66 Patio Landscaping Ideas

Put Down a Rug Over Pavers

Make your patio seem like an extension of your home by putting a rug over the pavers to help warm up the space. This adds color and texture to an otherwise plain base.

Plant Ornamental Trees in Planters

If you love ornamental trees but you're not in a climate where they'll thrive outdoors year-round, then try planting ornamental trees in decorative planters. You can bring them in to overwinter when the weather turns cool.

Bring in Patio Plants

Patios and decks are rather uninviting if not furnished with plants and accessories. Plants soften the uncompromising lines of hardscape features, breathing life into them and inviting you in to sit down and relax.

Although there are other ways to do it (such as patio planter pockets), the easiest way to incorporate plants into a deck or patio setting is to use container gardens.

Incorporate Vineyard-Inspired Trees

This patio looks like it could have been plucked right out of the Italian countryside. The vine-like branches of the trees give it a romantic, effortless feel without being overly landscaped.

Anchor a Seating Area With Large Plants

If you have a seating area that feels like it's floating, try anchoring it with plants in large planters. Create symmetry to give it even more context to the rest of the space.

Use Pebble Gravel

Pebble gravel is a more forgiving base for a patio and it makes for an easy and affordable DIY project. Once you have your blueprint drawn, all you have to do is fill it in.

Try Potted Cacti

Large scale potted cacti and succulents give this patio a lush feel. Surrounded by trees, it feels like a secret garden hideaway.

Plant Formal Hedges

Some folks prefer a more manicured look in screening, achieved by trimming the shrubs into a rectangular shape. Thus the popularity of the formal hedge, which also gives a greater degree of privacy. Privet is a popular choice, but boxwood, holly, and barberry are also good options.

Install a Sun Shade

When you're in a hot, sunny climate, your patio probably becomes unbearable in the middle of the day. Install a sun shade to offer some respite.

Incorporate a Fountain

A more formal (and higher budget) patio would look stunning with a permanent water feature like the one in this sophisticated courtyard space.

Think Vertically

When mulling over our choices for patio landscaping, sometimes it's easy to become fixated on the two-dimensional. But by including verticality in our designs, we open up a whole other dimension, making the outdoor living area much more interesting. Building an arbor adjacent to your patio is one way to inject a vertical element.

Arbors make for easier DIY projects. Gardeners will love growing flowering vines in their arbors.

Put Gravel Around the Patio

A patio doesn't have to be stone — this one uses wood decking to create a ground-level space right outside of the front door. A stone surround helps create a buffer between the yard and the wood.

Surround the Patio With Plants

Surrounding the patio with everything from palm trees to large tropical foliage gives your patio a rainforest-inspired look. Plus, it offers shade during summer's hottest stretches.

Surround the Patio With Plants

A sunny space surrounded by greenery is always going to be a relaxing space to entertain. Consider surrounding your patio with plants both in the ground and in containers.

Utilize Bamboo

Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants you can use for borders and privacy. Consider using it anywhere you want a hedge to grow quickly.

Put Pavers on Grass

A checkered pattern of pavers on grass can feel sophisticated or retro depending on the setting. This carport-style covered patio feels perfectly nostalgic like it came straight from the 1970s—in a stylish way.

Use Perennials to Add Color

Hardscape structures such as patios bristle with harsh edges, and landscaping with plants is one of the best ways to provide a softening touch. Among the smaller plants, perennials are the most popular choice for this job. Deploying a mix of mainly long-blooming perennials and small shrubs will allow you to have something in bloom for most of the growing season.

Plant a Quick Growing Privacy Fence

If privacy is a priority, plant hedges that are known for growing quickly. This will turn your exposed patio into a hideaway in just a few seasons.

Don't Forget About Annuals

Don't be hesitant to elevate your patio landscaping with annuals. These plants may be short-lived, but they provide a potent injection of instant color.

Relax With Decorative Water Features

More manageable for the water-craving masses are small decorative water features. Although you can't swim in them, the calming water sound will set a serene tone.

Choices for fountains include ceramic, granite, and clay pot fountains.

Add Pops of Color

If you want to get fancy, you can do some color coordinating between your patio and your plants. For example, Blue Star juniper would bring out the blue in some bluestone pavers or even flagstone. For a smaller plant, try blue fescue grass.

