No matter what size backyard you have, you can apply an amazing array of landscaping designs and various garden features to your space to bring your vision to life. 

This long list of backyard ideas can help transform your yard and provide insight into the plans you may have. 

It also provides excellent examples to help you envision how to use certain features, such as gazebos, raised garden beds, water features, and certain types of vegetation.

Backyard Landscaping Ideas

You want to enjoy the space you have for relaxation, play, and entertainment. Your landscaping choices often reflect your personal tastes and styles. The following list provides a plethora of ideas to help you get started.

Classic Forms

Beige garden furniture on terrace

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Many people avoid classical statuary, but the addition of a few pieces are easily placed in larger spaces, add interest, and are an awesome conversation piece. These classic goddesses look as if they are having a conversation in the garden.

Shady Palms

Luxurious Backyard

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If you live where your climate can support them, consider adding tall palms to the corners and edges of your property. They do not only provide excellent dappled shady coverage, but they are also incredibly interesting in the growth habits and contrast they provide.

Cottage Garden

Romantic cottage garden

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It used to be that everyone had their fenced cottage garden for fruits and vegetables to feed their own families. Although this practice is not as commonly found, you can create your traditional look, complete with fragrant roses and woven bean towers.

Arid Landscaping

Blue house surrounded by xeriscape

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Although it may be hard to add the greenery you crave in more arid climates, you can create your shady spots to help keep things cool. Use landscaping techniques that do not require a lot of watering or maintenance, and choose plants that do not need a lot of water.

Colorful Palettes

Colorful Garden

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Never underestimate the variances in foliage color and texture and how they can be used to make bold landscaping statements. Evergreen options also can be shaped and trained into globes, upright additions, or low-growing ground covers for further depth. This yard highlights how this can look, and the addition of seasonal flowers makes it pop even more.

Colorful Plantings

Colorful Garden

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Well-placed evergreens, perennial shrubs, and annual flowers were used to create this vibrant planting that ebbs and flows with color. Don’t be afraid to move away from a set color palette, as blooms often flow well together no matter what.

Hobbit Hole

Hobbit Holes

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With the rise and continuation of popular fantasy storylines, there are many opportunities to take advantage of their detailed settings and landscape descriptions. This Hobbit Hole-inspired shed can be used as a playhouse, for storage, or even as a backyard office getaway!

Bring on the Butterflies

Garden Butterflies

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Are you looking to inspire some pollinators to hang around your yard? Planting flowers popular with butterflies is a great start, and if you have space, adding a safe space for them to hang around will ensure they complete their life cycle before migration.

Create an Oasis

relaxing in garden

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A place to sit and relax, entertain, and hang out is all you need to enjoy whatever space you have. Surrounding yourself with greenery and then sit back and take in your own private, outdoor retreat.

Moss Garden

Moss Garden

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No hassle garden, ideas are not too hard to come by. A few perennials and some good pace rock and moss provide a great way to add greenery without the maintenance and work to keep it look great.

Puppy Power

Fire Hydrant & Flowers

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If you have a pet and a small yard, you probably have wondered why to bother due to the waste of your animal. But did you know that you can influence them to only go in one spot? Your personal fire hydrant is made specifically for this purpose.

Lighting Choices

Garden Ambient Lighting

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Your lighting choices can make or break a small space. Overlight your yard, and it can highlight how small it is, but if you allow natural shadows to fall and pay particular attention to lighting up rather than down, you can create depth and deception.

Carpeted Lawns

Summer Lawn

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A large, carpeted lawn is the perfect place to allow your children to run and your guests to wander. Proper watering, fertilization, and a maintenance schedule can keep your grass growing and looking its best for lush, green perfection.

Pick and Choose

Farmer's garden, herb garden

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Some of the best gardens are not planned and grow according to the gardener’s needs and eclectic likes. Variances in garden sheds and borders, plants, and flowers, are all a part of a fun layout to enjoy.

Soft Lighting

garden

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Soft lighting options allow you to take advantage of your shadowing corners long into the night and provide a new perspective on your gardening designs. Candles, solar lights, spotlights, and small bulb lights are perfect for year-round enjoyment.

