Garden ideas
This collection of garden ideas will serve as a treasure trove of information, from design inspiration to planting tips that will leave you speechless.
The key to a successful garden design, whether you are planning a total overhaul or just want to add some new features, is a well-thought-out combination of planting, landscaping, and lifestyle components.
Creative Garden ideas: 26 beautiful ways to design your outdoor space
Always take your property’s and the neighbourhood’s architectural style into consideration before settling on a strategy for the garden renovation. Perfect your garden’s planting and landscaping by adhering to time-tested design principles; then, to make it truly your own, add a personal touch.
An award-winning garden designer, Kate Gould, believes that although “the same design principles can be applied to all types of gardens, no matter their shape or size,” in the end, every garden is unique due to the owner’s preferences, needs, and the plot’s specific location.
Here are some of our favourite ideas for making changes to your garden.
Add A Pergola For Privacy – 1
As an additional space-saving measure, consider building vertically to utilise the area above the garden. Leaving them unplanted allows their clean lines to function as a design element, adding an architectural element to your pergola ideas.
Adding a pergola to your yard can expand your gathering options by creating a covered patio area that can be enjoyed in all kinds of weather.
You can easily extend your outdoor time even when the weather turns chilly by incorporating an outdoor rug, garden fire pit, or heater.
Add Atmospheric Garden Lighting – 2
Ideas for gentle outdoor lighting make the garden more interesting at night and make it feel more like home. It adds something new to an outdoor area and lets you use the garden all year.
Uplighting plants gives them an architecture look that is very different from when they are in the day.
Choose uplights that are either set into the ground or on a spike that can be moved. These are great for lighting plants and can be moved to fit the mood. The light spreads up through the plants, making shadows that look like sculptures against a wall or fence.
Uplights work best with decorative grasses, bamboo, and palms because they all have interesting shapes that make shadows play.
With the right pool lighting ideas, this part of the garden can also become a nice place to hang out at night.
Add Bespoke Garden Furniture – 3
When planning your garden, don’t forget how important outdoor furniture is. Custom-made pieces can help you make the space exactly how you want it.
The Rosebank Landscaping team built this sculptured bench right there in the garden. Matt Keightley, Rosebank’s design director, says, “We chose iroko hardwood and steam-bent it on site to make sure it fit perfectly into the space.”
The straight lines above the bench go well with the curved shape of the seat, and the soft plants around the bench make the harder wood surfaces stand out. You can find a bench in the same style and colour at Asda.
“Under the bench, we used Asplenium scolopendrium and Dryopteris wallichiana,” Matt says.
You don’t have to take outdoor chairs off the shelf. If you have the time and money, local fabricators can help you make your unique idea come true.
Choose Integrated Seating – 4
Incorporate many seating spaces into your garden ideas to create interest, if space permits.
These would encompass options for eating and lounging, along with the occasional wild card, such placing Adirondack chairs in a remote spot for peaceful reading or shopping.
Think about getting bespoke seats made from materials that suit your decor, such as stone, brick, or wood. After that, you can accessorise with fashionable seat pads that match your design plan.
A garden bench with a lift-up design could be perfect for stowing away cushions when they’re not in use. Another option to consider when you need additional sitting are freestanding benches.
Create A Striking Focal Point – 5
An important part of the garden that can be seen from the house will connect the garden and the house.
This could be a garden pond, a water feature, a sculpture, a decorative planter, or architectural plants that are lighted up at night to make a background that you can enjoy from inside as well. It also makes the room feel bigger because the eye is pulled outside and beyond the walls.
A garden with this filigree metal water wall by David Harber looks beautiful and adds movement to it.
Create A Visual Link Between Indoors And Out – 6
Harmony between the home and garden can be achieved by including a single tiny feature, such a landscaping material.
This garden’s subtle hand-thrown clay pavers give it a natural, organic appearance that complements both modern and classic decor.
“The same stack bond format has been repeated on the garden path using the same clay pavers used on this house extension,” adds Tom Massey. As a result, the house and garden become visually connected. To fill in and soften the harsh landscaping, the staggered laying pattern generates planting spaces.
Using a colour palette that is similar to the house’s in the garden is another easy method to create a connection. Natural stone and corten steel planter boxes are a striking contrast.
Create Contrast With Light And Shade – 7
Harmony between the home and garden can be achieved by including a single tiny feature, such a landscaping material.
This garden’s subtle hand-thrown clay pavers give it a natural, organic appearance that complements both modern and classic decor.
