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Home > 35 Beautiful Backyards

35 Beautiful Backyards

Your backyard is your private retreat. Enhance it by adding touches that make it special: a water feature, comfy seating, lovely plant beds, even just a hammock. Here is some inspiration.
By the editors of MidwestLiving.com

Mood setter [1]

A koi pond says serenity when situated next to a seating area shaded by trees and multiple umbrellas in this Twin Cities backyard.

Read more about this yard [2].

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Table games [5]

Table games

This table, created by an Iowa garden designer, reflects the designer's love of geometry. It's a rectangle and two cylinders, furniture distilled to its structural essence. The table's legs are hard-fired terra-cotta chimney flues and the top is built out of cedar four-by-fours and four-by-twos.

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Extended use [8]

Screened patios extend your season outdoors and transition to patios. Plantings of hydrangeas echo the blues in the seating area and white of this Door County, Wisconsin, home.

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Create zones [11]

Outdoor zones

Using a variety of natural materials like pea gravel, a Michigan homeowner carved a rectangular backyard into defined zones for entertaining, dining and sitting. 

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Make a splash [14]

This classically designed fountain provides a decorative focal point—and soothing sound—for an Illinois garden.

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Lush landscaping [17]

The naturally lush setting was one of the attractions for the homeowners of this Lake Michigan cabin. They planted more trees, bushes and flowers on the half-acre property that was already blessed with towering pines.

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Outdoor kitchen [20]

This outdoor kitchen works hard so you don’t have to. Stone stands up to the elements, and there is every appliance you could need to serve gourmet fare.

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Up and away [23]

Having just a sliver of yard in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood couldn't squash this homeowner's dreams for a stunning outdoor retreat. His solution? Escape to the roof. 

More photos from this rooftop garden [24]

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Curving beds [27]

Undulating beds of low-maintenance perennials give a finished look to your landscape and decrease yard chores. Wide green paths curve through this yard in Brown Deer, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee.

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Small-space makeover [30]

This homeowner in Columbus, Ohio, divided his 50x50-foot backyard—bookended by house and garage—into four outdoor rooms filled with amenities for relaxing or entertaining.

Read more about this backyard [31].

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A place to relax [34]

Bamboo, a hammock and a koi pond offer a bit of the tropics—and an appealing place to relax—in this Kansas City yard.

Read more about this yard.  [35]

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Inviting entrance [38]

An arbor supporting summer-blooming clematis and honeysuckle leads to a prairie garden in this Illinois backyard. Twig chairs and a sculpture made from old garden and farm implements add whimsy.

Read more about this garden [39].

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Connect home and nature [42]

Architectural elements unite this covered patio to the home, as do the ceiling fan, chandeliers, upholstered furniture and fireplace. Brick and wood keep it tied to nature.

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Add whimsy [45]

This sweet gazebo in a Grayslake, Illinois, yard adds whimsy via its color scheme and its gingerbread-type trim elements.

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Feature water [48]

Any water feature adds beautiful sounds and movement to a yard. This Door County, Wisconsin, yard incorporates a waterfall into the pond and one leading to the stream. Using native rock around it blends it seamlessly into the landscape. Koi add a flash of color.

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Lush look [51]

Pile on the amenities for a showstopper setting. Multiple seating areas, artistic touches, a pergola and a mix of textures combine to treat the senses in this Kansas City, Missouri, yard.

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Dress up your shed [54]

The back of a shed becomes a canvas for artists in this Janesville, Wisconsin, garden. What would you paint?

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Shady setting [57]

If your yard is shaded, use it to your advantage: Plant hostas like the ones lining this babbling brook in a Stillwater, Minnesota, yard.

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Make connections [60]

A low bridge links two parts of this yard while also marking the transition from formal landscaping to a more natural look.

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Create a vista [63]

If your yard lacks a view, create one. Gazing balls and an arbor add special touches in this Wisconsin garden.

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Warm the woods [66]

Dense tree cover doesn’t have to leave you in the cold. Pick a fire pit sized to warm a seating area in the shade. Ferns and hostas fill the shade with bright greenery. 

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Go vertical [69]

Plant vertically for an eye-catching focal point in your yard. In this Door County, Wisconsin, garden, framed sedum and succulents make living art.

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Dramatic contrasts [72]

A stone fireplace and wood flooring and beams give this covered patio a rustic nature, but the wave recliner, nesting table and chair set, and carved chair say modern styling.

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Intimate seating [75]

This tiny patio tucked into a yard provides seating for two, warmed by a diminutive fire pit in a Twin Cities backyard.

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Japanese theme [78]

A dry stream bed—each stone selected and placed by the Illinois homeowner—is just one of many elements that make up this backyard Japanese garden.

Read more about this garden [79].

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Outdoor rooms [82]

With a living room, dining room and kitchen, outdoor living is just as comfy as it is indoors.  

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Beautiful trees [85]

Create visual interest in your backyard just by choosing out-of-the-ordinary trees. The unusual shape of the Weeping Norway Spruce at right and the delicate Japanese maple at left draw attention in this Illinois garden.

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Decorative seating [88]

This classically styled bench is both a practical and decorative accent in an Illinois back yard. 

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Rustic arbor [91]

A Wisconsin homeowner constructed this sturdy arbor using cedar logs. The rustic design suits the country garden, which is on property that was once a Wisconsin dairy farm and cheese factory. The tall blue delphiniums are 'New Millennium' hybrids. 

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Step it up [94]

Three wide steps transition from the yard to a wide deck featuring an area for conversation and one for dining. Note how accessories pull the house color onto the deck.

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H2-Ooooh [97]

It’s easy to relax when burbling fountains and chattering waterfalls supply the soundtrack. As nature’s kinetic art, moving water is a surefire crowd-pleaser. You can DIY a fountain by adding a submersible pump to a ceramic pot or urn.

How to Create a Double-Decker Fountain [98] 

 

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Destination escape [101]

Surrounded by lush plantings, a table sits on pavers almost overgrown with greenery. Centerpieces of potted plants enhance the garden theme, and a fountain adds a burble. The combination creates the feel of an escape—no matter how close to neighbors.

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Carve out a corner [104]

With a drive running behind this home, the owners had to carve out privacy.  Surrounded by planters and picket fence, the simple pad is fun and functional. Two tables, a buffet and a stunning light keep the party zone useful day into night.

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Two tiers of function [107]

These homeowners make the most of the space below their deck with seating, a hanging chair and curtains that close for privacy.

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Dining niche [110]

Placing a picnic table in a nook between planters makes for a shady dining area, and the planter walls guarantee privacy.

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More Midwest gardening tips [113]

Related Links: 
25 Top Easy-Care Plants for Midwest Gardens [114]
20 Tough Trees for Midwest Lawns [115]
9 Ways to Create a Garden Path [116]
35 Beautiful Container Gardens [117]
14 Ways to Save Water in Your Garden [118]
How to Attract Butterflies to Your Yard [119]
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Tags: 
Garden [122]
Garden Design [123]
Spring gardening [124]
Summer gardening [125]
Spring [126]
Summer [127]
Outdoor Living [128]
Copyright © 2013, Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Source URL (retrieved on April 24, 2018): http://www.midwestliving.com/garden/ideas/30-beautiful-backyards/

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