DIY Landscaping Ideas

Are you new to DIY landscaping and need some help getting started? We have the tools to guide you as you plan your landscaping project. Check out our top, best, and new landscaping projects, as well as our DIY tutorial videos, discussion boards, and slideshows. Join the Hometalk community of DIY landscapers and get ready to see results!

Backyard Makeover: DIY Landscaping Project

DIY Landscaping Design

Mark out high and low areas: Print out an aerial view of your property using Google Maps to help you establish where your high and low areas are.
Plan your layout: Plan around those high and low areas. Flowers that like damp conditions go in low areas and vice versa.
Map out your garden beds: Decide which garden beds to place where, by considering which plants prefer sunny and shady spots.
Add hardscaping: Pathways, walls, pavers, statues, ponds, and entertainment areas will add further depth to the garden.
Implement your design: Be willing to compromise in case you can't source the plants you had in mind. Visit your local nurseries and ask for advice.

More growing categories

Top Landscaping Projects

We have the top landscaping projects all ready for you right here. Check them out!

Backyard Makeover: DIY Landscaping Project

Our backyard area was in dire need of help! This is how we transformed our "weed garden" into a more manageable space. You can also check out my blog for the full details: www.alchemy-home.net

Alchemy Home

Landscaping Project

Landscaping Project for picnic tables. I was tired of moving the picnic tables every time I had to mow. So, I came up with this project. It's easy to do and beautiful.

Melody Drinkwater Wagner

How We Made Stepping Stone Walkway From Ice Cream Buckets.

We had already purchased molds from Lowe`s that made this pattern. We are using this pattern that will come off the back porch and out to our sitting area with burn pit and adding two hammock chairs. We did not want everything to be matched, so we had to figure what kind of pattern we wanted. My hubby is building A bigger shop, that is why everything is in the yard. In the process of cleaning out the old shed we had A lot of empty ice cream buckets and knew someday we would use them for something.

Shirley

11 Gorgeous Pictures That Prove Sloped Yards Are Better

Up until know, you might have thought having a sloped backyard was a limitation - well, it's not. Actually, it's a blessing in disguise! Sloped yards create amazing opportunities for adding interest and unique features to your outdoor space. And if it sounds like we're just trying to appease those sloped yard owners, check out these ideas and see for yourself: 1. Turn your slope into a personal beach

Hometalk Highlights

How to Fill Driveway Cracks

This was one of the most long overdue projects at our home. We’ve been talking about what a hot mess the driveway was for the last two and a half years. There were chunks of top coat missing from years neglect, 2 of which were admittedly our fault, and patches of grass.

The DIY Doghouse

Low Maintenance Front Yard Landscaping

My front yard is located up on a hill. I have a kind of beautiful landscape of mostly mulch, greenery, and flowers. The problem with mulch is that it's very high-maintenance. Every year, we have to refill the bald spots. Between buying, transporting, and lifting the mulch bags, it's just becoming overwhelming. Don't even get me started on the back pain or the wind blowing the mulch dust inside and outside the house... Another issue was that the mulch was all around the base of the house and it caused a humidity problem inside the house, as it seems to have been letting the rain and snow penetrate throughout.As you can see, I had many reasons to want to find an alternative, so I discovered river rocks. One scoop of the rocks solved the problem! It's beautiful, durable, and useful. It's a good way to prevent rain from seeping into the house. So, I removed all the mulch surrounding the house and replaced it with rocks.

Hinda

DIY Gravel Garden: Easy & Low Maintenance!

If you have an outdoor space with a sunny spot, then you may have the perfect environment for having your own gravel garden.Maybe you have a gravel patio that needs a makeover? It can also be a gravel garden.Gravel beds are a great way to reduce the amount of time you spend maintaining a garden.That’s right, these spectacular gardens are very low maintenance. And once established, gravel gardening truly requires very little effort.

Artsy Pretty Plants

Before and After Small Garden

I bought my home end of October and spent 4 months looking at this awful garden through winter. I just couldn't handle looking at it any longer, so I decided I would have to do something about it. I really couldn't afford to get anyone to help me (very tight budget), so I decided I would do it on my own. I am 5'3" tall and a 45 year old woman, so I'm VERY proud of myself for this. I wanted a woodland feel.

Cinzanno

Lattice Wall for Backyard Privacy

Add a little bit of privacy to your backyard patio with simple lattice panels and small, potted plants.

Chelsea Lipford Wolf

Instead of Planting Flowers, These Homeowners Did Something Brilliant

So, what would you put here? If you’re thinking “flowers,” you’re in for a nice surprise.

