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Noe DeWitt

These 85 Landscaping Ideas Will Instantly Boost Your Home's Curb Appeal

Here's how to make your outdoor living dreams a reality.

By and

Nothing says dreamy like a lush front yard or manicured backyard—especially one filled with beautiful landscaping ideas. In fact, with well-designed landscaping, you can transform any patch of green into a relaxing escape to entertain friends and family, lounge with a book, take a dip in a swimming pool, or tend to a garden.

Spending time in a beautiful outdoor space has never been more important for our overall well-being. Research suggests that spending at least 120 minutes per week in nature can enhance a person's overall sense of well-being (as measured by happiness and physical health), according to a study published in the journal Nature. And it seems we're finally getting the message as we're now making use of our front yards and backyards during all seasons, including the winter, a trend that will continue to grow in popularity, according to landscape design experts.

Not to mention, beautiful landscaping can help boost your home's curb appeal and value. Whether you're looking for creative plant ideas for edging walkways, how to landscape around a pool, inspiring outdoor fireplace ideas, beautiful pergola ideas, or simply the best plants for shade gardens, these 80+ beautiful landscape ideas are sure to inspire even those with the blackest of thumbs to get outside and start planting.

Wavy Beds

wavy beds of english lavender lavandula angustifolia hidcote and nana alba embrace a brick dipping pond at the heart of the gordon castle garden
ED BOLLOM

Arne Maynard, one of the leading landscape designers in the U.K., crafted more intimate spaces within the vast walled garden at Gordon Castle as a way to make the outdoor space feel less overwhelming. Wavy beds of English lavender varieties, lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote' and 'Nana Alba', guide visitors toward the charming brick dipping pond that lies at the garden’s heart.

Garden Lines

17th century palace in tendilla, spain design
Claire Takacs

Landscape designer Álvaro Sampedro drew upon the original garden lines of this 17th-century Spanish palace to rejuvenate its octagon-inspired layout. Among his new additions is a fountain pool that also serves as a tranquil sound feature.

Tiered Sections

upperville virginia property of alex and jill holtzman vogel
Noe DeWitt

Bunny Mellon is known for being the arbiter of good taste, so it's fitting that landscape designer Charles Stick and garden designer Bridget Wilson remained true to the original design of the gardens at her former private gallery in Virginia. The resident peacock can be seen strolling through the side gardens, which include three tiered sections cascading down to the renowned serpentine garden once tended by Mellon herself.

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Stately Grounds

home in concord, massachusetts design by dan gordon landscape architects white salvia, catmint, and allium bloom along a backyard walkway
CHRIS RUCINSKI

Landscape designer Dan Gordon reimagined the grounds around this classic Georgian Revival home to harmoniously accentuate its grand architecture. Along a backyard walkway, white salvia, catmint, and allium add a flourish of blooms.

Formal English Gardens

mia reay english country house terrace garden
Simon Upton

At wallpaper designer Mia Reay's ancestral English estate, yew hedges and topiaries lead the way through the blooming terrace garden and into the property's fruitful orchards and formal flower beds. Amidst the structured beauty, patches of Old English roses, lilies, and cosmos add a touch of wild charm.

Poolside Views

a house with a pool and trees around it
Manu Rodriguez

For the redesign of this Greek Revival estate, designer Caroline Rafferty was careful not to overshadow the beautiful plantings by landscape designer Martha Baker in the garden. Rafferty strategically arranged her client's collection of McKinnon and Harris furniture to enhance the outdoor space's natural beauty.

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Hydrangea En Masse

designer julia armory's home in southampton, new york
Nick Mele

Similar to the chintzes filling her Southampton cottage, Julia Amory specifically chose flowers with big personalities for the garden. Limelight hydrangeas beckon guests to a garden table elegantly set with a gingham tablecloth from Amory’s collection, complemented by antique majolica tableware.

Mexican Arboretum

country retreat in san miguel de allende, mexico
Charles Peed

Cris Briger of Casa Gusto thoughtfully designed the grounds of her Mexican retreat to invite guests to meander and relax amidst various shades of green. Apple, maple, oak, ash, and other fruit trees canopy pebble-lined paths in the ever-expanding arboretum.

