Contemporary garden in Melbourne.

While the Southern California drought is keeping homeowners water usage to a minimum, there are an abundance of plants that thrive on minimal water. A combination of drip irrigation systems and drought tolerant plants can keep your exterior spaces green and beautiful as well as water efficient. This image features our design a few months down the road. With the addition of a few spring flowers, this front yard is officially ready for the Spring and Summer season.

Bayside Zen Garden | Bayside, WI

LandCrafters, LLC

Behind the Tea House is a traditional Japanese raked garden. After much research we used bagged poultry grit in the raked garden. It had the perfect texture for raking. Gray granite cobbles and fashionettes were used for the border. A custom designed bamboo fence encloses the rear yard.

Historic Evanston Retreat

Greenwise Organic Lawn Care and Landscape Design

Bluestone paths traverse the property, unifying outdoor rooms and directing flow from one space to the next. Photo: Linda Oyama Bryan
Inspiration for a large traditional backyard partial sun formal garden in Chicago with natural stone pavers and with fireplace.

Mark's Backyard

Artistic Landscapes

This is an example of a traditional backyard garden in Atlanta with brick pavers.

Rancho San Diego Mediterranean Garden

Beaudry Garden Design

John Beaudry
Inspiration for a large mediterranean side yard partial sun xeriscape for summer in San Diego with a garden path and natural stone pavers.

Hoffman Residence

Scott Brinitzer Design Associates

Photographer: Roger Foley
Photo of a traditional front yard full sun formal garden in DC Metro.

Blackheath

Emma Whitten Garden Design & Implementation

Photo of a traditional garden in London.

Bluestone Naperville

KD Landscape

Turning into the backyard, a two-tiered pergola and social space make for a grand arrival. Scroll down to the first "before" photo for a peek at what it looked like when we first did our site inventory in the snow. Design by John Algozzini and Kevin Manning.

van Adelsberg / Grant Residence

Giulietti Schouten Weber Architects

Photos By; Nate Grant
Photo of a contemporary side yard garden in Portland with a wood fence.

Corner Lot - Southeast Bend, Oregon

Blooming Desert

This is an example of a traditional garden in Other.

Contemporary Landscape

Photo of a contemporary front yard garden in New York.

Casa Marana

Sundberg Kennedy Ly-Au Young Architects

The home is oriented around a natural alignment of several saguaro cacti that lead you through the site. A stand alone antique door in a modern steel frame marks to beginning of the entray sequence to the home which continues over a bridge that connects the garage with the main house and preserves a natural arroyo that runs through the property. Over the bridge is a small courtyard where abstracted ocotillos where cut into steel panels to create interesting shadows. Steven Meckler Photographer

Neubau Haus Dohnenstieg

Gnädinger Architekten

Inspiration for a contemporary garden in Berlin.

contemporary garden with child's play Radlett

FMN Gardens

Inspiration for a large contemporary backyard garden in London with natural stone pavers.

Private Residence Vik&Danna

Mirka Chodakova

This is an example of a modern front yard garden in Dallas.

Dry Creek Beds We Have Done

Jay Sifford Garden Design

The planting scheme softens all the stone work and fits the naturalistic theme of the garden. Photo by Jay Sifford.
Inspiration for a transitional garden in Charlotte.

PLANTING

Montgomery Robbins, Inc.

For more photos of this project see: O'SHEA
This is an example of a traditional side yard partial sun garden for spring in San Francisco with natural stone pavers and with path.

Custom Negative Edge Steel Hot Tub in Westlake

ADLA Studio

Articulated Design Landscape Architecture
Photo of a large modern backyard garden in Austin.

Fowler Project

Banyan Tree Landscape Construction LLC

Rock garden featuring Applegate river rocks bordered by Rogue river 3/4" round rock. Landscape steel edging separates between rock garden and bark mulch.

Black Garden Design Ideas

Get Inspired by Gardens on Houzz

A lot of the time when you get home from a long day at work, all you want to do is wind down. Where better to do this than in your very own garden at home? If you do it right, a great garden design can send you right into holiday mode. But where to start? There’s so many styles to choose from when it comes to garden design. Whether you want to create a tropical, modern, contemporary, beach style or country garden - or something else entirely - the large garden image gallery on Houzz has got you covered. Get inspired and collect your ideas to narrow down your desired garden style and features.

How to Create a Garden for Your Home

Depending on which style you’re going for, be sure to know what makes a garden and if it’s appropriate for your climate. You may want to consider adding a deck or other landscaping features, but the plants you choose will mostly dictate your style and what kind of ongoing maintenance is required. Don’t worry if your backyard isn’t very spacious - there are many plants that can thrive even in a small space and allow you to turn your space into a little paradise of your own, regardless of size.

Decide which plants to use

The greenery you choose is critical to your look. For example, if you’re trying to create a tropical garden palm trees and bamboo are your go-to options. Other popular options are golden cane palm trees and fern for ground cover. From there you can add some colour with bright flowers like frangipani, hibiscus or bromeliads. All these are actually quite hardy plants, so once established, your tropical garden is actually quite easy to maintain. Use this structure and apply it to your style. Research which plants you need to set your base for a garden and go from there.

Add some decor

If the plants don’t quite do it for you yet, or if you want to add some extra wow-factor, consider adding some extra features. Even if you can’t accommodate a swimming pool, hot tub or pond, you could look at smaller water features. Simple rocks can also have a great effect, while statues and gnomes will add some extra character. Don’t forget to add some furniture so you have a nice place to sit and enjoy your garden!

Need some help?

Once you know what you want your garden to look like, it may be hard to make it a reality on your own. If that is the case for you, consider consulting a professional to help you with your garden design. Every photo you find on Houzz will lead you to the local pro that did the job, so you won’t have a problem picking the perfect person to help! Whether you need a gardener in Brisbane, a landscape architect in Melbourne or a fireplace installer in Sydney, you can be sure to find one on Houzz.