Try these landscaping ideas to spruce up your yard for beauty any time of year.
These yard landscaping ideas are both attractive and functional, so let them stir your imagination.
Then use our best landscaping ideas to help you create stunningoutdoor living spacesyou’ll cherish.
Credit: Alison Miksch
Start by creating a slightly raised island of lawn in the center of the drive.
Blend a variety of colors, textures, and heights for a great look.
For major impact, we recommendChinese snowball, which we think is one of spring’s showiest shrubs.
A fresh coat of Benjamin Moore’s Simply White (OC-117) lightened up the exterior of the 1924 charmer.Credit:ALISON GOOTEE; Styling by Dakota Willimon
White flower clustersthat grow 6 to 8 inches acrossfestoon its branches in late spring.
It’s a thrill to behold.
The plant gets big; we’ve seen them grow from 12 to 20 feet tall and wide.
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson
Find a prominent spot where it will have room to grow.
Give it full to partial sun and fertile, well-drained soil.
Prune, if necessary, just after it finishes flowering in spring.
Credit:JAMES RANSOM; STYLING: Veronica Olson
And by the way, though it looks like a hydrangea, it’s actually a viburnum.
Garden Designer Jay Sifford had a specific plan in mind when creating his mountain escape.
Sifford painted the house black so it recedes from focus in the summer and gives the garden center stage.
Credit: Photo: Van Chaplin
When plants are dormant in winter, the structure shines.
My goal was to create an immersive space set apart from the world at large, he explains.
The choreographed, Technicolor experience is sensory and sensual, refreshing your mind and spirit.
Credit: Photo: Van Chaplin
Its a place to both find and lose yourself.
The key is layering the elements so you’ll always have something green or in bloom.
The front facade ofthis 1931 Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, cottagedoes just that.
Credit:Erin Adams
The homes’s landscape matches the relaxed and friendly interior.
Adding walls, terraces, raised beds, and stairs to tame the slope and create pocket gardens.
Plant low-maintenance shrubs and perennials at the street level, keeping them trimmed to maximize the view.
Credit:Laurey W. Glenn; Styling: Lindsey Ellis Beatty
Taller trees and shrubs can be planted closer to the house to draw the eye upward.
It’s not as hard a chore as you might imagine.
These pavers are lined with dwarf mondo grass, which is tough enough to withstand light foot traffic.
Credit:Ralph Anderson
It can handle sandy soil and rarely requires watering once established.
Provide protection from late afternoon sun and give it a haircut at the end of winter.
The evergreens also offer year-round coverage.
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson
Clematis is one of the showiest vines.
It offers blossoms of blue, purple, red, pink, or white.
We recommendgrowing this versatile vine on a fence, on a trellis, or in a container.
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson
It likes cool roots, so plant where the leaves get sun but roots are shaded.
Feed monthly in spring and summer with an organic fertilizer labeled for roses or tomatoes.
Local garden centers have lots of choices in spring.
Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Jenny O’Connor
Greet Guests With Flowers
Flowers always make a home seem more welcoming.
Adorn your entrance with assorted annuals and perennials to keep your home awash with color all year long.
Petunias, snapdragons, Lily-of-the-Nile, and ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ roses are great additions to your entry.
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson
Perhaps there’s something to that “white picket fence” idea after all.
Plant Bulbs For Year-Round Color
Not into pruning, watering, and fussing over plants?
Bulbs can provide much of the color you’re craving throughout the year.
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson
Snowdrops, winter aconite, and crocuses bloom in mid-to-late winter, followed by daffodils and tulips in spring.
Define A Seating Area
Designing an outdoor space doesn’t have to focus solely on the lawn.
Create an outdoor space where you might relax, enjoy a meal, or escape for an afternoon nap.
Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn
Even thesmallest yardshave room.
Tuck a table for two in a private corner, or add cushioned chairs around a fire pit.
Use Window Boxes To Reflect The Season
Looking for a simple, high-impact gardening project?
Credit: Alison Miksch
ensure to provide good soil and drainage, watering as needed.
Swap out and refresh your jewel-sized garden throughout the year.
Vary Shade-Loving Plants
Some gardeners assume their palette is limited in the shade.
Vary your plantings by choosing shrubs and perennials for shade with different textures, sizes, and shapes.
