Skip to content

Top Navigation

Better Homes & Gardens
  • Holidays
  • Gardening
  • Recipes and Cooking
  • Decorating
  • Home Improvement Ideas
  • Cleaning and Organizing
  • Shop
  • Rooms
  • News
  • Beauty & Style
  • Health & Family
  • Pets
  • Local Services

Profile Menu

My Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • BH&G Insider
  • BH&G Magazine Archive
Login
Subscribe
Pin

Explore Better Homes & Gardens

Better Homes & Gardens
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 7 of the Most Common Perennial Garden Mistakes to Avoid

      Are your plants not looking as lush and colorful as you hoped? Make sure you haven't made any of these missteps. Read More Next
    • 6 Small Steps You Can Take Today to Get Organized for Good

      A professional organizer offers advice on how to tidy up your home without feeling overwhelmed. Read More Next
    • 5 Anti-Inflammatory Ingredients to Add to Your Smoothie for a Healthy Boost

      Anti-inflammatory smoothies do exist! Instead of blending in boatloads of sugar and artificial ingredients, try these smoothies for inflammation that are stoked with ingredients that may help lower your risk for chronic diseases including cancer, heart disease, depression, and more. Read More Next
  • Holidays

    Holidays

    See All Holidays

    This Is Why We Send Paper Valentines on February 14

    The tradition began more than 1,500 years ago.
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • Hanukkah
    • New Year's
    • Halloween
    • Valentine's Day
    • Easter
    • Mother's Day
    • Father's Day
  • Gardening

    Gardening

    See All Gardening

    4 DIY Seed-Starting Pots You Can Make With Items You Already Have

    Upcycle old newspapers, junk mail, and other waste paper to make these easy, eco-friendly containers you can use to sprout new plants for your garden.
    • Flowers
    • Houseplants
    • Plant Encyclopedia
    • Garden Pests
    • Trees, Shrubs & Vines
    • Caring for Your Yard
    • Edible Gardening
    • Garden Design
    • Gardening By Region
    • Landscaping
  • Recipes and Cooking

    Recipes and Cooking

    See All Recipes and Cooking

    21 Essential Baking Tools Every Home Cook Needs (Plus 16 That Are Nice to Have)

    If you’re a beginner baker who’s just starting out (or a master chef looking to declutter), start with this list of baking tool must-haves. We’ll help you set up a baking kit for beginners with 21 essential tools. For those who already own these tools, this list may finally provide the motivation you need to toss that never-been-used soufflĆ© dish. Building your essential baking toolbox starts here!
    • How to Cook
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Desserts & Baking
    • Fish Recipes
    • Beef Recipes
    • Healthy Recipes
    • Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
    • Lunch
    • Dinner Recipes & Meal Ideas
    • Ethnic Food
  • Decorating

    Decorating

    See All Decorating

    Pantone Predicts the Bold, Happy Colors You'll See Everywhere in Spring 2021

    If these trendy hues are any indication, brighter days are coming. Here's how to use these stunning shades around your home.
    • Choosing Color
    • Expert Decorating Advice
    • Fireplace Design Ideas
    • Do It Yourself Magazine
    • Window Treatments
    • Styles & Decor
    • Interior Painting
    • Home Makeovers
    • Small-Space Decorating
    • Traditional Home
  • Home Improvement Ideas

    Home Improvement Ideas

    See All Home Improvement Ideas

    What Style Is Your House? The 10 Most Popular House Styles Explained

    With so many types of house styles, narrowing the list down to your favorite can be overwhelming. We'll show you the top 10 most popular house styles, including Cape Cod, country French, Colonial, Victorian, Tudor, Craftsman, cottage, Mediterranean, ranch, and contemporary. Here's how to tell the differences between each architectural style.
    • Home Exteriors
    • DIY Home Electrical Tips & Guides
    • Outdoor Structures
    • Home Remodeling
    • Plumbing Installations & Repairs
    • Remodeling Advice & Planning
    • Flooring
    • Lighting
    • Decks
    • Porches
  • Cleaning and Organizing

    Cleaning and Organizing

    See All Cleaning and Organizing

    A Whole-House Cleaning Schedule You'll Actually Stick To

    Cleaning your home doesn't have to be a daunting, time-consuming chore. The key to managing household duties quickly and efficiently is to design an easy-to-follow routine that includes all the most important tasks. Follow these step-by-step instructions for creating a customized whole-home cleaning schedule.
    • House Cleaning
    • Laundry & Linens
    • Cleaning Tips
    • Closet Organization
    • Organization Tips
    • Kitchen Storage Organization
  • Shop
  • Rooms