Hometalk Highlights

Backyard Makeover: DIY Landscaping Project

Our backyard area was in dire need of help! This is how we transformed our "weed garden" into a more manageable space. You can also check out my blog for the full details: www.alchemy-home.net

Alchemy Home

Landscaping Project

Landscaping Project for picnic tables. I was tired of moving the picnic tables every time I had to mow. So, I came up with this project. It's easy to do and beautiful.

Melody Drinkwater Wagner

How We Made Stepping Stone Walkway From Ice Cream Buckets.

Shirley

11 Gorgeous Pictures That Prove Sloped Yards Are Better

Hometalk Highlights

How to Fill Driveway Cracks

The DIY Doghouse

Low Maintenance Front Yard Landscaping

Hinda

DIY Gravel Garden: Easy & Low Maintenance!

Artsy Pretty Plants

Before and After Small Garden

Cinzanno

Lattice Wall for Backyard Privacy

Add a little bit of privacy to your backyard patio with simple lattice panels and small, potted plants.

Chelsea Lipford Wolf

Instead of Planting Flowers, These Homeowners Did Something Brilliant

So, what would you put here? If you’re thinking “flowers,” you’re in for a nice surprise.

Hometalk Highlights

Landscaping slideshows sure to get your creative juices flowing. You've got this.

Landscaping Videos

Are you looking for landscaping video tutorials for tips and hacks? Look no more.

Simple Garden Path

This is a simple wooden garden path that can be made with a few logs, a chain saw, some oil, and some time.

SSLFamilyDad

Tire Rim Water Hose Holder

If you're looking for a quick project to brighten up your yard this summer, here's something to consider, especially if your water hose is just coiled up on the ground. I've seen similar ideas so I thought I'd try my hand at it and I love how this upcycle turned out!

Rob & Courtney M, Hometalk Team

How to Make a Fire Bowl

This was one of my most exciting projects I have worked on. With the little experience I have, I love concrete work. I will give you all the steps I took to create this awesome fire bowl.The bowls I use I'm not sure where you can get them. I snagged these from my office after a lunch part. They are plastic catering bowls. I believe any bowls could work.

Glen

Stair Riser Planter Garden

I've always dreamed of a super simple, easily accessible and manageable herb garden. I've tried different methods of keeping them in the past, but they always end up growing into one another, being displayed poorly, or being infested with bugs. This option is appealing, eye-catching, and extremely functional. Now, I can quickly snip, pull or pick the herb I need for my next meal, right outside my back door!

Julien K., Hometalk Team

Hometalkers' Favorite DIY Landscaping Projects

We have the best DIY landscaping projects to inspire you and get you planning.

Bottle Wall

We needed some privacy on the veranda of our man cave. A bottle wall seemed like a good idea. We spent around $200 and used 125 recycled bottles, a great feature wall has been added.

Joanne Miller

DIY Outdoor Staircase

When we moved into our home two years ago we knew we needed to fix the stairs and walkway that came off the driveway to the back patio of the house. The stairs were built about 18 years ago and were completely sloped, slanted, crooked...you name it. An accident waiting to happen.

Amy

We Built Steps on a Slope

As some of you know, we built our own patio. We then wanted a grand walkway which lead from our deck to the patio. The hillside we needed to traverse to get to the patio was about a 2 foot drop over 20 feet or so. We could have just put in a gravel pathway, but we wanted something bigger and more appealing. So, we built steps on the slope, leading from the deck to the patio.

ScrappyGeek.com

Hose Reel solution for yard and garden,outdoor faucet extension/remote

Got tired of the cheap plastic hose reels that don't last. Plus my dumb house builder, put the water spigots behind the AC units(real smart). So I built this to make the water much more accessible. I mounted an aluminum hose reel, up high, so no bending down, just a simple crank type. Plus used HD washing machine hoses (stainless steel 5/8" braided, not the typical 3/8"), with ball type spigots with quick disconnects from Lee Valley; so now I just leave the spigots behind the AC units on all the time; when winter comes, just remove hoses and shut off water. Also added copper post tops. Features 2-tap water spigots, and 2-well water spigots. Plus room for expansion, and to hang things on back and sides. Came out nice. The 2 upright posts ,are cemented in; the bottom cross members serve 2-fuctions, 1) were part of the overall design, 2) to hold in place/level while concrete dried. Plus I put Treated 4x4's around the entire area with pea-gravel. Was always muddy here(not much sun). Just have to stain a a few weeks. I drilled many holes and spaces around the perimeter for drainage; as I wanted to ensure the area doesn't fill up with water in heavy rains. (Note: I had one of those watered powered hose reels before, never really worked, you would need much higher than average water pressure to make these work properly; so I went back to simplicity- less problems I hope.) The reel was about $80, with the wood, hardware and plumbing etc, total cost about $400 (already had the hose and water timer). UPDATE 5-30-2014: The only issue I had was plumbing parts from Lowe's and Home Depot. First I had used Galvanized nipples to go through the 4x4 to attached the faucets, they were rusting badly at the threads, and I replaced with Brass nipples. Secondly was the faucets, the faucet handles started rusting within months, these are outdoor faucets, and should not rust. I returned them, and ordered my faucets online, and they had a upgrade option for Stainless Steel handles; which I ordered and installed, now all is good again. Ordered the faucets with stainless steel handles from http://www.arrowheadbrass.com UPDATE 6-5-2015: Due to freezing temperatures, I've been removing the spigots in winter. This year, I removed the hoses, but instead of removing the spigots, I just unscrewed the lag bolts on the cross members, and took the wood with spigots attached indoors for the winter, much quicker and easier.

