70 Clever Landscaping Ideas for a Beautiful Yard

For a property as iconic as Grey Gardens, the outdoor space needed to dazzle just as much as the interiors. Landscape architect Deborah Nevins completely overhauled the grounds, planting new gardens such as the English garden. "We wanted an English garden with an overgrown, wild feeling but not so wild that it felt like Grey Gardens from the movie," says homeowner Liz Lange.

Inspired by film producer Robert Evans’s home, the round pool brings a touch of Hollywood panache to Grey Gardens. Designer Mark D. Sikes outfitted the custom chaise lounges (Munder-Skiles) with classic cabana stripe fabric.

The garden at this Bel Air estate was almost nonexistent when designer Renvy Graves Pittman moved in. In keeping with the Italianate style of the house, the backyard is now filled with a romantic mix of narrow cypresses, olives, lemons, potted kumquats and mandarins, yellow David Austin roses, lavender, and boxwood.

Each weekend, design duo Richard Ouellette and Maxime Vandal escape to Humminghill Farm to enjoy the wonders of nature. They designed the flower and vegetable garden's 18 raised beds around two old apple trees.

It took James Doyle and Matthew Willinger of James Doyle Design Associates six years to create this romantic, six-acre expanse in New England. Billowy borders of Dropmore catmint define an upper allée garden that overlooks the pond.

Old English barns, Japanese teahouses, and rocky cliffs inspired this tranquil courtyard oasis by architect Gil Schafer and landscape architect Stephen Mohr. In a central garden, Horvath and Cortland
apple trees filter sunlight to a 50-foot antique granite trough.

Architect Andrew B. Cogar and garden designer Charlie Marder designed the backyard of this Bridgehampton, New York home to feel like a shady, all-day sanctuary. The asymmetrical pergola is
fashioned from 1920s and ’30s corrugated wire glass and cloaked in lush wisteria vine.

To add interest to the back of her English estate, Esther Cayzer-Colvin and her friend Frances Rasch of Heale House in Wiltshire created a series of “rooms” hedged by yew and beech. Along the rear of the home, climbing roses (‘The Generous Gardener’ and ‘Felicite Perpetue’ by David Austin) cloak aged brickwork.

Landscape architect Edmund Hollander of Hollander Design often creates landscape that engage all the senses to draw in people and wildlife, as illustrated at this blousy Hamptons garden. “Echinacea, lavender, and hyssop grow wonderfully in the misty salt air and are magnets for butterflies and pollinators,” says Hollander.

Texas limestone, a vine-covered pergola, and flowering shrubs give the entrance of this California manse by Giannetti Home an aged appearance, like an old European villa.

Frances Schultz knew as soon as she moved into her Santa Ynez Valley home that the grounds needed special attention. The now cathedral-like canopy of an olive orchard that was formerly “a water-thirsty croquet lawn. Now, it feels so peaceful, is always cool, and the dappled light through the trees is heavenly.”

Landscape designer Elaine Shaw relied on drought-tolerant and native plants to help settle this Napa Valley cottage into its gentle mountain landscape. A lush meadow of Spanish lavender, iceberg roses blooms, and native bent grass bloom outside the front porch.

Living in the heart of the West Village, it was pertinent to historian Emily Eerdmans that her gallery-in-residence had a verdant space for client meetings and relaxation. A faux-bois Currey & Company bench paired with slatted metal bistro chairs (Fermob) creates a quaint spot for lunch in the upper garden.

Loose and blousy meadows offset the formality of this French-style home overlooking Greenwich Harbor. The blend of fine fescue blend, Penstemon digitalis, and Oxeye daisy soften the slopes throughout the property while adding wildness to the grounds.

For an airy Bay-area cottage garden, landscape designer Erica Timbrell needed to devise a series of outdoor rooms that were welcoming to both children and adults. Wattle-enclosed beds protect strawberries, mint, and shishito peppers plants from any young guests hopping around the garden. Incrediball hydrangeas, Agastache, and Hidcote lavender border a poolside dining terrace.

Landscape designer Scott Shrader worked closely with interior designer Erin Martin to produce seamless transitions between this Santa Monica home and its olive orchard. Black terra-cotta doors open onto the inner courtyard where Forest Pansy trees frame a 13th-century well reclaimed as a firepit.

Designer Anna Hoffman mixed organic variations of green with fine materials inspired by Tuscany style to give this West Hollywood garden a transportive essence. Five century-old olive trees surround the pool area with a sense of history.

Fragrant beds of hibiscus, Baby Joe, sedum, and verbena create a verdant escape at this Bronxville, New York home by Carrier and Company. A poolside bed of lilac standards and Franklin’s Gem hedge act as a tidy border for the pool.

Talk about making an entrance: at this California wine country estate designed by Ken Fulk, Mexican fan palms flank the front entrance which is accessed by a native grass and shrub-lined path.

At this Lowcountry cottage designed by Beth Webb and architect Peter Block, a low boxwood hedge defines an outdoor dining terrace paved with gravel. Faux-bois table and chairs, Horchow