Forest Reclamation

Forest garden

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If you are lucky enough to have a large property or one that includes part of an encroaching forest, don't’ be afraid to make it your own. Begin with simple pathways that meander by natural features and flowering shrubs, and begin to add in your touches over time!

Ground Lighting

Solar Garden Light

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Light your garden border beds, water features, and trees from ground lighting options that illuminate your spaces in a gentle, soft manner for nighttime enjoyment, relaxation, and entertainment purposes.

Raised Box Beds

Fresh vegetables growing in a raised bed garden

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Placing a few raised garden beds around your property allows you to utilize your space and keep your plants from rambling around. It also provides a uniform landscape while fulfilling your garden veggie and flower needs.

Urban Area

Small garden

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Even inner-city yards can be transformed into a quiet backyard retreat. Providing a deck area allows you to take advantage of even more space, as does a small lawn.

Double Duty

double duty

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Why not double up the utilization of your furniture to include a planting area? Small yards cannot afford wasted space, and unique ideas are more than welcome. Planting benches can double as a place to grow your favorite vegetation and allow a place to rest.

Well Trimmed Trees

Trimmed trees

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Large trees in small spaces tend to dwarf the areas, but that doesn’t mean you can’t include your favorite towering plants in your landscape- you just need to keep them well-trimmed and dwarfed so they don’t become overwhelming.

Getting Creative

Old metal containers reuse as flower beds

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Are you looking to build your own garden areas from what you have on hand? Create raised beds from just about anything that can hold the proper amount of dirt for your plants to survive. This cute idea doubles as a fun sculpture of a boat.

Usable Focal Point

A fountain becomes a flower garden focal point

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Make use of those yard sale buys, and don’t make excuses as to why you can’t take it home. A small yard benefits from some focal points for both interest and a way to showcase your garden blooms.

A Place to Sit

Irish Garden Sitting Area

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No matter the size of your yard, don’t leave out a place for you to enjoy it all. Small sitting areas spread out in the space allow you to take in all your hard work and relax and rejuvenate after a long day.

Brick by Brick

Brick Wall Garden

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Never underestimate what existing landscaping might be able to do for your backyard vision. Even if you feel old patios or rock gardens ruin your dreams, take a step back and see how you might be able to reclaim them and make them all your own.

Border Additions

bamboo border and wood chips with green plants

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Adding a fence to an existing border, such as this, not only protects your plants but also allows an unexpected pop of color. Don’t limit yourself to just one type of border or another- instead, have fun with the space you have.

Treasure

Plants on Broken Washing Machine

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One man’s trash truly is another man’s treasure. If you love to go junking, go with an eye towards what might look awesome in your yard as a focal point. Even older, broken planters can be made to look like new.

Urban Reclaiming

Garden bench

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Even the concrete jungle can get an upgrade with a little effort. If you are surrounded by the scenes of the city, attempt to reclaim a small section to beautify and green up. Your neighborhood will thank you.

As Your Children Grow

As Your Children Grow

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Our kids outgrow their toys quickly, and you can donate them or recycle them if they aren’t up to par. You also can pick up whimsical toys at garage sales and second-hand shops for cheap- and most are durable and make the most unique planters.

Stackable Solutions

garden ceramic pots

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Ladders, a-frame shelving, or anything similar is the perfect solution for a stackable potted garden. The angle allows your plants to get sun and water in abundance and the room to grow tall and bloom.

Bottom’s Up!

Bed in a garden

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Recycle your old bottles into garden bed borders that verge on the ridiculous. But in all seriousness, what an amazing idea for a flower garden; I can see this being a focal point for a winery- or for a person who really likes wine!

Whatever Your Heart Desires

Heart Garden

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With the right materials, you can create whatever garden bed shapes your heart desires. Get creative in your plans to best use the space you have and provide exactly what you need.

Garden Lighting

garden lights with solar battery

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Solar lighting is awesome and allows you to put lights almost anywhere you desire. If you have a spot in your yard that is out of the way but perfect for garden lighting, you will have much to choose from to make it exactly how you want it.