Sunny Terrace

cotswolds home of oka cofounder sue jones charming spiral topiaries edge the sunny front terrace woven chairs\, oka
James Merrell

Morning coffee almost always takes place on the sunny front terrace at Oka cofounder Sue Jones’s Cotswolds cottage. Charming spiral topiaries edge the frame the laid-back seating area that overlooks the perfectly manicured lawn.

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Native Plantings

ireland\, ballyfin demesne\, 1820s neoclassical country house and grounds in the lower walled garden\, an herbaceous border flourishes with phantom hydrangeas\, purple flame phlox\, and nepeta\, encouraging pollinators and beneficial insects for natural pest control
James Fennell

For the garden restoration at Ballyfin Demesne, Dublin-based forester and arborist Joe Codd replaced every non-native conifer with a mix of indigenous Irish trees over a 10-year span. Meanwhile, landscape architect Jim Reynolds introduced 'Purple Flame' phlox and Nepeta to the lower walled garden, promoting a haven for pollinators and beneficial insects to aid natural pest control.

Parterre Party

18th century charleston, south carolina, home design by ben lenhardt in the parterre garden, kingsville boxwood borders with corner globes of japanese boxwood frame variegated asiatic jasmine knots and smaller spheres of oregano
Gross & Daley

It was hard to imagine there was no garden in place when Ben Lenhardt moved into this 18th-century Charleston home. As an avid gardener, he crafted a sequence of garden rooms that include a narrow brick-lined front courtyard and a central parterre thoughtfully aligned with the sight lines from the main house.

Staircase Ivy

capard house\, built in the 1790s a georgian country home in ireland designed by martyn lawrence bullard flowering borders and ivy climb a stone staircase behind the house
James McDonald

The bountiful plantings at Capard House in Ireland can be seen at every turn, thanks to landscape designer Valerie Deering's thoughtful layout. Flowering borders and climbing ivy grace the stone staircase behind the house, enhancing the property's natural elegance.

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Fragrant Plants

the walled garden at ireland glin castle owned by landscape designer catherine fitzgerald
Britt Willoughby Dyer

Landscape designer Catherine FitzGerald preserved the stunning grounds of her family’s Glin Castle, while integrating her own distinct style. FitzGerald filled the walled garden with an abundance of herbaceous plants and towering Echium pininana, framed by formal Irish yews.

Open Pastures

home in east sussex, england design by emma burrill a circular mowed path introduces a modern element
Claire Takacs

Fine arts photographer turned gardener and ceramicist Emma Burrill began taming the scruffy horse pasture at her East Sussex home by planting 550 native trees. Today, it's a biodiverse habitat for field animals, fruit trees, and North American grasses.

Balanced Beauty

italianate estate in goudhurst, england design by jo thompson landscape garden design the expansive front lawn offers stillness amid the riotous borders
Rachel Warne

For this English estate gardens, landscape designer Jo Thompson aimed to strike the perfect balance between formal and wild. The expansive front lawn offers stillness amid the riotous borders of purple berberis, ornamental grasses, Agastache, roses and Nepeta.

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Wild Feelings

grey gardens east hampton side gate
Pascal Chevallier

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.

Hollywood-esque Pool

grey gardens east hampton pool
Pascal Chevallier

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.

Italianate Inspiration

an olive tree shades the pool terrace furnished with a stone table and wrought iron chairs
Pieter Estersohn

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.

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Farm Retreats

richard ouellette and maxime vandal's historic farm in southeastern quebec the flower and vegetable garden’s 18 raised beds were designed around two old apple trees
ANDRÉ RIDER

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.

Billowy Borders

james doyle greenwich allée garden
ALLEGRA ANDERSON

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.

Lettermark
Steele Marcoux
Editor in Chief, VERANDA
Steele Marcoux is the Editor in Chief at VERANDA, covering design trends, architecture, and travel for the brand.
Headshot of Sarah DiMarco
Sarah DiMarco
Associate Editor

Sarah DiMarco (she/her) is the associate editor at VERANDA, covering all things design, architecture, art, gardens, jewelry, travel, wine and spirits. She also manages social media for the brand.

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italianate estate in goudhurst, england design by jo thompson landscape garden design a double herbaceous border with purple berberis, ornamental grasses, agastache, roses, nepeta, and other perennials defines the entry

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