“The same stack bond format has been repeated on the garden path using the same clay pavers used on this house extension,” adds Tom Massey. As a result, the house and garden become visually connected. To fill in and soften the harsh landscaping, the staggered laying pattern generates planting spaces.
Using a colour palette that is similar to the house’s in the garden is another easy method to create a connection. Natural stone and corten steel planter boxes are a striking contrast.
Create Seclusion In An Overlooked Garden – 8
If your area is quite close to other homes, you may want to think about ways to make it feel more private.
A great option to create a private area is to use some of the greatest trees for screening and privacy, or trees for tiny gardens, in big pots. If you’re looking for a privacy hedge or shrub, you have a lot of options.
You may learn a lot about what to plant in a sheltered space like this by perusing Mediterranean garden ideas, but you should still account for the potential size of your plants when making your plans.
Planting plants in these corten containers gives an overlooking patio a feeling of enclosure, according to Adolfo Harrison. Corten steel is a great choice for both classic and modern designs. It’s an excellent method of incorporating a contemporary material with an antique vibe. Also, when set against verdant foliage, the orange tone is breathtaking.
Another option to planting is using a garden parasol as a freestanding screening device if your space is overlooked from above. Our guide to the top patio umbrellas provides helpful options, whether you like traditional or cantilever styles.
Design A Small Garden Carefully – 9
Extra preparation is required for balcony and roof gardens, especially with regard to the space’s upkeep.
Rooftops in cities may appear cold and lonely at first glance, but with the help of professionals, they may transform into inviting gathering spots.
With the guidance of renowned landscape designer Adolfo Harrison, interior designers Maddux Creative took on the task of creating this rooftop garden. For added seclusion and to shield the custom seats from the weather, you can build a screen out of grass. An eye-catching centrepiece is a tabletop fire, and multi-functional covering conceals an unsightly, towering structure.
In this case, the decking offers a textured floor for walking on. Think about how wood-effect outdoor tiles allow you to achieve the same beautiful look without the hefty price tag and constant maintenance that genuine wood requires; after all, real wood is a popular choice for outdoor spaces, but it does require regular care and attention.
Because they are impervious to water and stains, porcelain tiles are ideal for use in outdoor spaces.
Fill A Garden With Texture -10
Filling the space with light and texture through thoughtful planting is a great way to make the most of a tiny garden while giving the impression of greater room. Picking the right plants is one way to transform an ordinary garden into an outdoor retreat.
Client Jane Brockbank requested “a lovely “green” picture to serve as a continual visual backdrop to the main family kitchen/dining room, which landscape designer Jane Brockbank dutifully delivered.
The rear room of the Victorian terrace was “quite a challenge,” as Jane remembers it.
To achieve her goal of creating an area “full of shimmery light and texture,” Jane underpinned all of the walls, dug out the garden to the new basement level, and planted in beds she had constructed at lower levels.
“It was a very constrained site – we needed to make it feel lighter and bigger than it was,” Jane explains. “The walls were carefully considered; their height was a factor, so we paired them with a variety of towering evergreen shrubs and climbers.”
Fix Your Lawn – 11
One of life’s pleasures is walking barefoot on a soft, green lawn, and for many people, it’s a must-have at home.
To make your yard look great, learn how to aerate it, fix holes in the grass, and plant grass seed.
The garden will look its best if you cut it often, but know how often you should do it. For most people, this means once a week in the summer. If you leave the grass a little longer, it might not dry out and turn brown as quickly.
Go For Bold Paving For A Statement Garden – 12
The “inside-outside” trend says that the garden should feel like an extension of the house. Modern patio ideas are a great way to add to this idea.
To make a small area work, you need to carefully think about and include all the parts that allow the house and garden to work together. For fun and relaxation, choose hard surfaces. Adding something unexpected to the design, like geometric tiles, will make your paved garden stand out.
Garden artist Kate Gould says, “Make sure your design is bold. This will make it last and look good for as much of the year as possible.” “If you get the plan right, the plants will stand out.”
Introduce Water For A Soothing Space – 13
When it comes to adding something relaxing to the garden, everyone wants a soothing water feature. They look best when they are paired with lots of plants.
“Water that has been dyed black is in this corten steel bowl. It’s a simple and cheap way to include water in your design,” says Tom Massey. It works best when it’s easy to understand. There is peace around the lush green bamboo plants because the black water is still and reflects everything.
