If you're planning a garden makeover, you'll be looking for backyard ideas. Whether looking at a complete redesign or want to improve and enhance your backyard with new features, the key to a successful design is a combined mix of planting, landscaping and lifestyle elements.
When deciding which backyard ideas to incorporate, start with the architecture of your property and the local area and take your lead from there.
Get the backyard landscaping ideas and planting right by following tried and tested garden design rules we've detailed below, then add your unique spin to give your space the standout factor.
Backyard Design Ideas
When choosing backyard ideas for your outdoor space, garden designer Kate Gould explains a number of factors to consider, including personal tastes, the location, and whether you're looking for backyard ideas on a budget or have a bit more to spend.
'While the same design principles can be applied to all types of garden, no matter their shape or size, ultimately each will be exclusive to its owner's tastes and requirements, as well as the plot's unique situation,' she says.
'Two small gardens, side by side, facing the same way will be markedly different because of their owners' wishes. This individuality makes garden design so much more interesting.'
Find inspiration from some of our favorite ideas for transforming your backyard.
1. Resolve Functional Issues
(Image credit: Kendall Wilkinson Design)
A garden redesign is a chance to enhance its aesthetic appeal and the ideal time to resolve any practical or functional issues – problems that can be stressful and expensive down the line.
The first consideration should be any backyard landscaping ideas that can resolve issues with the garden's natural topography.
Joshua Sear, architect and landscape designer at Barlow & Barlow, tackled a potentially serious flooding problem in a client's garden. 'The garden was sloping back down towards the house, which meant it was flooding the property in wet weather.'
To resolve this, he considered various sloped backyard ideas and decided to 'dig down two feet overall and level the whole garden. This created proper drainage so the garden and house are now floodproof,' he explains.
2. Fill A Backyard With Texture
(Image credit: Jane Brockbank Gardens)
When it comes to small backyard ideas, you can make a real impact and create more space by filling the area with light and texture through careful planting. If you're wondering how I add luxury to my backyard, then the cautious planting choice is one way.
Landscape designer Jane Brockbank had to fulfil her client's brief of creating a beautiful "green" picture that would be the constant visual backdrop to the main family kitchen/dining room.'
'It was quite a challenge,' recalls Jane about the space at the rear of a terraced Victorian house.
Jane aimed to make the space 'full of shimmery light and texture,' so she decided to dig out the whole garden to the new basement level, including underpinning all the walls and planting new beds at lower levels.
'It was a very constrained site – we needed to make it feel lighter and bigger than it was,' continues Jane. 'Much thought was given to the walls – they are very tall so we used many contrasting tall evergreen shrubs and evergreen climbers to counteract this.'
3. Create Contrast With Light And Shade
(Image credit: Emily Erlam Studio / Eva Nemeth)
Develop different planting between light and shaded areas for a garden of contrasts. Many plants and shrubs for shade can create a feeling quite distinct from sunnier areas of the garden.
Award-winning landscape designer Emily Erlam has created her small garden from a long narrow space behind her house. Its setting means it is naturally somewhat shady.
'A tall wall on the back elevation makes it feel very private and enclosed, and now I have some quite tall structures in there it creates an even greater contrast between light and shade. In many ways this has been its success,' says Emily.
There are different factors to consider in how to design a sloping garden. 'We created raised terraces as you go up the garden to maximize our opportunity to capture sun and, seen from the basement, these also give a feeling of a cascade of planting,' says Emily.
She embraces its shadiness, calling it a 'garden of evolution', and continues to develop the planting since it was reworked about eight years ago. 'I have found that specific areas require different treatments to make the most of things like sunny spots and special spaces,' she adds.
4. Add Bespoke Garden Furniture
(Image credit: Rosebank Landscaping / Ed Abney)
Be aware of the importance of outdoor furniture in your backyard ideas, and bespoke pieces can help achieve your vision for the space.
This sculptural bench was created entirely on-site in the garden by the Rosebank Landscaping team. 'We chose iroko hardwood and steam-bent it on-site to ensure it fitted perfectly into the space,' says Matt Keightley, design director of Rosebank.
The vertical lines above the bench complement the curves of the seat, and the surrounding exotic planting as a tropical garden idea adds a soft contrast to the more complex surfaces of the timber.
'We used Asplenium scolopendrium and Dryopteris wallichiana under the bench,' continues Matt.
Garden furniture doesn't have to be off the shelf. Local fabricators can help you achieve a unique vision if you have the time and budget.
5. Plant A Living Wall
(Image credit: Tom Massey Studios / Britt Willoughby Dyer)
Living wall ideas can transform an outdoor space, particularly when looking for backyard ideas for smaller gardens.
The range and sophistication of the systems' structures and maintenance make them suitable for many gardens.
Tom Massey Studio worked with Tapestry Vertical Gardens to design this one of two high walls covered in vertical greening for the client's garden in London.