Natural Privacy

Backyard Patio

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Careful choices of variances in vegetation height can provide a dramatic backdrop that looks like your yard is buried deep in forested woods. Many people use this effect for urban settings to allow for a natural privacy screen and muffle sounds from nearby neighbors.

Peaceful Palms

Hotel Lounges Palm Landscape

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If you live where growing large, upright deciduous trees can be a challenge due to climate issues, consider the addition of palm trees. With proper care, these trees allow for the shade you may desire and the addition of an ever-changing texture.

Mixology

Garden Plants

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The variances of vegetation highlighted in the garden showcase how you can mix and match heights, textures, and garden features to provide changing interests through the changing seasons.

Mix and Match

Small stream in the garden

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A patch of lawn here, a raised bed, there - and don’t forget a place to sit and enjoy! Just because you have a smaller space doesn’t mean you can’t have it all. Just be smart about how you utilize your area and keep organized.

Integrating the Unexpected

Hanging basket summer flowers

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Hanging baskets can be placed just about anywhere they have a sturdy surface to hang upon. Unfortunately, most people do not take advantage of the areas they can be hung to provide the unexpected pop of color, shape, and texture they provide.

Wallspace

Garden Wall

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Garden walls and fences should be taken advantage of. Many people forget that even a cinder block surface can be utilized to build off or tapped into as a place to extend a garden. It is especially helpful when you feel you are limited in planting surfaces.

Garden Carpeting

Hyacinth carpet in the spring garden

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Many people avoid using carpet-like plant growth because they feel they do not have the space required. Don’t leave these low-growing plants as they can integrate themselves well into large and small spaces. It also works quite nicely as a stand-alone.

Room to Grow

Rows of Vegetables

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Create rows of vegetables and flowers you plan on harvesting to provide room for them to grow, and room for you to weed, water, and care for until it is time to harvest. Rows also help you keep track of what is where without mixing up your veggies- which can be frustrating with young plants.

Simple Storage

Storage Shed with garage door

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Everyone needs a place to store their landscaping tools. Simple storage sheds provide room for accessible storage so your tools are easily on hand, and can double as a place to keep clutter under control rather than taking up space in a garage.

Dry Climates

Xeriscaped Front Yard with Dry Creek Bed

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Dry, arid climates often narrow your vegetative choices, but when care is taken with your choice of plants and also how you plant them- you can bring your garden visions to life. This garden highlights this miniaturized xeriscape that includes desert plantings and potted options.

Meandering Borders

Garden border

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Many people forget that they are in charge of their landscape design, and garden borders do not need to be all straight lines and angles. Create your meandering borders with well-placed rocks, perennial plantings, and even fencing options.

Well Executed

Vegetable garden beds

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These raised garden beds are well measured and placed to provide spacing and ease of use when working between them for planting, weedings, and harvesting. If you are looking to plant for production, this is an excellent way to do so for not only visual appeal but easy organization.

Reclaiming Ground

Garden Tools Sticking Out from the Ground

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Even if you have a cluttered backyard and are not sure where to begin, you can reclaim ground for the garden even if you know your vision is not complete. Don’t give up on ideas because you cannot landscape everything all at once. Sometimes all you need is to start with the patch of open ground you have!

Integrating Slope

Rocky garden

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An uneven landscape should be viewed as a fun challenge that can incorporate fine lines and rocky garden beds that move with the yard rather than cut into it. Embrace the shape your property is in to create unique looks for both gardens and lighting.

Rising Walls

Zen Garden

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An uneven terrain provides a lot for your imagination to run with. Rising stone walls that double as garden beds are a popular choice to help keep erosion at bay and to provide more surface area for vegetative plantings.

Hidden Corners

Gardener's corner

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Take advantage of those hidden corners and provide depth and visual deception with the use of tall focal features. These help hide unsightly corner meetings and allow for a backdrop for more colorful garden ideas- or even sitting areas as showcased here.

