This garden was in almost complete shade all day and the soil was permanantly damp. This allowed us to create a small, shallow wildlife pond and surround it with moisture loving plants.

Contemporary Courtyard Didsbury Manchester

Outside Rooms Garden Design

Smart contemporary courtyard. K Rend walls and raised planters, Built-in Iroko hardwood seating. Infra-red outdoor heater. Evergreen planting including evergreen olive trees, box balls and ornamental grasses. Slatted timber screening for privacy

Alternating Textures on Fence Panels

User

This is part of a mid-century modern design in Atlanta. The turf is artificial, as is the green vine material in the fence panels. Designed and built by Botanica Atlanta.

Contemporary garden

Living Gardens Landscape Design

Contemporary succulent garden
This is an example of a small contemporary front yard partial sun driveway in Orange County with concrete pavers.

container gardens

City & Estate Gardener

Small traditional front yard full sun formal garden in Providence with a container garden and concrete pavers for summer.

Artificial Grass for Playground Installations

SYNLawn

Inviting Patio with fire feature

Magnolia Landscape and Design Co.

Inspiration for a small traditional backyard full sun formal garden for summer in Minneapolis with a fire feature and natural stone pavers.

Front Yards

Eden Condensed

A small side yard is planted with succulents and agaves, which are highlighted with decorative pebbles.
This is an example of a small mediterranean side yard partial sun xeriscape in Los Angeles.

Lincoln Park Herb Wall

Brent Riechers Landscape (BRL LANDesign)

Brent A. Riechers
This is an example of a small contemporary rooftop full sun garden in Chicago with a vegetable garden.

Small Backyard Landscape Design

Arizona Living Landscape and Design

Az Living Landscape
Photo of a small traditional backyard partial sun xeriscape in Phoenix with brick pavers.

A French Courtyard

Mariani Landscape

The front entry of the home with formal fenced gardens in multiple textures and varied greens. The plantings are all shade lovers, chosen to thrive in this space. There are evergreens and perennials that give the gardens structure throughout the year, and annuals added for seasonal color.

Landscaping Projects

Gove Landscape Construction

Small front lawn project with various flowers and plants.
This is an example of a small mediterranean front yard full sun formal garden in Sacramento with a garden path and mulch.

Tree House Timber Frame Tower

Carolina Timberworks

Watch a 3-1/2 minute video about this tree house at www.carolinatimberworks.com/videos Search for “problems with tree houses” and Google will serve up 37,100,000 results: it’s impossible not to harm the trees, trees grow over time, trees die, there aren’t the right trees where you’d really like to have a tree house… Our take on the tree house solves these problems. Carolina Timberworks’ two and a half story Tree House Timber Frame Tower is an engineered and architecturally designed kit that doesn’t rely on trees for support. This allows you to site your tree house on the best spot on your property instead of being limited to where the right trees are. No trees? No problem. Ever wanted to spend an afternoon hanging out in a fire tower gazing out over the forest and valleys? Got an amazing view if only you were 25’ higher? Brilliant, right?

Rocha Apartment, Barcelona

CaSA - Colombo and Serboli Architecture

Roberto Ruiz - www.robertoruiz.eu
Small scandinavian backyard garden in Barcelona with a vertical garden.

Tiny Gravel Garden

Fenton Roberts Garden Design

Jo Fenton
Small traditional backyard shaded formal garden in London with a garden path and natural stone pavers for spring.

Bonsai Pavilion

Altura Architects

Our client has a large collection of bonsai trees and wanted an exhibition space for the extensive collection and a workshop to tend to the growing plants. Together we came up with a plan for a beautiful garden with plenty of space and a water feature. The design also included a Japanese-influenced pavilion in the middle of the garden. The pavilion is comprised of three separate rooms. The first room is features a tokonoma, a small recessed space to display art. The second, and largest room, provides an open area for display. The room can be accessed by large glass folding doors and has plenty of natural light filtering through the skylights above. The third room is a workspace with tool storage. Photography by Todd Crawford

Brownfield Beauty

Aralia: Innovation in Landscape Design

Taking inspiration from his Industrial Design & Technology degree studies and a real passion for 19th and early 20th century industrial architecture on brownfield sites, Tristen brought Brownfield Beauty to life. Perceived as a centrepiece of a large external courtyard of a redeveloped industrial building converted into luxury apartments, Brownfield Beauty is a place for residents to meet, socialise and relax. In Tristen’s design the industrial and rustic – four large Venetian blind style screens, reclaimed brick seats and tumble down brick walls – contrast dramatically with a relaxed planting theme and mock ‘rill’ feature emitting relaxing running water sounds. The screens, along with large ornamental trees, provide a sense of safety and seclusion too for residents. A relaxed planting theme consists of grasses and ferns to create bold statements and structure throughout the year and the colour palette is mainly pastel and muted shades to harmonise with the tones of the garden’s industrial materials, with some dashes of colour to draw the eye with plants such as Digitalis, Echinacea and Kniphofia. As a communal area, a key feature is that planting is architectural and features structural evergreen plants ensuring areas of interest all year.

Ecclectic Craftsman Entry Garden

Plan-it Earth Design

A clean curved patio connects two front porches on this craftsman home located on a corner Collaborative design by Amy Whitworth, Lora Price and Annie Bamberger Installation by J. Walter Landscape & Irrigation Photo by Amy Whitworth

Lincoln Park English Garden

Brent Riechers Landscape (BRL LANDesign)

Inspiration for a small traditional front yard shaded formal garden in Chicago with brick pavers.

California Ranch Dreaming

Christiane Holmquist Landscape Design

Emma Almendarez
Photo of a small mediterranean front yard partial sun xeriscape for summer in San Diego with mulch.

Small 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.