Conversely, plant selections that might go well with a brick patio (depending on the color of the bricks in question) include:

• Castor bean (which is a poisonous plant, so keep safety in mind)
• Chocolate Drop sedum
• A dark-leaved ninebark

Create a Plant Border

Creating a border of plants around your patio can add beauty and an ambiance to the space. You can fill it with whatever plants work best in your area, including lavender, rose bushes, other flowers, or shrubs.

To help determine the type of edging plants that will work best for your patio border, some questions to ask yourself include how tall the plant is going to get, if it needs full sun or shade, what colors you like, and the type of soil required for it to grow best. 

Decorate With a Vertical Garden

If you have an outside wall located in your patio area, a vertical garden is a fantastic way to dress up the area. You can make the garden both gorgeous and functional by planting herbs that you can use in your cooking, including rosemary, basil, and thyme.

For a more decorative approach, plant some small ferns, or philodendrons, for trailing type plants, or plant some succulents for limited watering maintenance. Check first on what plants will work best depending on your hardiness zone. The vertical wall planter should be sturdy, with a flat back, so it can hang on the wall properly. 

Take Care of Your Lawn

The right amount of water, weed, pest control, and mowing to the proper height will help achieve and keep a lawn that you not only want to look at but walk in, too.

Add a Beautiful Element With Rocks

Edging your flower beds with a rock border or putting rocks or boulders into them adds character and depth to the landscaping around your patio. Not only are they low maintenance, but they provide a visual element, too.

Scatter some boulders amongst your plants and shrubbery and use smaller rocks as the ground cover instead of mulch. Large stepping stones extending out from your patio as a walkway to your yard are another way to create a beautiful area of focus.

Unwind in the Comfort of Your Patio

Your outdoor patio should be functional, beautiful, relaxing, and inviting. Having the proper outdoor seating and ambiance will have you, your family, and guests gravitating toward this charming space.

From wicker furniture to sectionals, make sure they have comfy cushions and throw some pillows on for a bright, vibrant accent.

Terrace the Landscape

Landscaping your patio can be challenging when you're up against a hillside or uneven terrain, but terracing the ground can create both visual interest and a place for plants to take root.

Work With the Trees

Let the natural landscape decide where you place your patio. In this yard, the trees form an opening that seems like a natural spot to create a patio seating area.

Put Up a Pergola

A pergola is both functional and attractive. It gives a patio a sense of place and a more formal look.

Add a Few Small Planters

Even if you don't have significant room or a green thumb, you can still add a green touch to your patio. Try small succulents in planters for a charming touch.

Alterante Pavers and Gravel

Pavers in an evenly spaced pattern surrounded by gravel creates a formal look that adds sophistication to your patio.

Add Tropical Colors

Beautiful greenery is nice, but if your patio hardscaping and furniture are mostly neutral, then adding a vibrant tropical flower lends a pop of color that makes the entire space.

Choose a Natural Stone

A natural stone color that leans more brown adds warmth and texture to a patio. This patio has a look that's both rustic and elegant.

Install a Built-In Fire Pit

A built-in fire pit is a project that you could DIY with the right skills and tools. Each time you light it, you'll be reminded of how much easier life is when you don't have to haul out the fire pit each time there's a chilly night.

Install a Modern Water Feature

If you have the space and budget, a minimalist, modern water feature is a striking way to add interest to a patio that's mostly for show.

Plant a Cottage Garden

While your seating area can remain sleek and modern, planting a cottage garden around the borders of a patio gives it a magical, romantic look.

Include a Large Tropical Plant

If you plan on keeping the patio furniture light and bright, then consider adding just one large tropical plant for a striking focal point.

Climb Vines on Trellis Planters

Building a few trellis planters to go along your patio fence is an easy weekend DIY project that will add a lush touch to your space. Fill them with climbing plants that grow quickly, and you'll have a magical garden in no time.

Add Lighting for an Evening Look

Get the most use out of your patio by adding lighting that will give a glowy ambiance all evening long.

Use Plants as Decor

Put your landscaping on the table! Try potted plants placed across a table for a pretty and easy landscaping look. Use potted herbs for something that's super functional when you entertain.

Make Use of a Small Front Yard Space

You don't need a big backyard to have a patio. You can use simple greenery to add a pop of lush and add a simple setup to spend time outside.

Layer the Plants

The more plants, the better. Layer brilliant, colorful planters and your favorite plants for a patio space that is joyful and alive.

Add Cozy Textiles

Cozy textiles don't need to live on a patio permanently, but bringing them out when you plan on spending an afternoon relaxing does wonders for creating a more homey space.