Tiered Hillsides

Tiered Rockery with Stone Walls

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If you happen to have steep hillsides, you can easily break this surface area up into raised tiers that provide flattened garden areas, help keep moisture runoff from eroding your yard, and also make space look larger than what it is. Rock walling and intermittent steps are showcased here to provide an example of how this might work for you!

Urban Garden Sheds

Pub in urban garden

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A garden shed is a perfect place to store all your gardening materials, lawnmowers, snowblowers, and children’s toys both out of the way and for seasonal protection. A simple wooden cabin design blends well into the surrounding neighborhood to keep your property secure.

A Place to Rest

old metal furniture in garden

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Give new life to old chairs as seasonal garden features, or simply provide a place to sit and enjoy a garden; these old wooden benches are the perfect addition to a more rustic landscape design. Take advantage of local thrift shops to find your very own aged effects.

Seemingly Natural

Garden Pond with Fountain

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There is no reason why you cannot provide a landscape design to wide-open areas and large natural features, such as a pond. Although natural vegetation is allowed to grow seemingly unchecked here, carefully placed variances of colors and textures are included in the overall effect to provide a visual to be proud of.

Careful Planning

flower bed

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Simple and yet so enticing, this carefully planned garden bed looks as if sprung from the ground untouched by man. Only a closer look reveals that much detail was taken with both tree pruning and careful placement of early spring blossoms.

Greenhouse Effect

Greenhouse Gardening

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This sprawling greenhouse spares no expense when it comes to creating larger-than-life gardens for visitors to enjoy. It is almost hard to imagine that this entire garden is contained in a large bubble in which temperatures are carefully controlled for year-round blooming enjoyment. Also, make sure you know how to properly use a greenhouse!

Spring Growth

Garden pond

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Carefully placed flora around natural features can be an amazing touch to provide an unexpected pop of color and texture. Spring bulbs, in particular, can bring highly sought-after greenery early in the season to get your growing season started.

Wrought Iron Metal

Iron fence

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Wrought iron was a popular fencing and garden addition back when sprawling estates were looking to provide boundaries from one plot of land to the next. These delicate metal lines are awesome for use in any landscape. They also serve as a wonderful addition for seating and gathering arrangements.

Rambling Gardens

Cottage garden

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Take advantage of large vertical backdrops to highlight your rambling cottage gardens. Climbing vines are obvious additions but bring in pops of color with climbing roses and other tall, texturized vegetation.

Tulip Boxes

Tulip Box

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The great thing about planting boxes is how easy they can be planted to showcase seasonal blooms and vegetation. Various bulbs that showcase the colors through the spring-summer and fall are the perfect supplement to your favorite perennials.

Watering Solutions

Close up of in-ground sprinkler system

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It can be hard to get water to all your garden beds when you have a large amount of land. Forgo inground sprinklers for easy place above-ground choices to help accommodate any garden changes you may want to make in the future.

Lacking Borders

Garden Border

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Many people feel that every garden bed requires a well-defined border made of rocks. Bricks or some other noticeable and permanent structure. A well-trimmed lawn or even a hedge can do the job quite nicely and save your budget from a more expensive option.

Along the Fenceline

Nasturtium on a garden fence

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Many people prefer to keep their grassy lawns open to the play of their children and pets but still love the idea of a garden. Garden borders and raised beds are easy to place even in the roomiest of yards along property borders and fence lines that serve as a great backdrop to use for vertical growth.

Vegetable Beds

Vegetable gardening

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Reclaim that unused corner of your yard and divide the area into small garden beds to encompass various favorite vegetables you can harvest all summer long. It is a simple task that needs very little effort other than the amendments of small areas of soil and the care of these small beds.

Small Backyard Garden Ideas

If you love gardening but feel restricted on your space and have held up on making plans because of it, these ideas are about to give you a reason why you need to get to work. Small yards, balconies, patios, and even apartment roofs can all be utilized for a green getaway, and the excuse of not having enough room needs to be put to rest.

