Stone blocks are a great retaining wall material! They come in a variety or sizes, colors, and even stamped! Give us a call for your Colorado Springs retaining wall needs!

Contemporary Landscape

Photo of a mid-sized contemporary backyard partial sun formal garden for summer in San Francisco with a retaining wall and decking.

Long Beach Entry

dp environments

Floating wood and smooth stucco entry wall with stainless mounted address numbers. Decorative gravel in custom modular concrete pads. Contemporary wood bench. Dry stream bed with natural river rock boulders offsets the tight geometry of the entry. Xeriscape drought tolerant landscape plants with succulents, native grasses and shrubs. Plants include Kangaroo Paw, Agave Attenuata, Coleonema 'Sunset', Agave 'Blue Glow', Pennisetum 'Fireworks', Cercidium 'Desert Museum', Salvia Gregii, Escallonia Fradesii, Festuca Glauca, and several varieties of Echeveria. Photos by Dominic Masiello. Plants sourced from budgetplants.com.

Palo Alto Contemporary Retreat

Boxleaf Design, Inc.

Meg Messina Photography
Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary backyard shaded xeriscape in San Francisco with concrete pavers.

Court Yard

Pearson Landscape Services

This is a view of the stucco wall enclosing court yard with concrete stepping stones and black gravel
Design ideas for a mid-sized contemporary front yard partial sun outdoor sport court for spring in Austin with a retaining wall and concrete pavers.

LaurelRock Company: High Meadow Farm

LaurelRock

Neil Landino. Design Credit: Steven Stimson Associates
Design ideas for a mid-sized contemporary backyard partial sun garden in New York with natural stone pavers.

Josephine Remodel

WA Design Architects

wa design
This is an example of a mid-sized contemporary backyard partial sun formal garden for spring in San Francisco with a vegetable garden and gravel.

Repurposed wooden planter boxes.

BE Landscape Design

Beach boxes flank the walkway, creating an inviting entrance.
Mid-sized contemporary front yard partial sun garden in Los Angeles with a container garden and gravel.

Columbia Heights DC Full Row House Remodel

Four Brothers Design + Build

Greg Hadley
Photo of a mid-sized contemporary courtyard shaded garden in DC Metro with mulch.

Turramurra

Art in Green

Contemporary backyard with plenty of play space and entertaining area. Custom built cubby house for the kids matching the style of the house. Porphyry stone clad walls with bluestone capping and pavers. Frameless glass pool fence. Garden lighting. Photography © thepicturedesk.com.au

McClelland Avenue Bungalow Colorful Water Wise Yard

Laughlin Design Associates, Inc.

This lovely, lush front yard is a collection of drought tolerant perennials and ornamental grass. The small lawn is drought tolerant grass. Note the small 'Baby Blue Eyes' spruce tree in the back by the north west corner of the house, it replaced a full sized Blue Spruce threatening the house's foundation. Rick Laughlin, APLD

Ultimate Luxury

Fifth Season Landscape Design & Construction

Contemporary front entry with concrete fountain featuring unique back-lighting. - Chauncey Freeman
This is an example of a mid-sized contemporary front yard full sun garden in Other with a water feature and mulch.

Jade Woods Retreat

Quinn Craughwell Landscape Architects

Perched atop a wooded ridge sits a private retreat immersed in the beauty of a mature hardwood forest. The landscape interventions all seek to highlight the natural beauty and exist in harmony with the present ecosystem. At the main level, Tennessee sandstone slabs set in grassed joints form permeable walkways and patios that deconstruct the architecture's stone facade and extend the main entrance into the arrival court. At basement level, a stone retaining wall forms the backbone to two gathering areas; one with a curtain fountain and the other around a stone fire pit. Native plantings seamlessly tie the garden spaces together and provide year-round interest, both visually and in terms of wildlife habitat. Photography (c) Graham Landscape Architecture or used by permission.

Ocean Front Walk Marina del Rey

California Deck Builders

Mid-sized contemporary side yard partial sun xeriscape in Los Angeles with a container garden and concrete pavers for summer.

House in Angel

Studio 30 Architects

A comprehensive renovation and extension of a Grade 2 Listed Building within the Cross Street Conservation Area in Islington, London. The extension of this listed property involved sensitive negotiations with the planning authorities to secure a successful outcome. Once secured, this project involved extensive remodelling throughout and the construction of a part two storey extension to the rear to create dramatic living accommodation that spills out into the garden behind. The renovation and terracing of the garden adds to the spatial qualities of the internal and external living space. A master suite in the converted loft completed the works, releasing views across the surrounding London rooftops.

Austin Lakefront Residence

The Garden Design Studio

www.seeinseeout.com
Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary backyard full sun formal garden for summer in Austin with a garden path and decking.

3m x 2m Modern Garden Shed

Garden Affairs Ltd

Design ideas for a mid-sized contemporary garden in Wiltshire.

Geometric Garden

Painted Fern Garden Design

The awkward shape of this triangular plot, coupled with large overgrown shrubs, a large area of paving and a patch of weeds left the clients at a total loss as to what to do with the garden. The couple did a brilliant job of removing the majority of the planting, but as the hard landscaping started, initial excavations revealed there was a vast amount of rubble and debris buried in the ground that would have to be removed from site. Once completed, the design could then move forward. Geometric lines running at different angles were used to conceal the shape of the plot, distracting from the point of the triangle, whilst visually extending the length. A raised Florence beige porcelain patio was created between the house and garage for entertaining. The edge of the step was bull-nosed to soften any hard edges. The patio was sized to allow for a potential future conversion of the garage to a home office. A bespoke timber pergola was created as a restful seating area and was inward facing into the garden to block out overlooking windows. Five bespoke fibre glass planters were created in a RAL colour to match the pergola. These were to be used to grow fruit and veg. Being a walled garden, there was plenty of shelter to offer plants, but equally the garden would get quite hot in the summer. Plants were chosen that were beneficial to wildlife and sited in areas away from the main patio. A mixture of textures and colours of foliage were used to add additional interest throughout the year. The planting mix included Phlomis italica, Amsonia tabernaemontana, Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire' and Skimmia japonica 'Temptation' to span the seasons. Two feature trees used to add height were Prunus serrula and Prunus 'Amanogawa'.

Contemporary Spanish Entry

Conscious Environments Inc.

This gorgeous contemporary Spanish style entry is accented with Spanish tiles, white precast concrete, synthetic lawn, and pottery w/ succulents.
Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary front yard partial sun xeriscape for spring in Orange County with a garden path and concrete pavers.

Chiswick Garden

Tom Howard Garden Design and Landscaping

This is an example of a mid-sized contemporary backyard garden in London.

Mid-sized Contemporary Garden Design Ideas

Get Inspired by Contemporary 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 contemporary 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 Contemporary Garden for Your Home

Depending on which style you’re going for, be sure to know what makes a contemporary 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 contemporary 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 contemporary 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.