'These walls create a sense of enveloping nature. Here this creates a focal point for the dining area and includes ambient lighting for evening entertaining,' says Tom Massey.
Living walls are among the many vertical garden ideas that can make the most of every growing surface.
6. Keep Planting Simple
(Image credit: Courtesy of Christian Douglas Design)
For a low-maintenance option that looks good, stick to a palette of planting with only one or two colors in addition to green.
Limit the number of different types of plants, especially if you're working with a small backyard, as too much can look crowded and fussy.
Always use a combination of structural and seasonal planting, such as a stylish and easy mix of low evergreen hedging, grasses and perennials, as seen in this pool area idea.
Structural plants form a garden's framework and help define the space, so deciding where to position them is an important first step during a makeover or redesign.
7. Mix And Match Materials
(Image credit: Kitesgrove / Mark Bolton)
Think about the materials you can include as part of your backyard ideas. Garden wall ideas can utilize a mix of textures and finishes.
Attention to detail paid off when designing this enclosed seating area, part of a London garden split over three levels. Interior designer Kitesgrove worked with horticulturalists Cameron Gardens, who created the pots and planters around the outside of this walled space, which has been painted in a light shade to draw more light into the space, with horizontal fencing panels adding another texture.
The planting softens the impact of the boundary walls. Cameron chose a mixture of flowering and evergreen plants, including viburnum, pittosporum and camellias, plus jasmine for its delicate flowers and evening fragrance.
The striped outdoor rug picks up on the theme of vertical and horizontal lines and lightens and softens the look of the wooden decking.
(Image credit: Barlow & Barlow / Jon Bond)
Reclaimed stone, taken from an old Georgian house, was chosen as the focal point of this courtyard garden idea. It creates a neutral background for pops of color that make this a welcoming space for entertaining.
Joshua Sear of Barlow & Barlow chose a mix of hard surfaces to finish the space, including Trusloe limestone for the main terrace paving, and a reclaimed stone trough, lintel and York stone cladding.
8. Plant Between Steps
(Image credit: Stefano Marinaz/ David Butler)
Planting into hard landscaping is the perfect way to soften its impact as part of your backyard ideas when considering how to landscape a backyard.
Simply by inserting planting between the steps here, a sense of natural beauty has been injected, and the garden as a whole has been enhanced.
Landscape designer Stefano Marinaz explains how he achieved this result: 'The steps are built using concrete block work and then clad with stone. To accommodate Sarcococca hookeriana 'Humilis', we made a gap between the steps of about 100mm to allow for the soil and drainage. This specific evergreen sarcococca was chosen because it stays compact.'
9. Use Evergreens For Drama
(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)
However small or shady your outdoor space, you can still use plants to introduce drama.
Landscape designer Emily Erlam has harnessed their architectural forms to create a real green impact in her garden.
'There is a high proportion of evergreen sculptural plants which means it has good structure all year round,' Emily explains. With many evergreen, fast-growing shrubs, you can quickly create the effect you are after.
'I have added some ornamental grasses and perennials, which grow between these to make change and add to the drama. The shapes of the plants hug the walls and some arch over the seating area to make it feel enclosed,' she adds.
10. Zone Your Backyard
Photography/Peter Schiazza
(Image credit: Adolfo Harrison)
Think about how you would like to use your outside space. Consider creating an outdoor kitchen and dining area for entertaining, impromptu barbecues, and a separate lounge area for quiet relaxation.
Adding a tucked-away bench where you can enjoy your morning coffee or a G&T at the end of the day can be another way to create more interest in the garden. Ideally, this should be revealed as a surprise that can't be seen from the house. Covered patio ideas work well in this respect.
How you divide up the space – known as garden zoning – matters, too.
'In terms of creating distinct zones, it's important to use garden screening ideas, climbers and plants that act as veils to divide spaces rather than solid walls that can't be seen through. This makes for a more dynamic space without making it feel smaller,' says garden designer Adolfo Harrison.
Garden designer Tom Massey adds: 'The most successful gardens reveal their details and invite discovery. Zoning and dividing gardens help draw the eye and the visitor into the space.
'In a long, narrow garden, zoning and dividing creates a sense of intrigue, giving different areas different atmospheres and characters,' Tom adds.
11. Go For Bold
Photography/Helen Fickling
(Image credit: Kate Gould)
Patio ideas are a great way to tap into the 'inside-outside' lifestyle trend, where the garden is an extension of the home.
A successful small space always requires careful consideration and inclusion of all the components that make the interaction between house and garden possible. Choose hard surfaces for entertaining and relaxing, and mix in a surprise design element, such as geometric tiles, for the wow factor.
'Ensuring that your design is bold will give it longevity and make it appealing for as much of the year as possible,' says Kate Gould. 'Get the bones of the scheme right and the planting will shine.'