Stackable

Plant Growing Vertically in Vertical Garden

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Another vertical arrangement- this towering pyramid of plants allows for you to plant your favorites without the worry of where they will spread out into. These types of designs are perfect for strawberries and herbs as well. Also, check our article to learn more about vertical gardening to find some awesome ideas!

Temporary Touches

Temporary Touches

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If you aren’t quite ready to commit to a plan or are unsure of where to begin, look to simple container gardening, All you really need are various containers, such as these barrels that have been cut in half, and a vision of which plants to put in.

City Living

Small garden

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Well-shaped plants and defined borders highlight one of many ways you can take advantage of the smaller, more defined boundaries of city-scaped backyards. Avoid clutter with variances in texture with simple blooms for year-round visual interest.

Upcycling Options

Planter

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Think twice before tossing your old pots, BBQs, and furniture. You can easily take these, or parts of them,  to use in your garden as upcycled flower planters, fountains, and other interesting features.

Upcycle

Bathtub Planter

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Just about any sort of container can be upcycled into your very own garden. Wire baskets, water containers, or old tanks make perfect places for your garden to grow and bloom!

Hanging Herbs

Plant herbs pots hanging on wall

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Do you want to add a little freshness to your culinary experience? Herbs grow wonderfully in small spaces, and recycling a hanging shoe organizer into a planter is a great way to help green, garden freshness all year long.

Claim Your Plot

Garden Fence with Roses

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Nothing helps keep your plot organized and undisturbed than a small fence. It not only looks aesthetically pleasing but is a great addition to a small yard to help unwanted pets and pests from disrupting the growing process.

Going Up

Vertical garden

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Container gardens are a great way to have a garden in very small spaces. They fit well on porches, decks, patios, and even apartment balconies. Consider going up rather than out to maximize your space even further.

Garden Borders

Garden Borders

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Don’t waste that unused space next to the garage or fence. Instead, create a few bordered beds and grow your plants upright or along a fence to provide a bountiful harvest!

Simple Summer

Planters

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If you have a certain lack of planting space but still want to create a garden to call your own- never underestimate the power of the planter. A few well-placed pots and a choice of vegetation brighten any area to make it picture-perfect.

Fence Space

Pots Hanging on Fence

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Often overlooked as possible decorative planting spots are fences and walls. Hanging pots and baskets are easy to attach and allow you to set up your space exactly how you want it. Whether you keep it simple or fill it up is up to you.

Between Buildings

Garden and modern building

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Urban gardening is all the rage, and if a plot of land lays unused between buildings, you have your chance to take advantage. You don't need much space to begin to beautify and add in pops of color, texture, and other interests.

Portable Plantings

Flower pots on the vertical wall

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Put all those old pots you’ve collected to good use. Even old bowls and dishes make great, decorative portable planting solutions. If all you have is a patio, this is an awesome way to incorporate a small garden.

Cool Shadows

narrow garden

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Narrow yards and the use of tall lattices can help create the structure you need to support draping vines and provide cool, green sunlight to help shade your garden areas.

Tiered Herb Garden

Tiered Retaining Wall

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Have an empty corner that you aren't sure what to do with? No matter what the foundation is, you can easily build a tiered garden planter to utilize as much space as possible and create room for your favorite plants and veggies.

Cheap Space

wood pallet wall planter

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Unwanted, used wooden pallets and the like are generally easy to find once you get looking. Piecing them together is equally as easy to make a backdrop and support for your tin can container garden. Old paint cans are perfect for a project like this and can generally be picked up for free!

The Artist in You

The Artist in You

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I think small spaces are the best because they often have the coolest ideas incorporated into them. Rather than thinking traditional, people begin to think outside the box- like with this artist’s pallet that grows all the colors you need to paint the rainbow.

Cold Frame Duty

Cold frames

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You can both protect your plants from climate weather and freezes, as well as showcase them with a simple cold frame. There are many different kinds you can use, but upright ones work best in small spaces.

Rocky Terrain

Garden Walkway

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Even the rockiest of terrains can be home to a wide variety of eclectic potted gardens and simple features. This rocky walkway is the perfect place to highlight larger vegetative growth and bright pops of color.

