Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

10 Beautiful Garden Ideas for Your Home

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When it comes to decorating, it isn't just the inside of your home that needs some updating every once in a while. Your yard could use a little sprucing up too. One great way to do that is by adding a beautiful garden with some unique, attention-grabbing features. Some are functional, and some simply look good, but they all help turn your yard into a gorgeous space where you can spend some time soaking up its natural beauty.

Ponds and Water Features

If you don't already have a water feature in your yard, consider adding one for a bit of tranquility. Ponds, fountains and waterfalls also make fun places for creatures like frogs and turtles to hide. You can even add a few fish you like. It'll look great surrounded by flowers, rocks and plants.

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Arbors

Whether you place it at the entrance or right in the center, an arbor adds some height to any garden. Allow some vining plants to grow over it to create a nice shady spot to sit on sunny days. You can buy the arbor from a hardware store or make one yourself with various materials.

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Herbs

Whether you have simple flower beds around the border of your house or a big elaborate garden, consider adding some some herbs, like lavender, rosemary, basil, sage, mint and lemon balm. They'll put a sweet scent in the air, add some beauty to your garden and best of all, you can harvest them for cooking, making teas and other uses.

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Vegetables

If you like the idea of adding something useful to your garden, consider planting a vegetable garden. You can plant them in rows or mix them in with flowers and other plants to create a wild-looking cottage or kitchen garden. Just make sure you plant items that complement each other in the same space as some vegetables don't grow well next to others.

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Sitting Area

Sometimes, just adding a simple table and chairs to your garden can change the look and make it appear more inviting. There's nothing quite like sitting outdoors and enjoying a cup of coffee first thing in the morning or cozying up with a book in the evening as the sun sets. You may even opt to turn it into a full outdoor living space or kitchen with a grill, brick oven and lounging furniture.

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Paths

Create a nice path through your garden or yard to make it more appealing for you and visitors to walk through and view your flowers or vegetables. You can use natural materials like pine straw or ground cover plants, or you can add pavers, smooth rocks or concrete, depending on the look you want.

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Planters and Pots

Instead of planting all of your flowers and vegetables directly into the ground, try mixing in some pots and planters to your garden. It'll break up the monotony of seeing the same types of plants over and over again, and it'll give you a bit more control over some of your plants.

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Color

Sometimes all you have to do to spruce up your garden is to add some color. Flowers are great, but most of them don't bloom year-round. For this reason, try adding some plants with colorful foliage instead of choosing options that are just all green.

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Courtyard

Go for something entirely different by adding a courtyard to your outdoor space. Enclose it with rock walls, fencing, vines, bushes or shrubs. Depending on the size of the courtyard, you can add water features, sitting areas, planters and other interesting things to the space.

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Raised Beds

Consider adding some raised beds to your garden. They're easy to reach if you have back or knee problems, you can control the conditions inside them and they can be quite pleasing to the eye. Best of all, there is no limit on what kind of materials you can use to create them. Buy a raised bed kit at your local store, or build your own with sticks, concrete blocks, wood and other materials.

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