Lush landscapes and picturesque gardens will forever serve as ultimate at-home retreats. Whether you’re looking to create an outdoor oasis, pin home landscaping ideas to your vision board, or craft outdoor entertaining spaces, let these thriving sanctuaries serve as modern garden design inspiration for a personal alfresco hideaway.
Modern garden designs to inspire your next spring landscaping project
A DREAMY NEW ENGLAND CONTEMPORARY GARDEN
In the garden of this Westport, Connecticut home, a metal gazebo provides an immersive late afternoon perch to enjoy the bucolic setting. “I like to sit and watch the sun go down between the trees,” says the garden’s decades-long caretaker, Paul Liistro. “The whole complexion of the garden changes.”
PHOTOGRAPHY: TIM LENZ
A MODERN GARDEN CALLS ON EUROPEAN INSPIRATION
“It was music to my ears,” recounts landscape designer Matthew Bromley of the commission to create a European-inspired garden for a family’s vacation home. Visions of dappled shade, lush vines and an elegant table led the way as Bromley set about transforming an unused area behind the guest cottage.
PHOTOGRAPHY: NEIL LANDINO
SUSTAINABLE MODERN GARDENING
The Green Room Collaborative focused on bringing native plant material back to this Arizona project. The landscape designers share insights and tips on how to design a contemporary garden that is equal parts beautiful and sustainable.
PHOTOGRAPHY: NEIL LANDINO
COTTAGECORE GARDEN DESIGN IDEAS ABOUND
Creating this most delightful of alfresco spaces was a dream come true for this design couple. “It’s as cottage as cottage can be,” says garden designer Alex Chapman of the 1875 home he shares with his partner, designer Zach Motl. Channeling what he dubs a “laissez-faire approach” to the garden’s curation, the modern garden landscape runs predominantly wild and free.
PHOTOGRAPHY: GENEVIEVE GARRUPPO
HISTORIC GARDEN VIBE WITH CONTEMPORARY TOUCHES
This picturesque gardenscape showcases a monochromatic pool house and a pristine swimming pool that retains their historical accuracy while also being modernized in subtle ways. “We inserted contemporary elements into the garden for an updated feel, such as the monolithic stone fire pit and pared-down garden walls and steps,” says landscape architect Renée Byers.
PHOTOGRAPHY: ANNIE SCHLECHTER
STROLL INTO THIS SECRET GARDEN
This flourishing courtyard is flanked with different types of plant foliage, while a pergola covers a nearby dining area. Architect Charles Travis and Lake Group Builders pair Palacek’s San Martin sofas with Savonarola chairs to circle around the prominent fire pit, inviting all to sit back and enjoy the wonders of this secluded garden.
PHOTOGRAPHY: LISA ROMEREIN
AN AVANT GARDE SPACE PERFECT FOR OUTDOOR MINGLING
All from M Naeve, these antique French faux-bois seats, a 19th-century French metal garden table and antique French urns invite guests to mingle in an outdoor gathering spot just off an Austin home’s back garden’s central path. Doubling as modern garden inspiration, this alfresco space feeds into the home’s fairytale-like aesthetic.
PHOTOGRAPHY: TRIA GIOVAN
A LANDSCAPE DESIGN SHAPED BY NATURE’S HANDS
This spacious courtyard, which has evolved along with the house, boasts comfortable seating and spectacular views of the surrounding scenery. Whether it’s to discuss art or enjoy a coffee break, this breathtaking retreat allows guests to take a moment for relaxation, and serves up plenty of modern garden ideas for those looking to create their own hideaways.
PHOTOGRAPHY: DALLAS & HARRIS PHOTOGRAPHY
MODERN GARDENING CREATES A CRISP VIEW
Enjoy the formal garden views (and the Éric Racine stainless steel sculpture) while taking a soothing bath in this freestanding Blu Bathworks tub. Beside the tub stands a glass-and-brass table from Blackman Cruz as well as a maroon leather chair that encourages lounging in the sunlight.
PHOTOGRAPHY: MANOLO LANGIS
THIS WELL-DESIGNED LANDSCAPE FRAMES OCEAN VIEWS
Landscape architect Kate Guerra-Hershey trimmed this Monarch Bay property’s existing Japanese black pine to create a striking focal point in the front yard of the clean-lined house. The overall effect, she says, is of a “Santa Barbara-style or informal Mediterranean-inspired garden with an infusion of exotic succulents and flowering perennials.”
