre of driveway you shovel ends up somewhere. Leave a spot for it that is lawn or tough perennials, not your best shrubs or a lighting fixture.
- Drainage. Beds and walkways next to the house should slope away from the foundation. Raising a bed against the wall with fresh soil is a common cause of wet basements. Our drainage problems guide shows what to look for.
- Utilities. Front yards hold the gas, water, hydro and cable lines. Book free locates through Ontario One Call before any digging.
- Trees. Street trees are city-owned, and many private trees are protected by tree by-laws. Digging a walkway through the root zone can need approval.
Where front yard quotes cut corners
- Thin walkway base. A front walk takes freeze-thaw and snow blowers. Ask for the depth of compacted gravel in writing.
- No edge restraint on pavers. Without it, the edges spread and the walk sinks within a few winters.
- Small plants spaced wide apart. Cheap to plant, weedy for years. Ask how full the beds will look after one season.
- Fabric under mulch. It stops the mulch feeding the soil and ends up poking through.
- Soil piled against the siding. Beds must stay below the siding and slope away from the house.
- Plants that do not suit the spot. Salt, full sun on a south-facing front and heavy clay kill the wrong plants in one season.
When to do it
Hardscape such as walkways and steps can be built from spring until the ground freezes, usually April to late November here. Fall is a good time to plant trees, shrubs and perennials, because roots grow in the cool soil without summer heat stress. Sod goes down best in spring and early fall. Booking a design over the winter gets you on the schedule for spring.
Frequently asked questions
How much does front yard landscaping cost in Ontario?
About $4,000 to $12,000 for a simple refresh of beds, edging and plants, $12,000 to $25,000 for a new walkway with new beds, and $25,000 to $50,000 for a full rebuild with steps, planting, lighting and lawn work, in 2026.
What is the cheapest way to landscape a front yard?
Clean bed edges, a proper layer of mulch, and plants repeated in groups of three or five. Shrinking the lawn into wider beds also saves money every year after on mowing and watering.
How do I make my front yard low maintenance?
Reduce the lawn, plant evergreen shrubs for structure, use drought-tolerant and native perennials in deep mulched beds or stone beds, and install a solid edge. Plant densely so there is little bare soil for weeds.
How high can a front yard fence be in Hamilton?
Under Hamilton Fence By-law 10-142, a fence cannot exceed 0.9 m within 3.0 m of the front lot line or inside a corner or driveway visibility triangle. Elsewhere on the lot the limit is 2.0 m.
How high can a front yard fence be in Oakville?
1.5 m in a front yard, and any part above 1 m must be open lattice, under Oakville's Fence By-law 2002-034. The limit in other yards is 2 m.
What plants survive road salt in Ontario?
Daylilies, switchgrass and other ornamental grasses, juniper, rugosa rose, sea thrift and catmint are among the tougher choices for the strip along the road and driveway. Keep boxwood and most cedars further back.
How wide should a front walkway be?
At least 1.2 m (4 ft) so two people can walk side by side, and 1.5 m (5 ft) feels generous. Many builder walkways are only about 90 cm (3 ft) wide.
When is the best time to redo a front yard?
Walkways and steps can be built from spring until the ground freezes. Fall is ideal for planting shrubs and perennials, and spring or early fall for sod. Designs booked in winter get the first spring slots.