Spacial Advantage

Inca floating stairs

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Small yards with big features are most definitely a reality with these amazing floating stairs that save on space and provide an excellent feature. Don’t be afraid to bring your seemingly impossible visions to life just because you feel you are limited by the room you have.

Sideyard Advantage

Sideyard

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Take advantage of any sideyard you may have with small garden beds that are easy to access for planting, weeding, and harvesting purposes. You can also take advantage of vertical growth to save on even more room with the addition of well-placed trellises.

Small Spaces

Using a tree stump as a planter

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This small garden space takes advantage of left behind a tree stump and reclaims an area once overgrown by a large, unruly shrub. Cute, decorative additions and bright annuals bring new life to previously overlooked areas.

Narrow Spaces

Narrow path in tropical garden

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Urban living often dictates small yard spaces and close neighbors. Privacy fences and walls can provide the peace you need but can create an even smaller, more closed-off-looking area. Open up these paces with simple landscaping plans that provide openings and are not too cluttered with larger plants or features.

Small Space Solutions

Homemade planter

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If you need to add height to your landscape or are looking for ways to save on space in a small yard, pyramid planters are an awesome answer to your needs. These provide year-round interest and are available to use with a variety of annual plants, as well as herbs and small fruits such as strawberries that have shallow roots.

Garden Oasis

Small vegetable garden with risen beds

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If you have a narrow yard, you can still take advantage of a vegetable garden oasis. This bed has been tilled and readied for planting and provides plenty of space for an excellent harvest. As you can see, the yard leaves room for flowers and easy garden access without looking crowded.

Water Feature Ideas

Adding a water feature, even if it is a small one, brings more than interest to your overall backyard ambiance. It also draws helpful insects and songbirds to your gardens, useful for pollination and enjoyment. If you have a water feature already prominent in your landscape, even better! Tie it into your yard to make it flow seamlessly as part of the overall effect.

Walking on Water

Stepping-stones on pond

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Water features are made even more magnificent with unusual additions such as these stepping stones designed to provide the illusion of walking on water. Get inspired with unique garden pond ideas and make your pond the talk of the neighborhood with this unexpected pathway.

Need a Drink

Glass Jar Greenhouse

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Don’t discredit a water feature simply because you have a small space. Recycle all those wine bottles into a wall with a fun disappearing waterfall. It also will draw in birds and pollinators to provide even more color and interest.

Fish Pond

Koi Pond

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Having your fish is an experience that brings year-round enjoyment and visual stimulation. The larger your pond, the larger the type of fish you can grow! Take advantage of these features for additional planting experiences as well! If you don't want to spend too much money, learn how to build a backyard fish pond on your own!

Ancient Attribute

Backyard in Venice (Italy)

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Carefully carved walls, dwellings, and fountains are found in abundance through the ancient cities of old. Revive these architectural touches in your landscape and enjoy a touch of classic garden enjoyment.

Ponds for the Patio

Raised Timber Pond With Waterfall and Bench

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Patio ponds are awesome and include fountains, boxes, stones, or another structure that can hold water. These provide interest and draw in the birds and pollinators that are so cherished. Plus, the sound is soothing!

Picturesque Canals

a picturesque canal along old yellow houses

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Brighten up the travels of the canal with picturesque garden walls, greenery, and alluring pops of color. If you have a neglected property boundary, make it your next project to spruce up for the enjoyment of all who pass by.

Canal Cottage

Cottages Along the Canal

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When your lawn brushes up against a waterfront, you most likely want to leave a bit of open space to enjoy the view - but that doesn't mean you can’t have beautiful towering gardens. This home takes advantage of the side yard and the use of a narrow garden bed to provide a larger-than-life look for those cruising along the canal.

Garden Pathway Ideas

Allow your guests to enjoy your gardens with unique pathways that showcase your landscape design and vegetative plantings. Whether you create your DIY walk or take advantage of natural features to help influence your meanderings, it is sure to provide even further interest.

Rest Your Feet

Grey Concrete Bench

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It’s been mentioned to include a place to rest. Concrete benches are awesome to both sit on or provide a place to raise planters to provide added height to container gardens.