    Rooms

    See All Rooms

    Living Room Furniture Arrangement Ideas

    Get tips for arranging living room furniture in a way that creates a comfortable and welcoming environment and makes the most of your space.
    • Bedroom Decorating and Design Ideas
    • Bathroom Decorating and Design Ideas
    • Kitchen Decorating and Design Ideas
    • Living Room Decorating and Design
    • Dining Room
    • Home Office
    • Kid's Rooms
    • Baby Nursery
  • News
  • Beauty & Style

    Beauty & Style

    See All Beauty & Style

    Here's Exactly How to Find Your Perfect Nude Nail Color

    Truth be told, there's no such thing as a universal nude.
    • Anti-Aging
    • Hair
    • Skin Care
    • Makeup
    • Style
    • Nails
  • Health & Family

    Health & Family

    See All Health & Family

    7 Small But Impactful Ways to Fit Self-Care Into Your Day Right Now

    Staying atop of your wellbeing is a must, especially during uncertain, stressful times. These tips will help you make time for self-care for a mental health boost every day.
    • Family Activities
    • Reunions
    • Conditions
    • Parenting Skills
  • Pets

    Pets

    See All Pets

    50 Perfect Calico Cat Names for Your Beautiful Kitty

    Use your pet's unique coat as inspiration on what to call them.
    • Dogs and Puppies
    • Cats
    • Caring for Your Pet
  • Local Services

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
My Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • BH&G Insider
  • BH&G Magazine Archive
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. BHG.com
  2. Gardening
  3. Landscaping
  4. Landscape Basics
  5. 14 Easy Landscaping Ideas for Designing a Beautiful Garden

14 Easy Landscaping Ideas for Designing a Beautiful Garden

By BH&G Garden Editors
Updated April 28, 2020
Skip gallery slides
Save Pin FB
When you need some inspiration for how to use plants in your garden for maximum impact, try a few of these ideas. They'll help you to use basic design concepts to create a gorgeous landscape.
Start Slideshow

1 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Create Swaths of Color

Credit: Brian Gomsak

One of the easiest landscape ideas to implement is to grow big swaths of the same plant for bold interest. Here, for example, this planting bed offers a bold burst of chartreuse from a mass of golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'). It's contrasted (in color and texture) by a planting of blue fescue (Festuca 'Elijah Blue').

1 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Repeat Colors and Textures

Credit: Brian Gomsak

Planting one of everything gives your garden a hodgepodge look. Avoid that by reusing the same colors, shapes, or plant varieties all around your landscape. Here's a perfect example: To the left of the deck, golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea') echoes the color of golden sweet flag (Acorus gramineus 'Ogon'). The sweet flag amplifies the texture of the blue fescue (Festuca 'Elijah Blue'), which plays off the silvery-blue color of a potted false cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Baby Blue'). The shape of the false cypress, in turn, is a repeat of the Japanese maple next to the deck.

2 of 14

3 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Make Plants Do Double Duty

Credit: Laurie Black Photography

If your yard has limited space, it's important to make the most of it! One key landscape idea is to take advantage of plants that serve more than one purpose. This espaliered apple tree, for example, offers privacy from the neighbor on the other side of it, provides an attractive backdrop for the curve in a path, and in autumn, gives a harvest of delicious apples.

3 of 14

Advertisement

4 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Contrast Bold Colors

Credit: Laurie Black Photography

One of the easiest and most basic landscaping ideas: Create contrasts. Also, consider color; when you pair rich burgundy-purple with chartreuse, the gold hues seem to become brighter and the purple tones seem to become richer and darker. Together the colors are much more effective than when used alone.

4 of 14

5 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Add a Few Whimsical Plants

Credit: Brian Gomsak

As a gardening idea, enhance what plants do naturally. Espalier is a perfect example of this. Here, for example, a simple climbing rose goes from ordinary to extraordinary with some careful training and pruning. Don't worry: It's easier than it looks (it just takes some pruning once or twice a year) and makes a big impact.

5 of 14

6 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Mix Materials

Credit: Jon Jensen Photography

You can easily add a level of interest to your yard by incorporating a variety of plants and hardscape materials. Here, the natural feel of lawn and cut flagstones makes for an eye-catching contrast against smooth Mexican beach pebbles and gravel. The color of the flagstone mimics that of the beach pebbles and ties the two together; it's an example of using repetition.

6 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Play with Geometry

Credit: Ginny Weiler

Take advantage of lines, shapes, and angles when reviewing your gardening ideas and laying out your yard to add drama and impact. Here, a square patch of lush green groundcover stands out when lined with palm trees and edged in smooth beach pebbles. This is a simple landscaping idea for the front of the house⁠, too; just run a walkway between the trees up to the front door.

7 of 14

8 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Frame Your Garden with Hedges and Fences

Credit: Richard Felber

Add interest to your yard with structures. Use low fences or hedges, for example, to divide spaces, and give each space or room its own unique identity. Plus, the structures add interest all year long. In this playful example, curvaceous boxwood hedges draw the eye into the garden and look attractive every day of the year.

8 of 14

9 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Make the Most of Trees and Shrubs

Credit: Jon Jensen Photography

Trees and shrubs are some of the most important players in a well designed landscape. It's easy to use them to make an impact, especially if you select varieties that have colorful foliage. Go a step further with some creative pruning. Here, for example, sheared golden false cypress and columnar holly make for a delightful contrast against sheared purple barberry.

9 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Place Garden Beds In Your Lawn

Credit: Edmund Barr Photography

It's easy to plan all your beds and borders along the perimeter of your property, but adding an island bed that floats in your lawn is a simple landscaping idea for a good-looking yard. Make island beds extra effective by adding height to the center. Plus, you need to walk around the planting to see what's behind it, so it adds a bit of mystery.

10 of 14

11 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Freshen Up Planting Beds With Containers

Credit: Peter Krumhardt

If you have container gardens, chances are they're on your porch, entryway, deck, patio, or balcony. Too few gardeners consider mixing containers into their beds and borders. Large, colorful glazed or plastic containers add a bright splash, even without blooms. You can move them around to highlight different parts of your yard, plus it's easy to change out container gardens each season to liven up a tired look.

11 of 14

12 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Mix and Match Plant Textures

Credit: Jon Jensen Photography

Our eyes are attracted to color and many gardeners stop there. But it's easy to add another layer of interest to your garden by incorporating texture. This landscaping idea features tidy mounds of blue fescue, punctuated by an upright pyramid of Colorado blue spruce and dwarf black pine. A potted variegated yucca repeats the texture of the grass and adds in a new color.

12 of 14

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Break Up Monotony With Boldly Shaped Plants

Credit: Jon Jensen Photography

Embrace plant shapes, and use them in your landscape ideas. Tuck in a few tall, upright plants to draw the eye up and break up the monotony that comes along with using a lot of mounding shrubs and perennials. Design yards with weeping plants, too: They add excitement, visual energy, and a unique graceful shape to your yard.

13 of 14

14 of 14

Save Pin FB
Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Plant Shades of Green

Credit: David McDonald

Using a variety of shades of green helps add depth to your plantings. Bright chartreuse greens (as seen in these 'Frisia' honey locust trees) catch the eye and stand out in the landscape, especially compared to the darker, richer tones often found in evergreens. Blue-greens add a softness and almost always harmonize well with other shades of the color.

14 of 14

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By BH&G Garden Editors

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 14 Create Swaths of Color
2 of 14 Repeat Colors and Textures
3 of 14 Make Plants Do Double Duty
4 of 14 Contrast Bold Colors
5 of 14 Add a Few Whimsical Plants
6 of 14 Mix Materials
7 of 14 Play with Geometry
8 of 14 Frame Your Garden with Hedges and Fences
9 of 14 Make the Most of Trees and Shrubs
10 of 14 Place Garden Beds In Your Lawn
11 of 14 Freshen Up Planting Beds With Containers
12 of 14 Mix and Match Plant Textures
13 of 14 Break Up Monotony With Boldly Shaped Plants
14 of 14 Plant Shades of Green

Share options

Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Login

Shop | Better Homes & Gardens

  • Lawn Edgers
  • Exterior Paint
  • Flowers And Plants
  • Hanging Planters
  • Window Box Planters
  • Outdoor Plant Stands
  • Outdoor Lanterns
  • Landscape Lighting
  • Pathway Lights
  • Outdoor Pillows
  • Shop More Next

Better Homes & Gardens may receive compensation when you click through and purchase from links contained on this website.

  • Better Homes & Gardens BHG Logo Products at Walmart
  • Better Homes & Gardens BHG Real Estate Real Estate Services
Better Homes & Gardens

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Books from Better Homes & Gardens
  • Help
  • Media Kit
  • Content Licensing
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
BH&G is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.bhg.com

View image

14 Easy Landscaping Ideas for Designing a Beautiful Garden
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.