Whether you’re about to build a new deck or upgrading the space around your old one, choosing the right landscaping to surround your space is important. You want the whole area to be inviting and exciting. You want to be drawn to come out and enjoy all that beautiful outdoor space.

So, though you’ll want to include some unique lighting for your deck and surrounding spaces, you’ll also want to make sure the landscaping you create draws the eye and encourages entry.

Here are some of the most inviting spaces I’ve seen for this sort of space. Hopefully, they’ll inspire your own unique creation.

Add on a Gazebo and Sitting Area

Gazebo and deck

Image credits: ljlabarthe via Pixabay

One of the most charming add-on you can put into your outdoor living space is a gazebo. Amp that up with a comfortable seating area, and your backyard becomes a little slice of rustic paradise.

Planter Boxes and a Plant/Hedge Row

Deck with picnic table, umbrella and many plants

Image credits: StockSnap via Pixabay

Have a tighter space? Adding some planters on the deck and lining the area with a hedge or plant row can up your deck area and increase the loveliness like the patio setup pictured. Simple, reasonably inexpensive, and gorgeous. Plus, with the right plants, it adds some privacy fence feeling.

This design is great for both elevated decks and low-standing decks.

Rock and Plant Garden

Covered patio space looking out on planted rock garden

Image credits: andrea casti via Pixabay

Who wouldn’t want a gorgeous view from their wooden deck? A rock and plant garden like this one boosts the beauty, creates moderately easy landscaping to upkeep, and just makes the whole outdoor space look more sophisticated and lovely. Winning all around.

Xeriscaping

Xeriscaped area with patio pavers and squared arch doorway at end of path

Image credits: leonardwei via Pixabay

Looking for easier plants to care for? Consider xeriscaping with the easy succulents and cacti varieties - especially if you're in a location where there are native plants. Be sure to keep a rake handy for the occasional spill out of pebbles, but otherwise, it’s pretty much eater and goes.

Firepit and Specified Garden Spaces

Firepit with seating by path and distinct garden spaces

Image credits: Sandy Miller via Pixabay

A simple upgrade for that landscaping around the deck is the addition of a firepit. That look and feel can be boosted up even more by adding some defined spaces for your garden. Grow some easy plants, like carpet flowers or vines, a few trees, and you’re all set for a modestly easy-to-maintain landscaping setup.

Rugged Pergolas

Rustic pergolas made of reclaimed wood, covered in vines

Image credits: Candace Thoth via Pixabay

If you like a rustic charm, consider some rugged pergolas like these. You can build them from reclaimed wood, let vines grow freely, and nearly instantaneously have a wild, gorgeous garden space along the deck that the neighbors will envy.

Easy Landscaping with Adirondack Chairs and Potted Plants

Two Adirondack chairs in a garden

Image credits: silverstrike24 via Pixabay

Looking for a cozy corner for reading? Consider investing in a few quality Adirondack chairs and setting up a container garden near the deck. This concept allows you to have flexibility in space usage while adding a lot of charm and comfort in one small space.

Get Thematic

Unique planters and statuary around plants

Image credits: Dean Moriarty via Pixabay

If there’s a particular culture or theme you enjoy, some simple, intriguing landscaping options fall around this concept. Find some statuary that can withstand the elements, plant some appropriate flowers or greenery in containers, and use simple bricks, pavers or stone to build up a fanciful space.

Old World Garden Style

Garden path with flowers and trees lining the way

Image credits: James DeMers via Pixabay

If you love historic gardens, you can get the old world on your deck side. Consider planting flowers like you’d find in an English cottage garden or let wildflowers and trees run wild for a gorgeous, eclectic, down-to-earth look and feel.

Think Statuary

Close up of statue of woman holding basket outdoors

Image credits: Tania Savo via Pixabay

For a classic, elegant presence in your backyard space by the deck, consider rescuing some old statues from estate sales or purchasing new ones from nearby garden shops. You can find a host of options that fit your taste. Then, with a few simple installations, you’ll change the entire appearance of your landscaping.

Nearby Rustic Flower Patch Reading Nook

Two rustic chairs surrounded by potted plants

Image credits: Dean Moriarty via Pixabay

For the booklovers, this simple flower patch with reading chairs is the perfect backyard spot. It’s simple and easy to install and maintain, but it adds a lot of charm and warmth, inviting you, your family, and your visitors in for a relaxing break from the world.

Edge it All with Decorative Plants

Decorative plants edging lawn

Image credits: Andy Watkins via Unsplash

If you like clean lines and pristine lawns, consider lining the space around the deck with decorative plants that are well-contained within defined spaces. Edge the whole backyard with shrubs and flowers or trees and keep that lawn precisely trimmed. Always gorgeous.

Go Eclectic

Eclectic landscaping around patio

Image credits: Jan Canty via Unsplash

For the artsy, whimsical type, going full-blown eclectic could well be the landscaping option to consider. You can add elements of all sorts of themes and types, with plants from all over (as long as they fit your climate!), including trees, potted plants, herbs, fruit bushes – whatever you like. Then, add in those unique touches that make that complete with statuary, unique planters, fountains, distinctive-looking seating, or whatever else you love.

Simple or Complex, Your Style is Best

Ultimately, whatever style you choose will be the best one to accompany your unique deck design and space. You know your limitations with time, energy, and budgeting, as well as the amount of maintenance you’re going to want to uphold throughout the existence of your designed near-deck landscaping. The key is making sure you’ll be drawn out to your deck and the space you create by simply looking at that space. That’s when you know you’ve found the perfect design for you.