Behind Doors

Old Park Building with Garden Roof

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One man’s castoff is another’s treasure. Old building supplies are popular additions to use in a landscape to provide an unexpected feature and can be used to create your visionary masterpiece.

Brickwork

Brick Pathway

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The warm tones of brickwork and the simple, inconsistent lines are perfect backdrops for gardens and simple pathways for garden enjoyment. Take advantage of any brick you have, or add your own to make your greens look greener and your blooms look framed in natural hues.

Unique Pavers

Pavers

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When we think of concrete pavers, the traditional square shapes come to mind. But what if you could design your own in any shape you want? These circular options are swirled and lined to create cool visual effects.

Winding Walkways

Pathway Going to the House

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A well-placed garden path, bordered by greenery, is another way to make your yard look larger than what it is and provide great interest. It will leave your guests wondering where the path leads to next and help showcase your blooms.

Arched Walkway

Arched Walkway Entrance

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Many people feel that an arbor is for larger spaces as so not to dwarf what little room you have. But an arbor can be a focal point for a smaller space. For example, it frames a narrow walkway and is a great way to showcase what lies beyond.

Create Depth

Gardening - Fence

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Place taller greenery along your fences, with clusters of smaller plants and grasses to the front, and create an illusion of depth. Nobody will know that your property ends rather than continues into other unexplored garden lands.

Watering Hole

Garden Sitting Room

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If nothing else, a great place to sit and enjoy the company of your friends and family should be included in your yard. Potted plants or even more permanent choices can be placed where you find you can enjoy them the most and provide privacy.

Textured Contrast

Textured Contrast

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A manicured lawn and pebbled bed are only separated by the pathway- reminiscent of a meandering stream. Your use of textures and colors can provide an effect that not only makes the yard look larger but also creates a sense of wonderment and imagination.

All in the Details

Garden sculpture

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Small spaces benefit from a pop of color here and there that is from more than just the plants you have included in your landscaping. Stepping stones, small sculptures, and other interesting features can be added sparingly, depending on your interests.

Hidden Walkways

Hidden walkway

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Create hidden walkways that appear from amongst your plants that look as if they might disappear at any moment. Mix and match your perennials and annuals to provide dramatic differences between texture and colors.

Pathways

Garden pathway

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Enjoy your garden by walking within it. This main walkway is a beautiful plank design, but small pathways jut off to provide a closer look and immersion within your planting choices.

Creating a Vision

Pathway

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This colorful pathway incorporates an incredibly unique vision that uses planters as faux trees to line the border of the walk. Vibrant spills of annual color bring a new life to the area for all who wander along to enjoy.

Welcome to the Jungle

Jungle garden

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Bring a taste of the wild to your landscape with draping vines and sprawling ground covers that provide shadowy shapes and pops of delicate color. This pathway is lined with a wide variety of textures to showcase the variances of greenery in both deciduous and evergreen forms for year-round interest.

Miniature Labyrinth

Labyrinth Garden With Tree

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Create your own miniature labyrinth with well-manicured and carefully trimmed vegetation. Boxwood, in particular, is an excellent evergreen option that allows for all-season enjoyment. These also serve as excellent choices for small garden bed borders.

Peaceful Paths

Path in the Garden

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Many people think a pathway needs to lead somewhere specific, but don’t be afraid to let it trickle out for your wanderers to contemplate their destination. This lovely flagstone walkway ends at the edge of a garden for your enjoyment.

Decking and Patio Decor

What better way to unwind after a long day than on your deck overseeing all your hard work or cool patio with a refreshing drink and friendly conversation? Decks and patios can be easily added to landscaping or used as part of the overall ambiance. Take advantage of these ideas to create your backyard getaway.

Organized Relaxation

Patio Furniture on wet Patio

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This carefully planned and organized backyard combines both rustic gardens and modern pavements and geometric design for a place to escape and relax within. Don’t hesitate to use opposing styles for added interest.

