An under-utilised corner of the garden was transformed into a romantic apiary, or bee-yard, featuring brightly painted hives and vintage furniture. The pebbles are a practical surface for working on the hives and retain water for the plants. Plants selected are a mix of bee-friendly perennials, herbs and vegetables, including dahlia, salvia leucanthe, anenome japonica and dianthus, buckwheat, blue kale, rhubarb, and silver lemon thyme. Woolly thyme, festuca coxii and purple alyssum soften the pebbles. Photos by Dee McQuillan

Small garden

User

Elizabeth Leonard- The home owner wanted to squeeze in a veggie garden without sacrificing too much of her yard where her children play, as well as securing the garden from the local deer population. For an added touch we planted deer resistant herbs and ornamentals surrounding the enclosure. We succeeded in providing an aesthetically pleasing garden that produced enough for this small family, by using the space she had effectively. The deer fencing blends into the environment while securing her harvest . All while staying within her budget.

Raised Bed Vegetable Gardens

User

Second year riverside vegetable garden sports edible chive flowers and perennial oregano while newly planted seedlings acclimate to their new home.

Anderson Family Curb Appeal and Mud Room Remodel of Back Yard

Landscape Design in a Day

Stone planter provides friendly screening between city properties. Clients enjoy perfect tomatoes that ripen with reflected light from the driveway.

Brooklyn Modern Landscape

Northwest Native Landscapes LLC

Edible landscape in a small backyard

J & S Landscape

This is a very small backyard which the owners wanted to be able to grow and harvest a wide variety of fruits and veggies. Watering tanks helped increase the area in which food could be grown. The backyard patio has several areas for seating and a small firepit. Fruit trees and fruiting vines are set along fences and arbors to add to the variety of food.

ORCO Gardens

ORCO Block & Hardscape

backyard organic vegetable garden using ORCO Block & Hardscape's White Burnished 4x4x16... so fresh!

miscellaneous

urban oasis

G A R D E N - The Edible Garden

Lore Patterson

Lore Patterson | Photographer Lettuce grows in the community garden space at Grow Community, Bainbridge Island, WA.

This active family with two young boys wanted a place to grow food, lounge in the front yard with friends and have blooms upon blooms of midwestern flowers to enjoy. Custom tuteurs, vegetable beds and benches frame the center of the garden, surrounded by low maintenance flowering shrubs, trees and perennials. Evergreen grasses form the understory of the borders. A bulb layer will be installed summer of 2017. Photo credit: Naomi Goodman

Low Water Use Raised Beds

DIY Edible Gardens

These custom raised beds are made out of red wood to match the houses siding. This area receives all day sun and is a perfect location for a vegetable garden. They sit atop an earth block retaining wall above the pool. The beds flank both sides of a decomposed granite path. The height and depth of are set for easy access.

Unique Garden Stools

China Furniture and Arts

These garden stools deviate from the traditional Chinese drum shape of typical porcelain garden stools. Photo by: Ralph Crescenzo

Drought 2015 gardens

Susie Dowd Markarian, Landscape Design

Chris Kitterdge Photography, Susie Dowd Markarian Designer, Santa Rosa CA. LANDZEN contractor

Edible Landscaping

My Landscape Guide

Vanilla strawberry hydrangea in the background. Little Lime Hydrangea on the right. Cedar raised beds with kale and curly leaf lettuce. Elliott Hallum

Mt Hawthorn

JP Landscapes Perth

Cape Cod Style New Back Yard

Laughlin Design Associates, Inc.

Notice the custom aluminum siding in the upper left hand corner(it is a screen), the tri colored beech tree, the ledgered raised garden beds, gravel surface for the raised vegetable planters, the core ten steel raised vegetable beds, custom in line drip irrigation, the fragrant plants and the espaliered fruit trees against the back fence. Rick Laughlin, APLD

NSG Ground Covers

Native Sun Gardens

This is in Berkeley, CA and features diamondia and manzanita groundcovers. Photo Cred: Joshua Thayer

Wildflower meadow surrounding house

Linden L.A.N.D. Group

Bare soil areas that were disturbed during construction were seeded with a Northeast native wildflower mix. Photo: Rebecca Lindenmeyr

A tranquil abode

Bayon Gardens

Landscape design & construction: Bayon Gardens Photography: Tim Turner

Small Garden Design Ideas with a Vegetable Garden

Get Inspired by Gardens on Houzz

A lot of the time when you get home from a long day at work, all you want to do is wind down. Where better to do this than in your very own garden at home? If you do it right, a great garden design can send you right into holiday mode. But where to start? There’s so many styles to choose from when it comes to garden design. Whether you want to create a tropical, modern, contemporary, beach style or country garden - or something else entirely - the large garden image gallery on Houzz has got you covered. Get inspired and collect your ideas to narrow down your desired garden style and features.

How to Create a Garden for Your Home

Depending on which style you’re going for, be sure to know what makes a garden and if it’s appropriate for your climate. You may want to consider adding a deck or other landscaping features, but the plants you choose will mostly dictate your style and what kind of ongoing maintenance is required. Don’t worry if your backyard isn’t very spacious - there are many plants that can thrive even in a small space and allow you to turn your space into a little paradise of your own, regardless of size.

Decide which plants to use

The greenery you choose is critical to your look. For example, if you’re trying to create a tropical garden palm trees and bamboo are your go-to options. Other popular options are golden cane palm trees and fern for ground cover. From there you can add some colour with bright flowers like frangipani, hibiscus or bromeliads. All these are actually quite hardy plants, so once established, your tropical garden is actually quite easy to maintain. Use this structure and apply it to your style. Research which plants you need to set your base for a garden and go from there.

Add some decor

If the plants don’t quite do it for you yet, or if you want to add some extra wow-factor, consider adding some extra features. Even if you can’t accommodate a swimming pool, hot tub or pond, you could look at smaller water features. Simple rocks can also have a great effect, while statues and gnomes will add some extra character. Don’t forget to add some furniture so you have a nice place to sit and enjoy your garden!

Need some help?

Once you know what you want your garden to look like, it may be hard to make it a reality on your own. If that is the case for you, consider consulting a professional to help you with your garden design. Every photo you find on Houzz will lead you to the local pro that did the job, so you won’t have a problem picking the perfect person to help! Whether you need a gardener in Brisbane, a landscape architect in Melbourne or a fireplace installer in Sydney, you can be sure to find one on Houzz.