This kind of reflection pool is simple to make and looks good if you like clean lines. Also, you don’t need a pump, power, or water, which is helpful if you’re trying to keep your gardening and landscaping costs low.
Limit Your Colour Palette – 14
Using materials for the walls and seats that go with the plants lets the plants take centre stage and ties the area together.
Kate Gould, a garden designer, says that a much more relaxing effect can be achieved by sticking to a colour range or choosing one finishing touch to stand out. Pick building elements that fit in with your home and the neighbourhood.
Keep this vision for your space in mind at all times and don’t stray from it, even if other choices seem appealing. Putting everything you own at the garden only makes things more difficult. Follow your plan, and the garden you end up with will be just the way you imagined it.
Lose The Lawn – 15
Think about getting a lawn for your garden. Most family gardens need a lawn so that kids can play, but if yours doesn’t have one, you might want to get rid of it and make your garden grass-free, especially if your garden is small or narrow.
Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg of Harris Bugg Studio, garden designers, persuaded their clients to get rid of the lawn in this garden and then planted beautiful plants that make the space feel much more special than cut grass ever could.
As Charlotte says, “As the garden opens up to the sun, the wildflower meadow-like planting is full of white foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea ‘Dalmatian White’), meadow cranesbill (Geranium ‘Brookside’), and valerian (Valeriana officinalis”).
Hugo says, “The brief was to make a nectar and food-rich haven for people and wildlife that reflects the client’s love of foraging and cooking.” There are a lot of different kinds of plant seeds at Burpee.
Outside, there is a small vegetable plot and lots of plants for pollinators. Wild strawberries and rosemary along the edges add texture and cover the ground. Sage, thyme, fennel, and lemon verbena are some of the herbs that grow where it’s sunny. Herb pots hold lemon balm and different kinds of mint, which can spread quickly. In the back, Zanthoxylum simulans, a Sichuan pepper that grows quickly, is planted.
An “evening terrace” is in a small clearing at the back of the garden. It is reached by steps made from York stone paving that was saved from the old garden and used to make a winding garden path.
Make A Wilder Area Look Intentional – 16
More and more people want to have a wilder area in their garden. This could be a patch of land set aside for pollinators, a flower bed filled with native plants or just a piece of land we leave to nature.
No matter what form it takes, this area might not always look clean and tidy all year. Giving up some control in some parts of the garden is part of the point of letting nature take over, and some of us might not like the idea even though we know it’s good for the plant.
Tama Matsuoka Wong, a professional forager and master gardener, told Buildify that the most important thing is to make it look like you did it on purpose. You can make the place look like it belongs in the garden by fencing it in, putting up a pretty sign, or making a border out of stones. Making it look like it was done on purpose turns something that might look like it was ignored into a patch that was meant to be there.
Mix And Match Materials – 17
As you work on your garden ideas, think about the different kinds of things you can use. It is possible to use a variety of textures and styles on garden walls.
This enclosed seating area is part of a garden that is split into three floors. The people who designed it paid close attention to every detail. The pots and plants around the outside of this walled space were made by horticulturists Cameron Gardens and interior designers Kitesgrove. The space has been painted a light colour to let more light in, and the horizontal fencing panels add another texture.
The plants make the border walls less harsh. Cameron picked a mix of flowering and evergreen plants, such as camellias, viburnum, pittosporum, and jasmine, which has tiny flowers and a lovely scent in the evening.
The outdoor rug with stripes continues the theme of straight and wavy lines and makes the wooden decks look lighter and softer. You can find outdoor runs with stripes like these at Asda.
Plant A Living Garden Wall – 18
Living wall ideas can completely change the look of an outdoor area, and because the systems are so flexible and easy to maintain, they can be used in a wide range of gardens.
This is one of two high walls that Tom Massey Studio and Tapestry Vertical Gardens designed with vertical plants for a client’s garden in London.
“These walls make it feel like nature is surrounding you.” “This makes the dining area more interesting and provides soft lighting for evening parties,” says Tom Massey.
Many vertical garden ideas can make the most of every growing area. One such idea is a living wall.
Plant Between Steps For Added Greenery – 19
When you’re thinking about how to landscape a garden, planting into hard landscaping is the best way to lessen its effect.
By putting plants between these steps, they have added a sense of natural beauty and made the garden look better the whole time.
