Garden Design

Looking for ideas or solutions for tough spots in your yard? Let us show you how to design a beautiful and productive garden. Inspirational garden photos. Step-by-step garden design advice. It's all here!

Design Tips & Inspiration

How to Design a Garden to Attract Pollinators

Want to help support your local pollinators? Check out these great tips for designing a garden that attracts more pollinators.

Garden Tours

Tour a Low-Maintenance Garden with Clay Soil in the Midwest

Joyce Ludlow shares her experience designing a garden from scratch and making the most of her sloping yard with clay soil. Meet her favorite easy-care plants and why they’ve earned a spot in her garden!

2025 Reader Garden Award Runner-Up: Lonna Engel

This stunning shade garden earned a spot as a 2025 Reader Garden Award runner-up — take a closer look at the Painted Leaf Hosta Garden!

Simple Design + Unique Plants = Beautiful Front Yard Garden

Tour Susan Koelink’s front garden in British Columbia, where simple design and bold plants shine. Get inspired to boost your curb appeal with her creative ideas!

Tour A Garden Designer’s Yard Full of Drought-Tolerant Plants

Rebecca Sweet’s garden thrives during drought, thanks to resilient plants designed for California’s high heat and low water conditions.

Tour a Whimsical Southern Garden in Spring

Take a tour of this riverside garden to discover hidden seating areas, whimsical upcycled projects and plenty of spring blooms that are also deer resistant.

Fall Garden Tour: Step Inside an Ohio Couple’s DIY Garden

Discover lots of plant and DIY project tips and get plenty of inspiration from this Ohio couple who's been gardening for nearly 50 years.

GDT_SubPromoAd_DigitalPremium_zone7and11MOBILE_Free_Book

Design Tips & Inspiration

2025 Garden Gate Reader Garden Award

Check out our runners-up for 2025 and learn how to submit your garden for next year's award!

Garden Essentials: Products to Help Embrace Outdoor Living

Check out these product picks from our editors to help you upgrade your outdoor living space this season!

How to Create a Sensory Garden

Design a garden that appeals to all five senses with fragrant plants, vibrant colors and unique textures.

Garden Edging Techniques: Tips from the Pros

A well-defined garden bed is the key to a polished look and fewer weeds. Here’s how 4 garden designers recommend getting it right!

How to Create a Rain Garden

Rain gardens filter rainwater and beautify your yard, find out the basics of building one here!

Solve Garden Problems with Ground Cover Plants

Kathy Jentz shares her tips for using ground cover plants to solve common garden challenges including shady spots, slopes and even in clay soil.

Plant Combinations

One plant is nice. More is better! Learn which plants grow best together here. You'll find sun plants, shade plants, plants for spring, summer, fall and winter gardens, and plants that thrive in all sorts of different conditions in your garden.