Garden design ideas by style

Every garden style, on your own garden.

Pick a look and see it on a photo of your real garden – from a romantic cottage garden to clean modern lines, sun-baked Mediterranean planting or a wildlife-friendly border. Every style comes with a real planting plan you can actually build.

Shade garden design example
Shade · lush & low-fuss

Shade garden design

Lush, leafy planting that turns a shady spot into the calmest part of the garden.

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Formal garden design example
Structure · symmetry · year-round

Formal garden design

Symmetry, clipped hedges and elegant structure for a timeless, ordered garden.

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Tropical garden design example
Sheltered · lush & exotic

Tropical garden design

Big, bold leaves and hot flower for a lush, exotic, jungle feel.

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Cottage garden design example
Sun · colour all summer

Cottage garden design

Romantic, billowing borders packed with colour, scent and pollinators.

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Small garden design example
Any aspect · tight spaces

Small garden design

Clever layouts that make a small garden feel bigger and greener.

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Low-maintenance garden design example
Easy care · year-round

Low-maintenance garden design

Structure, evergreens and grasses that look after themselves.

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Mediterranean garden design example
Full sun · low water

Mediterranean garden design

Gravel, silver foliage and drought-tolerant planting for hot, dry spots.

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Gravel garden design example
Full sun · free-draining

Gravel garden design

Low-water, self-seeding gravel planting inspired by Beth Chatto.

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Drought-tolerant garden design example
Dry soil · sun or shade

Drought-tolerant garden design

Planting that comes through a dry summer without a hose, in baking sun or dry shade.

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Modern garden design example
Any aspect · contemporary

Modern garden design

Clean lines, bold structure and restrained, architectural planting.

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Japanese garden design example
Shade to part-sun · calm

Japanese garden design

Calm, structural planting with acers, moss, gravel and evergreens.

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Courtyard garden design example
Enclosed · often shady

Courtyard garden design

Enclosed, sheltered planting that turns a small courtyard into a room.

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Wildlife garden design example
Any aspect · for wildlife

Wildlife garden design

Nectar-rich, pollinator-friendly borders that buzz spring to autumn.

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Front garden design example
Any aspect · kerb appeal

Front garden design

Kerb appeal that still leaves room for bins, bikes and parking.

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Prairie garden design example
Sun · naturalistic drifts

Prairie garden design

Naturalistic drifts of grasses and perennials in the Piet Oudolf spirit.

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Sloping garden design example
Any aspect · banks & slopes

Sloping garden design

Planting that holds a bank together and turns a slope into the best view in the garden.

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Patio garden design example
Any aspect · paved spaces

Patio garden design

Paving and planting planned together: borders that soften a patio's edges and pots that bring it into flower.

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Lawn garden design example
Any aspect · lawns

Lawn garden design

A lawn with a clear shape and deep borders round it, so the grass looks designed rather than left over.

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Wildflower garden design example
Full sun · poor soil

Wildflower garden design

Part of the garden grown like a meadow, with poppies, cornflowers and daisies and a mown path through it.

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Evergreen garden design example
Any aspect · year-round shape

Evergreen garden design

Clipped shapes and evergreen shrubs that keep the garden's outline through winter, with flowers between them.

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New build garden design example
Any aspect · new plot

New build garden design

Turf to the fences and bare soil, as the builder left them, turned into lawns with deep borders and a bed by the door.

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Overgrown garden design example
Any aspect · overgrown plot

Overgrown garden design

Long grass, brambles and ivy taken back to paths through planting, keeping the trees and shrubs worth saving.

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Design my garden – free