This is how landscape designer Stefano Marinaz got the job done: “The steps are made of concrete blocks and then covered with stone.” To make room for Sarcococca hookeriana ‘Humilis,’ we left about 100 mm of space between the steps so that the soil could drain. This particular evergreen sarcococca was picked because it stays small.
Prioritize Relaxation – 20
You pretty much have your own place in the garden. It shouldn’t be a place to stress out. You might even be able to make it into your own spa.
You might want a hot tub built right in to relax, a full-on pool in the garden to swim in, or just a place to lay down your yoga mat and catch some rays. Relaxation should be a big part of any garden plan, no matter what you choose. It’s kind of cool these days to take a holiday in your own garden.
Pick deck ideas that are durable and don’t need much upkeep, like ceramic tiles that don’t slip and are easy to clean. This is useful when water is part of the design.
Resolve Functional Issues – 21
Not only can a garden redesign make it look better, but it’s also the perfect time to fix any practical or functional problems that have been bothering you and costing you money in the long run.
Fixing any problems with the natural slope of your garden should be your first priority.
Joshua Sear, an engineer and landscape designer at Barlow & Barlow, fixed a problem in a client’s garden that could have been very bad: flooding. The garden sloped back down to the house, which meant that when it rained, the house would flood.
To fix this, he thought about different ideas for a sloped lawn and ultimately chose to “dig down two feet overall and level the whole garden.” “This made the drainage work right, so the garden and house are now safe from flooding,” he says.
Style Your Space For An Individual Look – 22
You can make your garden look more like you by adding carefully chosen pieces that tie the whole look together.
If you’re adding pillows, throws or outdoor rugs, or bigger things like furniture, garden sculptures or garden art ideas, make sure that the last few things you add fit in with the theme of your garden’s design. You can also bring out foldable tables and chairs for outside when you’re having people over.
Rugs, throw pillows, and blankets in soft shades of dove grey look both modern and classic. You can also use grey as a neutral colour to go with your plants, and it goes well with gardening materials like stone and concrete. You could add style to your room with these dove grey throw pillows from Asda.
Surround A Garden Pool With Planting – 23
Stick to plants that are only one or two colours other than green for a low-maintenance pool landscaping choice that still looks good.
If you have a small garden, don’t put too many different kinds of plants there. Too many can look crowded and fussy.
Always use a mix of structure and seasonal plants. For example, this pool area has a stylish and easy-to-do mix of low evergreen hedges, grasses, and perennials.
Figuring out where to put structural plants is an important first step in any garden makeover or remake because they help define the space and give the garden its shape.
Use Evergreens For Drama – 24
You can still add drama to your outdoor space with plants, even if it’s small or shady.
Emily Erlam, a landscape artist, has used their architectural shapes to make her own garden look really green.
According to Emily, the garden has good structure all year because it has a lot of annual sculpture plants. You can quickly get the look you want with many evergreen plants that grow quickly.
“I made the scene more interesting by adding some ornamental grasses and perennials that grow between them.” “The plants’ shapes hug the walls, and some arch over the seating area to make it feel closed in,” she says.
Use Paint To Add Splashes Of Vibrant Colour -25
As this patio shows, even with limited space, you can create a wonderful outdoor living area. A charming seating arrangement is encircled by flora in this beautiful courtyard garden, creating an impression of seclusion.
The painted patio’s green steps are an ingenious way to add colour and life to the area without making it seem out of place. In addition, if you ever feel like giving your patio a little facelift, you can simply swap out the current colour for something else.
Zone Your Garden – 26
Imagine all the ways you could make use of your outdoor area. An outdoor kitchen and dining space is perfect for hosting parties and spontaneous cookouts, and you can even build a separate lounge for when you just want to relax in peace.
Another method to add interest to the garden is to add a hidden bench where you may sip your morning coffee or evening cocktail. In a perfect world, this would be unveiled as a hidden surprise that no one in the home would suspect. When it comes to this, covered patios are great.
Garden zoning, the method by which you partition off areas, is also important.
Garden screening options, like vines and plants that create a veil, are preferable to rigid, impenetrable walls when it comes to establishing clear zones. “This creates a more dynamic space without making it feel smaller,” remarks Adolfo Harrison, a garden designer.
The best outdoor areas let visitors in on their secrets and encourage exploration, says garden designer Tom Massey. A great way to entice guests and the eye is to zone and divide your lawn.
“Zoning and dividing creates a sense of intrigue in a long, narrow garden, giving different areas different atmospheres and characters,” Tom says.
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