Plant Pollinators

Pollinators are essential to keep your local bee and butterfly populations happy. Try planting them around your patio, just slightly away from any seating areas.

Choose a Slate Stone

Slate is one of the most classic patio materials. And, while we can't all have this view from our patio, we can at least have the timeless look of natural stone.

Surround the Patio with Flower Beds

Give the patio more visual interest by surrounding it with flower beds that will provide you with seasonal color all year long.

Put Up Outdoor Drapery

Outdoor drapery is not only practical, it also looks chic. It can keep the cold out while providing shade in the heat of summer, and it has a luxurious aesthetic.

Create a Privacy Fence

Use shrubbery to create a privacy fence that turns your patio into an outdoor escape. Plant smaller shrubs in front of taller ones so that it doesn't feel claustrophobic.

Use Cold Weather Hardy Plants

You don't want the entirety of your patio landscaping to turn brown in the winter, so plant a few cold weather hardy plants. Look for plants that will maintain foliage and color through the chilliest months.

Go All in on Color

Whether it's your plants, your furniture, or even your house itself, don't be afraid to go all in on color on your patio. This should be a cheerful space where you want to hang out.

Utilize Benches for Easy Seating

Benches create easy seating and they give you even more room to decorate with a collection of planters.

Install a Paver Patio

Pavers can take on a multitude of looks. Sometimes they look modern, but, other times, they can work beautifully in a charming cottage garden like this one.

Lay a Brick Patio

A brick patio feels traditional, particularly when it's surrounded by large, abundant ferns and a wrought iron patio set.

Work With a Concrete Slab

Even if you have a simple concrete slab base for your patio, you can warm it up with color, textiles, and furniture. Hang plants from overhead to add even more life.

Make It a Multifunctional Space

Your patio doesn't have to be large to be multifunctional. Carve out a separate seating area, dining area, and even a bar area for a patio you'll use from morning to night.

Create a Jungle in a Small Space

Filling a small patio with potted plants gives it a lush, abundant feel that's absolutely delightful. It's like walking into your own private jungle.

Echo the Natural Landscape

When the landscaping around your patio echoes that natural landscape beyond its border, it creates a calming, cohesive look. Here, cacti take center stage both in the yard and outside of it.

Incorporate Climbing Vines

Let vines create a backdrop for your patio ambiance. When they climb up the side of the house, they become like artwork just beyond your seating area.

DIY a Patio With Pebble Gravel

A patio doesn't need to be a major DIY undertaking or a professional project. You can DIY a patio in an unused corner of your yard with something as simple as pebble gravel.

Make the Patio a Destination

If you have room for multiple areas of your patio, install a walkway to lead to a second destination patio. This is the perfect spot for a lounge area that's surrounded by greenery.

Bring in Covered Pergolas

The vertical element can be introduced in a number of ways. The option with the greatest impact is the pergola. It's also the option with the highest functionality because pergolas can be covered to increase your comfort level outdoors by providing shade.

Cover your pergola and you've transformed it into a room that isn't quite "inside," but neither is it any longer quite "outside."

Grow Wisteria Overhead

Plant wisteria in just the right spot to creep and crawl across an overhead pergola. The delicate flowers give your patio the most dreamy, ethereal look when it's in bloom.

Mix Raised Beds and Containers

Use what you have on hand to add flowers and greenery to your patio. It can be a mix of potted plants, containers, and raised beds. There are no rules and, sometimes, more is more.

Embrace Color

Even if you have a small patio, bring in the color. Add a potted flower, colorful chairs, and accessories to make the space feel vibrant and cheerful.

Select the Right Trees

Since trees are the biggest class of landscape plants, you will have to select ones that fit well with your patio landscaping.

• If you want a shade tree for your patio, choose a tree that will be of intermediate height at maturity.
• Avoid installing trees with aggressive root systems.
• Choose trees that are relatively clean to reduce maintenance.

Japanese maples give you good options for trees of intermediate height.

Add Privacy

The vast majority of people like to have at least a little privacy along their property lines. There are three ways to get privacy, including using privacy hedges:

• Fences
• Informal hedges
• Formal hedges

Non-gardeners may prefer to erect fences to gain privacy, while gardeners often achieve it instead through the use of plant material. A row of arborvitae bushes used to help screen out unwanted attention from the neighboring house are a good example of an informal hedge.