Designing Beautiful Gardens that Blend Seamlessly with Your Home

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Garden planning is more than just choosing plants; it’s about creating a visually appealing extension of your home that elevates your entire property. A well-planned garden not only adds curb appeal, but also complements your home’s architectural style and brings balance to your outdoor spaces. Whether you’re creating a cozy backyard retreat or simply adding some character to your exterior, a thoughtful garden design can make all the difference.

Below, we provide a complete guide to garden planning for a beautiful, cohesive look that blends seamlessly with your home.

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Garden planning ideas showed on a rendering of a brick cottage with lush landscaping flanking the entry and lining the walkway.

Start with your home’s architecture & style

When designing a garden, begin by considering your home’s architecture. No matter if your home is modern, farmhouse, or a classic colonial, the garden should echo those design features. If your home has a modern look, try linear and minimalist planting. For more traditional homes, lush landscaping and curved designs can help achieve a timeless look.

Think of garden design elements as architectural features. Arbors, pergolas, and trellises are fantastic ways to continue your home’s style. A Mediterranean style house, for example, would be stunning with stone walkways, terracotta planters, and lots of layers and textures. If you have a coastal home, try ornamental grasses, hydrangeas, and wooden boardwalks. By reflecting your home’s architecture in the garden, your interior will naturally carry on to outside.

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Garden planning ideas to separate outdoor living spaces
Split level home set in nature with minimal shade loving plants lining the driveway, walkway, and retaining walls.

Create flow with walkways & hardscaping

In garden planning, walkways and hardscapes like retaining walls,  are key to guiding movement throughout the exterior. Both design elements add structure, but also help connect different parts of your garden while tying into your home’s features. If your home’s exterior is brick, consider brick pavers for edging in the garden. For stone accents, a stone walkway can add a grounded feel.

Use these paths to lead guest to the entry of your home or to guide them through your garden. Either way, a beautifully designed walkway adds dimension and visual interest, while also working to provide a functional and safe environment. A curved garden path can introduce a sense of mystery and whimsy, maybe leading guests to a fountain or seating area. By considering both layout and materials in your garden planning, your garden will feel deliberate and established.

Rendering of a French chateau style home with lush green landscaping of. various heights across the entire façade.

Color coordination in garden planning

Color is an absolute essential part of garden planning, as it helps tie the outside to your home. Use colors that match or are complementing to the colors on your home’s exterior. Neutral toned homes can look great with a garden full of lush greenery, while bolder homes can handle more vibrant flowers and accents. The white home above is a wonderful example of how a lush garden can offset neutrality.

Try to incorporate hues from your home such as the windows, front door, or trim into your garden’s color palette. This consistent use of color will bring the scene together visually, making it feel natural and effortless. A few bright blooms or colorful foliage as an accent color can be eye-catching, but we think it’s best to limit those elements to maintain balance. With careful selection of colors, your garden can fit right in with the rest of your home.

Rendering of a brick home with a curved walkway lined with boxwoods and landscape lighting.

Multi-level home with a lush garden planning design including evergreens, blooming plants, and a stone waterfall.

Choose plants that match your environment & home style

One of the most difficult parts of garden planning is choosing the right plants. There are so many to choose from with varying heights, growth rates, and sun and shade needs. Native plants are often a wonderful choice, as they thrive in local climates and require minimal maintenance, make them a solid choice for most landscapes.

For modern homes, try structured plants. like boxwoods, that offer clean lines and simplicity. Cottage or farmhouses can benefit from looser plants such as roses and hydrangeas to get that charming, layered look.

Keep in mind the scale and proportion of your home when choosing plants. Larger plants closer to the house anchor the garden and blend with the architecture, while smaller plants work best along driveways and walkways, or as ground cover.

We love the landscaping for the multi-level home above! It incorporates organic stone in the waterfall and fountain feature and irregular, asymmetrical plantings with tons of layers. Both of these design elements fit in perfectly with the natural backdrop and being surrounded by trees. There’s also not so much color that the garden looks out of place among all the evergreens. Our designers did a fantastic job on this one!

Idea for garden planning showing string lights, landscape lighting, symmetrical shrubs and palm trees.

 Use lighting as an accessory in garden planning

Lighting is crucial when planning you garden design. Hanging lights, lanterns, and walkway lighting are all great choices to illuminate your outdoor spaces. Strategic lighting is a powerful tool that can add so much warmth and visual interest to your garden. It creates a lovely ambience, highlights walkways and features, and adds a layer of safety.

Layered lighting is what looks the most polished. Use lights to line walkways and well-placed uplighting on large trees and shrubs. String lights and lanterns create an inviting atmosphere and further enhance safety. Incorporating layered lighting in your garden planning can ensure it’s a welcoming and connected space, even after the sun goes down.

Traditional home with various garden containers such as retaining walls and planters.

Select the right containers & accessories

Selecting accessories for the garden can feel a lot like choosing items for the interior of your home. From containers to small decor, accessories can play a big role in how visually appealing your garden is. Choosing pots and planters that complement your home’s exterior design and color palette is a simple way to continue the style throughout your outdoor space.

For a rustic look, terracotta pots and wooden planters work perfectly. Modern homes may look best with sleek ceramic, metal, or concrete containers. Position pots near entries or along paths to add color, texture, and extra charm! Also consider garden statues, birdbaths, and even wind chimes that add touches of personality to the scene.

A traditional rancher with symmetrical landscaping and a plant lined driveway.

Create a balanced garden layout

Balance is everything in garden planning! Symmetrical design, such as matching plants on each side of your patio, feels organized and intentional, but some environments call for asymmetry as we touched on earlier. Regardless, arrange plants from tallest to shortest, with larger shrubs or trees in the background, mid-sized in the middle, and low ground-covering plants in the front. A layered look provides a sense of depth and adds so much dimension. A well-balanced garden is also easier to maintain, allowing each plant to thrive without overcrowding or being overwhelmed.

A modern cottage with a lush garden planning design consisting of drought resistant plants, landscape lighting, and a small retaining wall.

Final thoughts on garden planning

With mindful garden planning, your outdoor spaces will be wam and inviting. You can add curb appeal which is great for first impressions, increase function, and even enhance the safety of your exterior. Keep our tips in mind when you plan and execute your garden design, and when it’s all done – sit back, relax, and take in the view!

We’ve shared all our tips, now it’s time for you to start planning and we can help! All we need are your answers to our short questionnaire for our designers to get started creating a custom design. We’ll even provide a shoppable resource list so getting started is as easy as clicking a few links. Get started here.

Author

Originally from Tennessee, Ami currently lives in South Carolina, which has been home since leaving the military in 2016. Interior and exterior design has always intrigued Ami, especially the styles and characteristics seen in other countries as an avid traveler and photographer. She lives for the renewal of older or historic homes that maintain their character, and regularly creates her own mood boards and virtual designs for inspiration or to help others with their spaces. Having always had a passion for design and following their work for years prior, Ami was excited to be brought onto brick&batten’s team of writers. Her writing endeavors actually started in an academic/scientific setting, then in a regulatory aspect. Writing about paint colors, emerging or current trends in exterior design, and so much more revolving around something she’s always enjoyed was a fun and welcomed change!

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