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  1. Midwest Living
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  4. 35 Beautiful Backyards

35 Beautiful Backyards

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com Updated August 27, 2020
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Mood setter

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.

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Mood setter

Mood setter

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

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Table games

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

Extended use

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

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

Make a splash

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

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Lush landscaping

Lush landscaping

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

Outdoor kitchen

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

Chicago rooftop garden

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.

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Curving beds

Curving beds

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

Small-space makeover

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.

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A place to relax

A place to relax

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

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Inviting entrance

Inviting entrance

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. 

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Connect home and nature

Connect home and nature

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

Add whimsy

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

Feature water

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

Lush look

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

Dress up your shed

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

Shady setting

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

Make connections

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

Create a vista

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

Warm the woods

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

Go vertical

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

Dramatic contrasts

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

Intimate seating

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

Japanese theme

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.

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Outdoor rooms

Outdoor rooms

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

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Beautiful trees

Beautiful trees

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

Decorative seating

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

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Rustic arbor

Rustic arbor

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

Step it up

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

H2-Ooooh

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.

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Destination escape

Destination escape

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

Carve out a corner

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

Two tiers of function

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

Dining niche

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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By The editors of MidwestLiving.com

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    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

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    1 of 35 Mood setter
    2 of 35 Table games
    3 of 35 Extended use
    4 of 35 Create zones
    5 of 35 Make a splash
    6 of 35 Lush landscaping
    7 of 35 Outdoor kitchen
    8 of 35 Up and away
    9 of 35 Curving beds
    10 of 35 Small-space makeover
    11 of 35 A place to relax
    12 of 35 Inviting entrance
    13 of 35 Connect home and nature
    14 of 35 Add whimsy
    15 of 35 Feature water
    16 of 35 Lush look
    17 of 35 Dress up your shed
    18 of 35 Shady setting
    19 of 35 Make connections
    20 of 35 Create a vista
    21 of 35 Warm the woods
    22 of 35 Go vertical
    23 of 35 Dramatic contrasts
    24 of 35 Intimate seating
    25 of 35 Japanese theme
    26 of 35 Outdoor rooms
    27 of 35 Beautiful trees
    28 of 35 Decorative seating
    29 of 35 Rustic arbor
    30 of 35 Step it up
    31 of 35 H2-Ooooh
    32 of 35 Destination escape
    33 of 35 Carve out a corner
    34 of 35 Two tiers of function
    35 of 35 Dining niche

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