How To Plan A Small Garden Layout

Front Yard Cottage Garden Plan

Add big color to your compact landscape with our collection of ideas for small garden plans.

1 of 25

Mailbox Small Garden

Colorful Mailbox Garden Plan

Add big impact to a small garden with this 3-by-5-foot collection of blooms. It offers tough plants that stand up to the harsh growing conditions surrounding a street-side mailbox. The small garden plants included here stay low, so they won't block your view as you back out of the driveway.

Go to this garden plan!
Get more ideas for small gardens.

2 of 25

Lush Woodland Small Garden

Lush Woodland Garden Plan

3 of 25

Bold and Bright Flower Small Garden

Red Hot Sizzle Garden Plan

Add sizzle to your summer with the bold red, orange, and yellow tones found in this 5-by-6-foot small garden. Featuring tough plants such as yarrow, sedum, daylilies, and more, you can count on this border to look good no matter how hot it gets.

Learn how to garden in small urban garden spaces.

4 of 25

Soft-Color Shade Small Garden

100178473_07072005

Turn a shady, 23-by-11-foot corner of your yard into a pocket of brilliant color with this beautiful small garden. It offers seasons of bloom from bleeding hearts in spring to ligularia in summer and anemone in fall.

Find more solutions for small gardens.

5 of 25

Soft, Romantic Small Garden

100004382_MM952416

6 of 25

Pastel Summer Small Garden

Summer Sorbet Garden Plan

Create a cooling effect during hot summer days with this beautiful small garden plan. Featuring plants in purples and pinks (including daisies, phlox, and catmint), it's a perfect way to decorate a 6-by-6-foot pocket in your yard.

7 of 25

All-Summer Color Small Garden

101121932

You're sure to love this idea for a small garden--just 6-by-7-feet. It offers a big show with long-blooming, easy-to-grow plants such as 'Happy Returns' daylily, award-wining 'May Night' salvia, and fragrant 'Laura' phlox.

8 of 25

Brilliant Shade Small Garden

100004383

Why not add a splash of color to a 6-by-7-foot shady spot in your yard? This small garden design is perfect for it. The show starts in spring with bleeding heart and goes into summer with bold red astilbe. A perennial geranium blooms throughout the summer and adds bold red foliage in fall.

Go to this garden plan!

9 of 25

Small Water Garden

Wet-Soil Garden Plan

Put in a small pond and enjoy a stunning display with this great 7-by-7-foot small garden plan. Filled with tropical plants, it looks great all summer long.

Go to this garden plan!

10 of 25

Small-Space Summertime Garden

100209093

Coneflower is a classic summer bloomer, and this 5-by-10-foot small garden plan features it with other easy-care plants such as Russian sage, yarrow, and catmint. It packs in so much color that everyone will think it's bigger than it really is.

Go to this garden plan!

11 of 25

Foundation Small Garden

Bright Foundation Garden Plan

Give your home's foundation a colorful skirt with this idea for a small garden. This 17-by-3-foot shady garden mixes long-blooming annuals with hardy ferns, so you can be sure your foundation looks great all season long.

Go to this garden plan!

12 of 25

Rose Small Garden

Easy Rose Garden Plan

Grow your own roses! You'll love this small (5-by-11-foot) rose garden that features six different varieties (including extra-tough 'Knock Out') surrounded by a ring of no-fuss lady's mantle.

Go to this garden plan.

13 of 25

Pastel Corner Small Garden

Pastel Retaining Wall Garden Plan

At home decorating a retaining wall or perfectly beautiful on its own, this 7-by-8-foot small garden plan is filled with veronica, bluebells, and more, so you can enjoy a great show all summer.

14 of 25

Bird and Butterfly Small Garden

Bird and Butterfly Garden Plan

Attract scores of butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard with this simple 6-by-10-foot small garden plan. Fragrant butterfly bush and phlox provide treats for your nose, as well as your winged garden guests.

Go to this garden plan!

15 of 25

Sidewalk Small Garden

100179345_10

Soften your sidewalk with this lush cottage-style small garden design. Measuring only 6x10 feet, it offers loads of color from easy-to-grow old-fashioned plants such as geraniums and nasturtiums.

16 of 25

Arbor Small Garden

Romantic Arbor Garden Plan

Bring an arbor from functional to sensational by planting around it. This simple 6-by-10-foot small garden plan is perfect for that purpose. A variety of climbing roses add color, while carefree daylilies and yarrow put on a show down low.

17 of 25

Entry Small Garden

101237660

Here's another take on turning an arbor into a showcase in your yard. This 5-by-13-foot small garden design offers big perennials such as Joe Pye weed and 'Herbstonne' black-eyed Susan instead of vines.

18 of 25

Blue Small Garden

Blue-Theme Garden Plan Illustration

Blue is the rarest color in flowers -- so celebrate it with a whole small garden design idea! This 7-by-10-foot garden will fill your yard with soothing hues from sky blue to midnight.

Go to this plan!

19 of 25

Spring Small Garden

100684119

You can fit plenty of tulips, daffodils, and early season perennials in a 12-by-6-foot small garden. Here's a great example that's a perfect start-of-the-season treat for your landscape.

20 of 25

Slope Small Garden

Drought Slope Garden Plan

Make a statement on a difficult-to-maintain hill with this practically carefree 8-by-9-foot small garden design. Colorful sedums look great with thyme and New Zealand flax and take care of themselves.

Go to this garden plan!

21 of 25

Red Small Garden

Red-Theme Garden Plan Illustration

Go bold in your yard with an all-red small garden plan. Here's an easy-to-grow plan for a partly shaded 8-by-10-foot space. Enjoy beautiful lilies, dahlias, and more all summer long.

22 of 25

Yellow Small Garden

100179347

Red not your color? Try yellow! This cheery 8-by-10-foot small garden idea serves up hosts of blooms from favorites such as zinnia, daylily, and cleome.

23 of 25

Perennial Small Garden

Corner of Perennials

If flowers are your thing, this is the small garden plan for you. Seven high-performance perennials will give you plenty of flowers, all summer long and into fall. Tuck the 9-by-9-foot garden into a corner or plop it in the middle of the lawn -- these plants will put on a show.

Go to this garden plan!

24 of 25

Easy-Care Small Garden

Privacy Garden

This 14-by-6-foot small garden plan features easy-to-grow, reliable plants that require minimal care. There will be something happening in the garden throughout the growing season. In spring, Siberian iris starts the parade. Summer is anchored by coneflower's cheerful flowers. Pink sedum completes the show in fall.

Go to this garden plan!

25 of 25

Cottage Small Garden

Front Yard Cottage Garden Plan

Blousy and comfortable, small cottage gardens practically ooze with charm. This 7-by-12-foot version offers lots of blooms that look great in the vase and garden.

Get this plan now!

Up Next