Top 20 Ideas To Create The Perfect Outdoor Space

Trying to sell, Increase curb appeal — or just make something beautiful? Here are out top 20 Ideas To Create The Perfect Outdoor Space.

1. Plant for Color and Fragrance

A herbaceous and beautiful border of catmint or catnit, delphinium, red-hot poker, and roses cover this garden.

2. Pay Attention to Leaf Shapes

Rounded and sword-shaped foliage populate the garden adding interest to the front-yard border even when little is blooming. The iris leaves act like exclamation points.

3. Plant perennial flowers

Use a bed of blooms to separate the driveway pavement from the grass.

Coral honeysuckle is a perennial with a long bloom time, from mid-June through September. Its trumpet-shaped blossoms both beautify and perfume a space. It also grows fast, scaling a 10- to 15-foot trellis in a single season, and attracts hummingbirds as well.

Perennial plants surround a white wooden pergola in this plentiful backyard garden.

4. Have a Seat

Adding seating to your yard opens you up to a world of possibilities: You can dine alfresco, you’ve got a great new spot to crack open a new book, and so much more. Laying down gravel or pebbles is a good place to start; next, add a table and chairs.

5. Get a Rosier Outlook

Numerous varieties of roses create a fragrant and welcoming front yard. Add simple flower beds bursting with a variety of textures and colors add interest to a rustic barn-turned-guest house, while hanging flower pots anchor the porch.

Gussy up the entrance and welcome guests to an Orchard Park, home with a bit of punchy flower power and complementary elongated topiaries.

Hang pots look like they’re suspended in mid-air, but they’re actually secured with clay pot hooks — plastic supports that easily screw into a wall and let you quickly hook and unhook terracotta pots. Each hanger can bear up to 30 pounds, so they’re great for larger pots as well.

A rose arch running over a garden path or along a patio door frame will give any space an English countryside feel. 

6. Water Features or Fountain

You could design an entire house around the landscape! Architects can utilize an ancient aquifer to add truly remarkable water features.

A centerpiece installation like the tranquil birdbath fountain outside this chic she-shed creates peaceful sounds, attracts beautiful birds, and can help make a space feel calming and pleasant.

7. Plant Symmetrical Saplings

Once you get past the wonder that is this barn-top-floor-turned-functioning-farmhouse, gain inspiration from the matching exterior evergreens that frame the hayloft just right.

8. Plant an Herb Garden or Kitchen Garden

The lush garden of this Napa Valley country cottage features handy herbs like lavender, and rosemary, as well as beautiful irises, and lush fruit trees.

Not only are they beautiful, but they’ll keep you stocked up on plenty of incredibly fresh herbs and veggies!

9. Plant Climbing Vines or Moonflower

Climbing vines like this sweet autumn clematis add verticality to spaces, and help beautify otherwise dull spots, like the arches of garden gates.

Also called tropical white morning-glory, moonflower is a night-blooming species of morning glory. It features fragrant white flowers that open from sundown to sunup, midsummer to early autumn—you can literally watch them unfurl at dusk.

10.Add a Topiary or Two

Topiaries are a staple of New England landscaping. They’re especially fitting in the colorful garden of a quite-nice farmhouse.

11. Cover Up with Wisteria Vines

Instead of renovating the outside of a former sugar shack, the owners allowed fast-growing and beautiful wisteria vines to overrun it, even creeping through the windows.

12. Elevate Your Walkway

Instead of stairs up to a front porch, consider building an elevated stone walkway to the front of your home. Frame them with an abundance of bushes and flowers.

13. Add a Garden Arbor

Design such a stunning walkway for your garden. The vine-covered arbor overhead gives the outdoor space an ethereal feel.

Build a Cottage Garden nestled behind hedges framing a cute wooden door, a cottage garden can be a lush oasis of fragrant blooms climbing over a garden trellises and pretty pathways.

14. Install a Galvanized Water Trough

If your backyard already includes chickens (or ducks!) — or if you just want to keep your furry friends hydrated, consider adding a unique DIY rustic water feature, like an inground watering trough.

15. Make an Urban Escape – Winter Garden

Thanks to rustic rockers, a collection of terra-cotta pots, and climbing vines, you’d never guess at first glance that a seemingly pastoral townhouse garden terrace lies in the heart of a busy neighborhood.

16. Shed, gazebo or Pergola?

Got an old shed that’s a bit of an eyesore? Renovate — or tear it down, and build it into something you actually want — like this lean-to gathering spot!

17. Build a Sophisticated Treehouse

If you have a tree that takes over 50% of your backyard you need to utilize it. A treehouse isn’t just for kids, you know! Sure, they might spend the most time in it, but don’t discount the whimsy and fun that a treehouse will add to your backyard.

18. Gather Around the Fire

A fire pit is the easiest way to ensure that your backyard is the talk of the town this summer. Your neighbors won’t be able to get enough! If you do go this route though, don’t forget to stock your pantry with plenty of marshmallows and graham crackers.

19. Install a Simple Stone Path

We’re fans of stone paths for both pragmatic and aesthetic reasons. They’re beautiful, of course, but they’re also the easiest and most convenient way to get from place to place. No need to wander through your freshly cut grass anymore!

‘Tardiva’ and ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas, ‘Diana’ Rose of Sharon hibiscus, and Hosta plantaginea frame stone risers, creating the walkway behind the home.

You can also line a path with lavender. Lavender is practically indestructible, comes in beautiful hues, and is deer-resistant. 

Boxwood hedges—whether rounded, squared off, or snaked through other borders—can add charm to any country garden space.

20. Ground Cover

Ground cover plants are great for filling in spaces whenever you need them, preventing soil erosion. Here, creeping thyme blurs the lines between patio pavers.


This article is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended to be construed as financial, tax, legal, real estate, insurance, or investment advice. We encourage you to reach out to one of our experienced real estate professionals regarding your own situation.   

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