13 knockout garden designs

Check out this year's must-try garden design and landscaping trends.


Eco chic
Sustainability is fun in this backyard, which has a hot tub and rock-lined firepit tucked behind the grassy "meadow," but uses 95 percent locally sourced or salvaged materials. It says, 'Grab the marsh­mallows and meet me at the campfire.'
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Fireproofed & lawnless
Years after a firestorm ravaged their lot, the owners of this garden decided they wanted a yard to match their rebuilt modern home. So they opted for a patio of bluestone pavers, crushed rock, and low groundcovers, edged with a sinuous concrete seat wall-and contained fire burns in a custom firepit of Cor-ten steel.
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Front yard living
This family created space where none existed before, turning a sloped front yard into a modern play den. Concrete planters are placed along the sidewalk, with a firepit and raised patio inside. Phormiums and a gate add screening, while not totally blocking out the street.
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The wild look
This garden has created a new nostalgia, not for Tuscany or Provence or some other Mediterranean place, but for true California. The large native boulders-that form curved walls and are used as accents-blend the terrace with the landscape beyond. Planting native and Mediterranean grasses helps too.
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Geometric flair
This tiny backyard appears larger than its 1,000 square feet. Alternating bands of stone paving and pebbles give the ground rhythm and movement, while polished steel balls reflect light and clouds, adding the illusion of space. It's low maintenance but high style-a garden to live in but not take care of.
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The express-yourself yard
Let loose your creativity. That's the message in this garden where salvaged chalkboards, mounted to a galvanized steel wall, encourage impromptu scribbling (chalk is tucked into boxes mounted to the wall's back). Out front, plastic fish bob in a tall, fiberglass fountain. But the staircase is just as mesmerizing: Its risers colorfully glow the words of poet e.e. cummings beside a constellation of wall lights. Once you climb the stairs, you wind up in a child's secret garden.
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Mini rooms for hanging out
Every garden needs at least one spot where friends can linger, day or night. For this backyard, a poolside "room" is that spot. Crape myrtles and red phormiums, flanking the fireplace, define the room; the chimney creates a visual centerpiece for the area. At night, the fire's glow reflects on the surface of the water while guests can hang out on the low walls of ledger stone.
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