14 Easy Landscaping Ideas to Create Lots of Visual Variety (2024)

Master the Art of Garden Colors

Create Swaths of Color

One easy landscape idea that's simple to implement is to grow big swaths of the same plant for bold interest. Here, for example, this planting bed offers a bold burst of chartreuse from a mass of golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'). It's contrasted (in color and texture) by a planting of blue fescue (Festuca 'Elijah Blue').

Repeat Colors and Textures

Planting one of everything gives your garden a hodgepodge look. Avoid that by reusing the same colors, shapes, or plant varieties all around your landscape. Here's a perfect example: To the left of the deck, golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea') echoes the color of golden sweet flag (Acorus gramineus 'Ogon'). The sweet flag amplifies the texture of the blue fescue (Festuca 'Elijah Blue'), which plays off the silvery-blue color of a potted false cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Baby Blue'). The shape of the false cypress, in turn, is a repeat of the Japanese maple next to the deck.

Make Plants Do Double Duty

If your yard has limited space, it's important to make the most of it! One easy landscape idea that makes the best use of plants is to take advantage of those that serve more than one purpose. This espaliered apple tree, for example, offers privacy from the neighbor on the other side, provides an attractive backdrop for the curve in a path, and, in autumn, gives a harvest of delicious apples.

Contrast Bold Colors

One of the most basic, easy landscaping ideas is to create contrasts. Also, consider color; when you pair rich burgundy-purple with chartreuse, the gold hues become brighter, and the purple tones become richer and darker. Together, the colors are much more effective than when used alone.

Add a Few Whimsical Plants

Enhance what plants do naturally. Espalier is a perfect example of this. Here, for example, a simple climbing rose goes from ordinary to extraordinary with careful training and pruning. Don't worry: It's easier than it looks (it just takes some pruning once or twice a year) and makes a big impact.

Mix Materials

You can easily add a level of interest to your yard by incorporating a variety of plants and hardscape materials. Here, the natural feel of lawn and cut flagstones makes an eye-catching contrast against smooth Mexican beach pebbles and gravel. The color of the flagstone mimics the beach pebbles and ties the two together; it's an easy landscaping idea and a good example of using repetition.

Play with Geometry

Take advantage of lines, shapes, and angles when reviewing your gardening ideas and laying out your yard to add drama and impact. Here, a square patch of lush green groundcover stands out when lined with palm trees and edged in smooth beach pebbles. This is an easy landscaping idea for the front of the house⁠, too; just run a walkway between the trees up to the front door.

Frame Your Garden with Hedges and Fences

Add interest to your yard with structures. For example, use low fences or hedges to divide spaces and give each space or room its unique identity. Plus, the structures add interest all year long. In this playful example, curvaceous boxwood hedges draw the eye into the garden and look attractive every day of the year.

Make the Most of Trees and Shrubs

Trees and shrubs are some of the most critical players in a well-designed landscape. It's easy to use them to make an impact, especially if you select varieties that have colorful foliage. Go a step further with some creative pruning. Here, for example, sheared golden false cypress and columnar holly make for a delightful contrast against sheared purple barberry.

Place Garden Beds In Your Lawn

It's easy to plant all your beds and borders along the perimeter of your property, but adding an island bed that floats in your lawn is an easy landscaping idea for a good-looking yard. Make island beds extra effective by adding height to the center. Plus, you need to walk around the planting to see what's behind it, so it adds a bit of mystery.

Freshen Up Planting Beds With Containers

If you have container gardens, chances are they're on your porch, entryway, deck, patio, or balcony. Too few gardeners consider mixing containers into their beds and borders. Large, colorful glazed or plastic containers add a bright splash, even without blooms. You can move them around to highlight different parts of your yard, plus it's easy to change out container gardens each season to liven up a tired look.

Mix and Match Plant Textures

Our eyes are attracted to color, and many gardeners stop there. But an easy landscaping idea is to add another layer of interest to your garden by incorporating texture. This landscaping idea features tidy mounds of blue fescue punctuated by an upright pyramid of Colorado blue spruce and dwarf black pine. A potted variegated yucca repeats the texture of the grass and adds a new color.

Break Up Monotony With Boldly Shaped Plants

Embrace plant shapes and use them in your landscape. Tuck in a few tall, upright plants to draw the eye up and break up the monotony of repeated mounding shrubs and perennials. Design yards with weeping plants, too: They add excitement, visual energy, and a unique, graceful shape to your yard.

Plant Shades of Green

Using a variety of shades of green helps add depth to your plantings. Bright chartreuse greens (seen in these 'Frisia' honey locust trees) catch the eye and stand out in the landscape, especially compared to the darker, richer tones often found in evergreens. Blue-greens add a softness and almost always harmonize well with other shades.

Front Yard Landscaping for a Warm Welcome

• How to Landscape Front Yards and Entryways to Maximize Curb Appeal
• Front Yard Flower Bed Ideas for a Colorful and Bright Entryway
• 23 Ways to Add Curb Appeal for the Best Front Yard on the Block
• How to Build a Simple Entry Arbor for a Charming Front Yard
• 8 Small Front Yard Landscaping Ideas to Make the Most of Your Space