Dramatic plant textures, modern hardscaping and sharp angles enhanced this mid-century modern bungalow. Soft plants were chosen to contrast with the sharp angles of the pathways and hard edges of the MCM home, while providing all-season interest. Horizontal privacy screens wrap the front porch and create intimate garden spaces – some visible only from the street and some visible only from inside the home. The front yard is relatively small in size, but full of colorful texture.

Nathan Kirkman
Mid-sized transitional backyard deck photo in Chicago with a fire pit and no cover

Frasier Meadows is home to a very active retirement community in Boulder, Colorado. The front yard area comes alive in late spring and early summer with a carpet of aromatic wooly thyme in full bloom.

Arriving at the other side of the bridge reveals another hidden gem, an approximately 17,000 sq. ft. pond. Although man made, it is thoughtfully designed and well integrated into the site as if it were part of the original landscape. Since its installation, it has become an inviting home to various species of wildlife - herons, frogs, other small birds and critters - a delight for the home owners. Compositions of rocks and stones in the forms of water falls and babbling brooks are strategically placed and weaved in to preserve the natural setting of the property, along with careful selections and placements of native and water plants as part of the design, while the white oak boardwalk meanders along the periphery. Sloan Architects P.C.

Thomas Kuoh Photography Landscape Design By Thuilot Associates
Inspiration for a contemporary backyard concrete and kidney-shaped pool remodel in San Francisco

This is an example of a traditional backyard landscaping in Denver for spring.

This drought tolerant front yard was a great addition to this property. There are decomposed granite paths, CA native / CA friendly plans, a dry creek bed and a bridge that leads to the secret garden.

Inspiration for a contemporary backyard stone and rectangular hot tub remodel in Austin

This renovated Summer cottage gained this shaded space overlooking simple shrub borders and native plantings to create a peaceful Summer landscape. Paul Maue

Design ideas for a mid-sized modern partial sun front yard concrete paver landscaping in Denver.

Photo of a contemporary landscaping in Other.

(c) Stephen Dunn Photography
Photo of a tropical backyard stone landscaping in Miami.

Lavender, along with gravel, basalt and other native plantings add to the beautiful cool color palette, enhancing the architectural design while providing for a drought-tolerant and low-maintenance front yard.

Bouteloua curtipendula / sideoats grass New York Botanical Garden Photo: Kristine Paulus, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-2.0 Generic

Backyard living area including sitting space, fountain, and stairs to upper level landscape. ©Daniel Bosler Photography
Design ideas for a small contemporary drought-tolerant backyard concrete paver retaining wall landscape in Los Angeles.

This is a prime example of premium quality craftsmanship in the landscape design/build business. By redesigning the front entrance to create a porch/landing with an additional parking court, we significantly improved the appearance and value of the property in Rye, New York. The new driveway was constructed of a porous asphalt material which improved the stormwater management adjacent to the wetland. The landscape planting featured a variety of long blooming, native flowering perennials which attract beneficial insect species. This contributes to the successful management of the landscape with sustainable organics. The custom kinetic sculpture adds a nice finishing touch. Instead of a typical evergreen hedge, native clethra was planted on the property border to define the space while contributing fragrance, grace and pollinators to what easily could have been a less active, sterile space. Heavily planted ground cover natives such as ajuga, creeping jenny, Irish moss, sweet woodruff and geraniums made the need for weeding practically obsolete. The use of ground covers as mulch was most effective for resource management.

This drought tolerant front yard was a great addition to this property. There are decomposed granite paths, CA native / CA friendly plans, a dry creek bed and a bridge that leads to the secret garden.

Rear retaining wall with Agave next to steps ©Daniel Bosler Photography
Design ideas for a mid-sized contemporary drought-tolerant backyard retaining wall landscape in Los Angeles.

We worked with the owner of this Mercer Island home to completely transform his large, shady backyard and unproductive vegetable garden into a sunny productive space. The new extensive annual vegetable garden features deep raised beds, wide pathways, small production greenhouse, a tool shed, rain garden and patio for entertaining. The site will also includes native plantings, cut-flower garden and a small farm stand that the owner will stock with the extra bounty from his garden. Hilary Dahl