Clay B

Top 10 Easy Backyard Ideas For Entertaining

On a budget? Check out these top 10 easy backyard ideas for entertaining! Who cares if you can't afford an ultra-expensive backyard remodel? These ideas can transform an average backyard into a space Martha Stewart would be proud of! Read the full article here: http://evergreenturf.com/Top-10-Easy-Backyard-Ideas-For-Entertaining-Tucson-Sod-Tips.php

Evergreen Turf

Bottle Wall

We needed some privacy on the veranda of our man cave. A bottle wall seemed like a good idea. We spent around $200 and used 125 recycled bottles, a great feature wall has been added.

Joanne Miller

DIY Outdoor Staircase

Amy

We Built Steps on a Slope

ScrappyGeek.com

Hose Reel solution for yard and garden,outdoor faucet extension/remote

Clay B

Top 10 Easy Backyard Ideas For Entertaining

Evergreen Turf

Popular Landscaping Discussions

What consitutes good landscaping? Let your voice be heard on our discussion board.

Overwhelmed by overgrown backyard

/> N'neka

I have a shaded backyard that up until last year was completely wooded. We had a few trees hit by lightening so we had them cut down and the guys thinned it out a lot. Before the trees were cut you could barely see the fence. It's still too much shade for much grass so now weeds and brush have filled in where trees once were and it's an eyesore. I have no idea what to do with it. The shade, the slope and my 2 large dogs makes my yard a good challenge for a landscaper but that's probably not something we can do for at least 1-2 years. So my questions are: 1) What can we do in the meantime to at least make it pleasant to sit out on the patio? 2) How much should one spend on pro landscaping in comparison to the value of the home? I view home improvements as something for my personal enjoyment and not as an investment. However I wouldn't want to waste too much money on inappropriate landscaping for the area? 3) I want to get some quotes now so I can have a goal to save for this project. I have no idea if I should be looking at $2000 or $20,000. But I don't want to waste anyone's time since I can't start soon. When is a good time to contact companies for estimates?

View discussion

How to design my backyard to look like a beautiful serene park?

/> Twe27815915

View discussion

How can I make a DIY waterfall pond?

/> Dan Pethers

Waterfall and very colorful.

View discussion

New Landscaping Projects

Need some new DIY landscaping ideas? Check out our collection of projects here.

No Maintenance Front Yard. No Mowing, No Fertilizer,

Don’t get me wrong, this was a huge undertaking.I wanted a maintenance free front yard. I got estimates ranging from $5,500 to $6,800. That wasn’t happening!I removed four inches of grass, a lot of work! I bought Lowe’s best weed mat, mat pins and 8 low growing Junipers as they are drought resistant and can tolerate our intense Florida heat, they thrive in full sun. I wanted to be certain the weeds wouldn’t grow thru overlapping mat so I bought Heavy Duty white duct tape. Once the junipers and mat was in place I ordered 1 & 1/2 tons of 2” river rock dumped on a tarp in the street spilling onto the mat. Now comes the really hard part. Shoveled all the rock in all the crevices - still in the process of finishing the rock wall but here are the before and after photos.

Amazing Grace !

Low Maintenance Front Yard Landscaping

Hinda

DIY Gravel Garden: Easy & Low Maintenance!

Artsy Pretty Plants

How to Prune a Tree to Keep It Healthy and Tidy

While everyone may have a different opinion on why trees should be pruned, almost everyone will agree that if you’re a homeowner, pruning your trees should be one of the projects you tackle every year.When it comes to doing so, your best bet is to do a little research to make sure the process runs smoothly. Not only can pruning trees be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing or if you use the wrong tools and equipment, but improper pruning can cause irreparable harm to your tree or even cause its untimely demise.This guide takes a look at how to prune a tree. Ahead we cover the ins and out of timing your maintenance, the tools you’ll need to get the job done, and we’ll also review the process of pruning step by step. So if pruning a tree is on your to-do list, you may want to read on before making the first cut.