Outdoor Furniture Options

Comfortable Terrace Furniture

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If you do not have a lot of color variation in your yard, but feel it needs a splash of brightness, consider what outdoor furniture you choose, as it can be the option you need when you don't have time for additional plantings.

Fun for the Kids

Secret Garden

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If you have kids, utilize even small spaces with something they will enjoy. A built-in tic-tac-toe board, made from slate and painted rocks, is a great way to keep them busy. Plus, it’s adorable!

Shady Gazebos

A fancy gazebo

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Gazebos are another feature many people with small yards avoid, but they make an awesome way to protect from the elements and can be surrounded by your gardens for year-round enjoyment.

Social Gathering

Pretty decorated garden

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Always include a place to relax and socialize in your landscaping plans. It is not only a great way to enjoy all your hard work and varying seasonal garden changes but also a way to always have a place to entertain.

Keeping Warm

Outdoor fireplace in an idyllic garden

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Outdoor fireplaces have become a popular addition to backyard landscapes to become a place to gather and socialize. These structures are easily used all year round and can also work with temporary gazebos and other structures if needed.

Looking Up

Looking Up

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Think outside the box when it comes to utilizing your space. Create a place to sit, protected from the sun, all while allowing your plants to grow and bloom. This innovative approach provides multiple solutions to potted gardens and a place to enjoy them.

Fire Pit Perfection

fire pit in a garden

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You may be mourning the space you want for a fire pit, but this truly isn’t something to cry about. Many portable fire pits exist in sizes to fit your needs. All you need is wood and friends (and maybe a marshmallow or two) to gather and enjoy.

Quiet Corner

Gardener's corner

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Make a quiet corner into a quiet escape with some simple garden furniture. Use the features of your yard and add whatever decorative options you may have to make your space personal and relaxing.

Natural Patios

House Patio

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Patios don't need to be made from generic concrete slabs. Rather, take advantage of more natural rock formations that can be settled in your yard to resemble a surface that looks as if it was dug from the surrounding landscape.

Overlooking Views

Ocean View from Patio

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Take advantage of any overlooking views you may have, whether it includes sweeping vistas or open plains. Decking and patios are very easy to build into hillsides and create dramatic effects for year-round enjoyment.

Using Vertical Space

Climbing Vines

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Decking is the perfect place to showcase your planters and bring to life areas that are not usually covered in vegetation. Climbing vines are also the perfect way to create a backdrop along tall walls and green up otherwise barren areas. Just be sure to trim and keep under control your vines, so they don’t get too crazy.

Decking Details

Container Garden

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Don’t leave your decks open and empty. Instead, add variously sized planters and use a mix of textures and colors to bring to life an otherwise boring area. Container gardening is an excellent way to bring vegetation into spaces that may otherwise seem barren.

Mediterranean Inspired

Mediterranean Patio

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Even if you don’t live in a climate supportive of more delicate perennials, you can opt to grow them as annual plants- or even grow them in pots that can easily be brought indoors once the weather begins to cool.

Stone Stairways

Stoned Stairway

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Although the use of stone is popular in country gardens, they can begin to look a bit monotonous without added texture and color. Well-placed pots and the use of various greeneries and seasonal blooms can add a lot of interest quite quickly.

Shady Patios

Covered Patio

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The incorporation of a shady patio allows you to enjoy your backyard through all seasonal changes, protecting you from rain and snow, as well as direct sunlight. Green up these areas with the addition of small flower beds and fragrant potted plants such as lavender and rosemary to keep biting insects away.

Dining Area

Patio dining area

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Convert your patio into a fancy dining area. With this project, the sky is the limit. The center of this idea is a table and chairs, but do not limit only to those. Use other kitchen furniture, such as cupboards, sink, fridge, and more. Add some nice lights to set up the mood and enjoy yourself!

Conclusion

This amazingly large array of backyard ideas should most definitely have you thinking about how to apply gardening techniques, colors, furniture, and other features to your landscape. No matter what size yard you have, you can create your vision for backyard enjoyment.

Let us know what ideas were your favorite and show us how it looks in your own backyard! As always, please share!