And double-check you plan for varying heights, which will greatly increase your canvas in the shade garden.
Because they grow into huge bulbs over time, these low-fuss lilies are practically indestructible.
Credit:Ralph Anderson
Fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers in a rainbow of colors appear in spring, summer, or fall.
We wish more plants were this low-maintenance.
Most do best in the Lower, Coastal, and Tropical South (USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 8-10).
Credit:Van Chaplin
Some, such asCrinum x powellii’Alba' and ‘Ellen Bosanquet,’ are hardy farther north.
Raised beds are a simple landscaping project that is easy to construct from timbers or kits.
The backyard transformation began with an installation of a 10- by 30-foot iron pergola.
Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez
Wisteria was planted to grow into a leafy canopy overhead.
A few lanterns hang from the pergola to cast a gentle light during garden parties.
The outdoor fireplace caps off the space and makes it inviting year-round.
Credit: Tria Giovan
It connects parts of your garden while defining the boundaries of those areas.
A designated path also keeps feet clean and grass or tender plants from getting trampled.
Use stone edging to keep any mulch or gravel on the path.
Credit: Ralph Lee Anderson
Add eye-catching layers to your yard with elevated planters and hanging baskets.
If you want to create an immersive escape, this is a foolproof way to get started.
As an added bonus, plants love the good drainage and aeration that raised planters provide.
Credit: Photo: Van Chaplin
We cultivate plants that love our hot summers, our mild winters, and that look great all year.
Consider the amount of upkeep that’s reasonable for you.
Limit the variety of plants you buy and choose low-maintenance ones.
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson
If keeping your lawn beautifully green is too much, put the mower away and embrace ground cover.
A sloped yard can be just as lovely covered in simpleground coveras higher maintenance raised beds or terraces.
Mondo grass gives the look of green grass without the upkeep.
Credit: Laurey W. Glenn
It stays green year-round and is deer-resistant.
Creeping phlox provides a burst of color in spring with purple, pink, or white flowers.
Possibilities are endless as the seasons change.
Credit: Robbie Caponetto; Produced by: Mark Thompson
Try topiaries orpotted hydrangeasfor a dramatic entry.
Design small hideaways where people can gather for drinks and try mixing formal with informal to stimulate visual tension.
Each turn of the pathway brings its own lovely garden vignette.
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson
You’ll create your own secret garden just moments from your front door.
Parterres are usually bordered by low-growingevergreen hedgeslaid out in a symmetrical pattern.
Boxwood, Japanese holly, and osmanthus are popular selections for hedges.
Trellises wall off the space while still allowing glimpses of the garden.
A roof shades the dining area and provides just enough protection from rain.
Potted plants, candles, and outdoor lighting will transform your outdoor room from beautiful to magical.
Credit: Helen Norman
Define Spaces With Edging
Even the most relaxed cottage-style garden can benefit from edging.
you’re able to use bricks, stones, wood, wattlethe options are endless.
This easy-care hedge requires shearing only once a year to maintain its shape.
Credit: Robbie Caponetto
Keep It Neat
For any landscaping you have, the key is to keep it neat.
A house can feel overtaken byovergrown plants, especially in a small yard.
Don’t let bushes grow taller than the windows.
Credit: Robbie Caponetto
Trim borders and vines to keep them tidy and under control.
Keep flowerbed sizes small and maintainable.
Creeping fig is hardy in Zones 8-11 and can take partial shade or full sun.
Credit: Alison Miksch
Water deeply when soil dries.
The carport was painted to match the home, then screened with breezy, romantic outdoor drapes.
Install A Water Garden
Water gardens soothe the senses with splashing sounds and reflections of the clouds.
Credit: Ryann Ford
They also draw nature like birds and butterflies.
To maintain your water garden, remove decomposing leaves and debris before they muck up the water.
This trio of metal garden containers displays ferns, shrimp plants, arrowhead vine, and ‘Aquamarine’ pilea.
Credit: Hector Sanchez
The middle planter features asparagus fern, ‘Neon’ pothos, and ‘Triostar’ stromanthe.
Add drainage holes at the bottom of each planter before hanging.
Additional holes in the front of the containers provide spaces for tucking in more plants.
Credit: Photo: Ryann Ford
Credit: Design by Mark Thompson; Photo: Robbie Caponetto; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller
