Your garden is an extension of your home and in the summer can become an extra room (or two depending on the size). Planning improvements and landscaping to your garden (be it front, back or both) can be a great DIY project and can even improve the value of your home as well as your enjoyment of it.
There are certain elements you must always keep in mind if you are considering some landscaping ideas.
Namely; cost and whether you can do it yourself to a high enough standard, maintenance, practical features and how it will align with your lifestyle, planting, light and ensuring you have a good focal point.
Here are 16 landscaping ideas to help inspire you:
1. Water Features
Of course a water feature can come in all shapes and sizes, from the meandering stream to a fountain. You may need professional assistance either to design or install a water feature such as a stream with shingle banks and but some fountains and other displays you can just buy off the shelf.
2. Ponds
If you have the room, what about a pond? They’re another feature that can be large or small, raised or not and in a multitude of shapes and sizes. They make a great focal point, attract interesting wildlife and they create an opportunity for some interesting planting, both with water-based plants and for the surrounding area.
3. Pathways
If you haven’t got a pathway, or if yours is a little tired, what about a revamp? It doesn’t have to be in a straight line and think about planting borders around it, any pathway lighting and the material you’d like to use for your pathway such a stone or wood.
4. Terraced Area
Have you got a stylish terraced area or does it need an update? Think about when and how you might use a terrace i.e. if you are going to eat outside a lot does it need to be near the house for access to the kitchen or is it just going to be used as a sunny spot to sit in? How large do you want or need it to be and what materials would work well? And don’t forget to think about borders, lighting, edging and the angle of your area!
5. Decking
Decking remains popular and relatively easy to install and there is something about wood which seems to have a calming effect. It does require some maintenance but can look super stylish as a raised deck or even decking at different levels. Add the finishing touches with stylish pot plants and lighting.
6. A Rockery
Particularly for the smaller garden, rockeries make great use of space and provide a good focal point or backdrop. Think about the materials you’d like to incorporate to add texture to your garden and use a range of rocky, alpine plants for diversity.
7. Steps, Walls And Hard Landscaping
Landscaping your garden isn’t all about planting, and hard landscaping such as introducing steps or walls can be equally effective, particularly with careful planting incorporated in the design.
8. Pergolas, Arbours And Gazebos
The sky is the limit when it comes to the design and style of pergolas, gazebos and arbours. They add a fantastic focal point and a touch of romance as well as allowing you to plant climbers or add colour.
9. Create Different Zones
A garden may have many functions, so why not divide it into different zones. That might just mean dividing it into areas of different coloured planting or it might mean, turning a shady corner into a play and fun zone for the children, or a sunny corner into a Zen area for the grown-ups.
10. Topiary and Hedging
If you have different areas of your garden, such as a compost area, vegetable patch, seating area or in even in your front garden, clever hedging can really smarten things up and add a touch of style. You can go for clinical, fresh lines with box hedging or fun topiary.
11. Raised Beds
Raised flower beds allow you to use different materials as well as planting at different heights to create a really interesting effect. They are not just for the vegetable garden and can turn a mundane border into something really attractive that draws the eye. Great for if you have number of growing ideas!
12. Play Areas
If you have children or grandchildren, creating a play zone is a great idea. It might include a Wendy house, a sandpit, a tyre hung from a tree or you could include miniature gardens in containers, upturned pots turned into toadstools or anything else that will spark their imaginations.
13. Vegetable Gardens
A great landscaping idea for all the family to get involved with is designing and building a fruit and vegetable plot. Think about what will do well in your soil and how much sunshine the area will get.
14. Front Gardens
With so many people concreting over their front gardens and turning them into driveways, why not try and include some landscaping and planting to soften the feel and encourage wildlife. There are a number of things you can do with your front garden, including flowerbeds, container planting, hedging or climbing plants but think about having a little bit of nature as well as the concrete.
15. Flower Beds And Planting
DIY landscaping doesn’t have to include major design and can be achieved with clever and thoughtful planting. Again, think about focal points, when things will be in flower or leaf and different colours, heights and textures.
Enjoy planning and executing your landscaping ideas. The garden should be a wonderful place to relax and unwind in, and we hope some of our ideas will inspire you to get creative. Please share your progress with us via our social media sites, or alternatively leave a comment below! We love hearing about all your ideas and how you are getting on.