12. Create A Visual Link Between Indoors And Out
Photography/Britt Willoughby Dyer
(Image credit: Tom Massey)
Take one small element, such as a landscaping material and use it to create synchronicity between house and garden.
This garden's understated hand-thrown clay pavers create a soft and natural look that works in both contemporary and traditional design schemes.
'The clay pavers used on this house extension have been repeated on the garden path in the same stack bond format,' says Tom Massey. 'This creates a visual link between house and garden. The staggered laying pattern creates pockets for planting to fill and soften the hard landscaping.'
Another simple way to create a link is to pick up a color from the house and repeat it in the garden.
Corten steel planter box ideas contrast with the natural stone.
13. Choose Integrated Seating
(Image credit: Little Greene)
Space permitting, it's good to incorporate several different seating areas into your backyard ideas to add interest.
This would include dining and relaxing choices and introducing the odd wild card, such as using Adirondack chairs in a secluded corner for quiet reading or browsing.
Consider adding customized seating in materials like stone, brick or wood designed to integrate into your space. Stylish seat pads can then be added that coordinate with your overall scheme.
Consider incorporating a lift-up design as a garden storage idea for cushions when not in use. Freestanding benches are a great choice as well when you need extra seating.
14. Add A Pergola For Privacy
(Image credit: Real Stone and Tile Co)
Think vertically to use the space above your back garden, too.
Pergola ideas will add an eye-catching architectural element, especially if you leave them unplanted so that the clean lines can work as a design feature.
Offering garden privacy and shelter, a pergola will add a new dimension to the possibilities for entertaining in your back garden, offering up a space that can be used whatever the weather – pergola shade ideas are particularly useful for sunny areas of the backyard.
When there's a chill in the air, add an outdoor rug, backyard fire pit, or heater to maximize the amount of time you spend outside.
15. Add Garden Lighting
(Image credit: Detail Lighting)
Discreet garden lighting ideas add drama to the evening garden and create a welcoming ambience. It brings another dimension to an outdoor space, making the garden usable all year round.
Plants take on architectural qualities when uplit, adding a dramatic quality that's very different from daytime.
Choose uplights that are either recessed into the ground or set on a moveable spike, as they are ideal for illuminating plants and can be shifted to suit the mood. The light diffuses through the plants to cast sculptural shadows against a wall or fence.
Uplights work best with ornamental grasses, bamboo and palms, which all have architectural forms to create shadow play.
Pool lighting ideas can also turn this backyard area into an atmospheric, entertaining space in the evening.
What Should I Put In My Backyard?
Keep things simple. Decide what you want your space to look like and stick to your vision. Trying to squeeze in too much will often leave the result feeling busy.
Hard landscaping materials are the bone structure of the garden, while planting softens and enhances the space. Aim for a streamlined combination of the two.
Focus on planting that offers year-round interest with a balance of color, fragrance, foliage, structure and winter stems. Always include some evergreens to green up the space permanently in your planting scheme.
Include several seating areas, one for lounging, one for dining and another to provide a space for quiet contemplation. Aim to follow the sun (or shade) around the garden.
How Do You Make A Small Backyard Fun?
Plan a 'journey' through the backyard, even if the space is small.
Create areas of the garden that are not seen in the initial view and can only be appreciated once you are immersed in the space. This helps build a sense of anticipation. It fools the eye and makes the garden seem larger than it is.
Distinctive features and focal points will encourage progression through to maximize the space.
Choose dramatic planting to shift the eye away from cramped dimensions and contrasting textures and materials to make a space feel larger. Look at the details too.
A stylish mirror panel will create impact and enhance the space by bouncing light around and creating interesting reflections.
How Do You Make A Backyard Feel Cozy?
Outdoor fireplace ideas immediately make a backyard cosy. Setting up a seating area around a firepit, log-burning brazier, or chiminea is a tried and tested formula to make a backyard feel cosy. Consider a retractable roof cover or explore pergola ideas for your patio to add to the sense of enclosure too.
Lighting is also key to creating an intimate space. Add drama and atmosphere with a selection of lighting for that all-important glow at dusk.
Add layers of lighting at different heights for best results, starting with low-level recessed-up lighters and battery-powered lanterns. Then add hurricane lights at table height, finishing with wall-hung styles and outdoor string lighting looped through branches or from a pergola.
How Do I Turn My Backyard Into An Oasis?
Boundaries are one of the first things you need to consider if you want to create a sense of privacy and turn your backyard into an oasis.
Slatted fencing panels let air in and feel less rigid than solid blocks.
Vertical living walls are another excellent way of masking a view while enhancing your green space.
A row of pleached trees will help block out neighbouring houses if your garden is overlooked and can be uplifted at night to shift the spotlight onto your own space.
A pergola also gives you privacy from above if you're overlooked.
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