32 Simple Landscaping Ideas to Try This Year (2024)

Room Design

Outdoor Spaces

Farima Ferguson

Farima Ferguson began her career at HGTV where she worked with designers to write about home design. Her work has appeared in HGTV, Insider Reviews, Travel Channel, and more.

Learn more about The Spruce'sEditorial Process

Published on 02/12/23

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32 Simple Landscaping Ideas to Try This Year (2)

You don't need to completely overhaul your landscaping to revamp your outdoor space—sometimes a little goes a long way. Whether you want to create a relaxing oasis or a place to entertain family and friends, your home's landscaping will set the tone for the rest of your outdoor space.

Simple updates like the right color palette, a variety of plants, and layout can take your outdoor space from drab to curb appeal your neighbors will covet. To help inspire you, here are our favorite simple landscaping ideas that will turn your yard into a place you'll want to spend hours in.

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Pretty in Pink

Sticking to planting one favorite plant can create a stunning landscape and can be easier to maintain. Here, the delicate pink and white hydrangeas surrounding the front entrance of this midcentury modern style home bring a softer touch to the sharper exterior features. The boxwood shrubs lining the pathway complete the look by adding a polished look.
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Low-Maintenance Border

If you want your fence to enhance your backyard's design instead of blending it, border it with a variety of evergreen trees and shrubs. For a low-maintenance border, choose hardy plants like monkey grass.
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Dreamy Succulents

What fits better in a Southwestern-style backyard than succulents? This outdoor seating area is surrounded by a variety of potted succulents that bring height and texture to the backyard. Plus, they're easy to maintain.
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Modern With Pops of Color

Modern homes typically feature clean lines and neutral colors. While this home has many modern features, like the sleek black wall and gas fire pit, the landscape brings in some much-needed pops of color.
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A Plant Free Garden

Plants and flowers aren't the only way to bring life and interest to your outdoor space. This multicolored rock garden is a visually appealing feature that's still one with nature without all the maintenance.
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Quaint Courtyard

This quaint courtyard doesn't need much landscaping to transform into a relaxing oasis. Agave plants and olive trees are the perfect additions, especially for a California climate.
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The Beauty in Simplicity

The symmetrical design of this outdoor seating area is simple yet stunning. The two pots housing colorful flowers flank the patio and bring color while still blending seamlessly with the rest of the outdoor living room.
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A Black Backdrop

The black exterior of this home is the perfect backdrop for all the greenery in the front yard, from the tree to the manicured lawn and small shrubs.
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Accentuating the Architecture

To help the architecture of this renovated 1920s home stand out, the front entryway plants are kept simple, with a few succulents and a large tree that perfectly frames the house.
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A Polished Look

This Cape Cod home features two roofs so it's only fitting that the front yard enhances the perfectly polished look. A manicured lawn, hydrangeas and shrubs, and trees bring some color and texture to this beachy home.
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All for Agave

Not only can agave serve as the focal point of your garden, but it has just as many pros inside the home too. Agave is a great substitute for sugar and honey and also serves medicinal and beauty purposes.
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Colorful Mediterranean Courtyard

This home's courtyard has a romantic feel with hanging string lights above a cozy seating area and a large, colorful rose bush that trails up one side of the courtyard.
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Little Yet Lush

If you only have a small front yard to work with, you can still go big. To add a lush look, include plants with large foliage like hydrangeas. To bring in color, plant flowers like yellow daffodils and pink cone flowers.
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Porch Topiaries

To mimic the front double doors, two boxwood topiaries flank on either side of the doors for a symmetrical design. The natural wood shutters and minimal landscaping add a more laid-back feel to the home.
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Standout Garden Feature

Corrugated piping is given new life with some bold paint in this front entryway. The different shades of orange tie in the home's front entrance for a cohesive look that's inviting yet bold.
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Private Seating Area

The abundance of plants acts as a privacy wall and makes this boho-inspired backyard seating area feel like it's miles away from the home, creating a place to unwind after a busy day.
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Reaching New Heights

There is something about a natural garden that's tall, wild, and beautiful. Planting cosmos is an easy way to add height to a garden, as they can grow to about five feet tall.
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Different Vantage Point

This fire pit sitting area is set slightly below the rest of the backyard, which makes the backyard feel larger since you're able to take in the view of the backyard from different vantage points. Doing this also helps protect the fire from wind.
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Bringing the Outdoors In

The primary bedroom directly leads to a deck through bi-fold doors in this beachy bungalow. The large wood deck features a dining area and sitting area, while a small grassy area is a spot for pets to play.
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Stone Pathway Through the Garden

When you have a lush garden in a front entryway, a pathway is a must to help lead guests get to the front door. This stone pathway provides a beautiful contrast to the rest of the front yard and invites guests to tour the garden while making their way to the home.
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Vertical Garden

If you have a pool that takes up the majority of your backyard, you can still incorporate some landscaping. The vertical space in a yard can create a stunning design, like this boxwood wall and tall hedges.
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A Low-Maintenance Garden

If you live in a desert climate, succulents are the way to go. This cozy hammock spot is surrounded by a variety of succulents. They require little to no maintenance, which means more time for napping on the hammock.
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Connecting Two Gardens

A stone pathway, leading from the front yard to the backyard, is flanked by lush, low-maintenance plants that seamlessly take you from one area of the home to the other.
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A Little Bit of Everything

This backyard has it all: Tall trees, a plant-bordered fence, a pool, and a small lawn. This proves that a little goes a long way when it comes to designing your backyard landscape.
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Simple Front Yard

The A-frame house is a statement piece on its own, so the garden is kept simple with only a few shrubs bordering the front of the home.
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Don't Forget the Windows

When it comes to decorating the front of the home, don't forget the windows. The two windows on the right side of this home get spruced up with window boxes filled with greenery, while lush hydrangeas lead guests to the front door.
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Dining Al Fresco

To create a relaxing oasis while dining outside, you'll want to add a variety of plants at varying heights. This outdoor dining area is surrounded by lush plants, from a vertical garden wall to potted flowers and plenty of foliage.
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Timeless Design

This home's exterior is a combination of classic and contemporary styles and the landscaping is no different. The small shrubs allow the beautiful architecture of the home to shine through while also bringing texture and color to the natural wood fence.
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A Grassy Pool Area

You typically see concrete surrounding a pool, but this backyard pool is surrounded by a manicured lawn to prevent blistering your feet during hot summer days. A small trellis fence separates the pool area from the hammock area, creating zones for the ultimate relaxing backyard experience.
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Landscaping at Every Corner

Every inch of this backyard is covered in beautiful, lush landscaping. The area surrounding the outdoor seating is adorned with colorful potted flowers, while the fence is spruced up with large shrubs and trees. The bench in the far corner has a nice view of bold yellow perennials bordering one side of the fence.
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Bring Out the Beach

If you can't go to the beach, bring the beach to you. This backyard features a bamboo fence, lounge chair, and tropical plants like palm leaves that complete the outdoor space.
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Drawing the Eyes Up

Tall flowering plants like cosmos draw the eye up and make a garden feel larger while adding bright pops of color. This low fence is the perfect backdrop for the stunning tall plant.