PHOTOGRAPHY: ROGER DAVIES/OTTO
AN ALFRESCO VERDANT RETREAT SHOWCASES SLEEK STYLE
The garden landscape of this 1920s Miami home embraces a verdant, natural palette. Landscape architect Tyler Nielsen says, “Native and tropical shrubs—like Bahama wild coffee, java white, myrtle of the river and guayacan—provide soft green tones, unique textures and a woodsy effect to the front garden room. The grove of palms makes the garden the focal point and casts dramatic shadows on the lawn.”
PHOTOGRAPHY: MARK ROSKAMS
A LUSH ESCAPE WITH MODERNIST TIES
Inspired by traditional Spanish-style architecture and the work of modernist architect Irving Gill, a Los Angeles house stands within expansive modernist gardens. Adding to the picturesque scene is a serene pond framed by solid rocks and lush tropical greenery.
PHOTOGRAPHY: LAURA HULL
CHANNELING PEACE WITHIN THIS ZEN GARDEN DESIGN
A zen garden takes the lead on this Lake Washington home. Landscape architect Richard Hartlage worked with architect Stuart Silk to create a peaceful water feature and landscape that brings serenity to all those who visit and serves as garden inspiration for those looking to create their own outdoor retreat.
PHOTOGRAPHY: AARON LEITZ
SEEK SIMPLE OUTDOOR PLEASURES IN THIS MODERN GARDEN
A bountiful Sonoma County garden encourages an embrace of a slow-paced lifestyle. In addition to vegetables, these colorful terraced garden beds contain cosmos, gladiola, roses, snapdragons and a riot of other blossoms.
PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID WAKELY
A LITTLE BIT OF SOUTHERN CHARM FINISHES THIS LUSH LANDSCAPE
With a flair for flow, designer Danielle Rollins and landscape architect Marc Galbraith craft a welcoming environment for an Atlanta homeowner. Lush with English ivy, Korean boxwood hedges, needle palms and climbing vines, this lush garden retains the bones of its Tuscan villa origins while being modernized for a new era.
PHOTOGRAPHY: JEFF HERR
NODDING TO FRENCH COUNTRY STYLE FORMAL GARDENS
Landscape architect Troy Rhone transformed this inspiring garden space by removing an aging fountain, then piping scuppers into the wall of the swimming pool. In place of the old water feature, a modern cast-stone bowl by Longshadow was planted with creeping thyme for a moss-like effect.
PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHN BESSLERD
OAK TREES ADD HISTORY TO A CONTEMPORARY LANDSCAPE
The city and country coexist together in this outdoor Napa Valley retreat. Comfortable seating is arranged around a fire pit to enjoy the spectacular views of the twin-trunked oak trees, vineyard and a pasture near Napa’s Silverado Trail.
PHOTOGRAPHY: SCOTT HARGIS
BUILDING A MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN
Hardscaping replaced grass in the front yard makes it a livable space better suited for entertaining. The homeowners worked with landscape designer Nick Dean to create a Mediterranean-style garden filled with citrus and drought-tolerant plants.
PHOTOGRAPHY: KARYN MILLET
A FLORAL WONDERLAND AWAITS VISITORS TO THIS CONTEMPORARY HOME
Landscape designer Carol Eland took cues from Provencal gardens for the lower terrace, which is furnished with RH pieces and planted with hydrangeas. The table and chairs on the terrace above are also RH.
PHOTOGRAPHY: AARON LEITZ
A MODERN GARDEN LANDSCAPE GROUNDED IN NATURE
Since she was a small child, interior designer Annette English has loved gardening—and her passion grew while working with landscape architect Patricia Benner to reshape her home’s yard. She and her husband even traveled to Visalia, California, to personally choose three mature olive trees for their backyard.
PHOTOGRAPHY: STEPHEN BUSKEN
A MIDCENTURY MODERN HOME’S GARDEN MAKEOVER
Landscape designer Michael Fiore sculpted the property’s rolling hillside to create a two-stepped backyard with a simple gardenscape. “We celebrated the transition between the upper pool deck and the lower level by adding a grand staircase,” he explains.
