Best Garden Designs: Purple Punches - iVillage

35 Great Garden Designs chimes

These incredible gardens will inspire you to get outdoors and get your hands dirty. Whether you have a small space or a sprawling plot, we'll help you make the most of it.

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Best Garden Designs: Purple Punches

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

iVillage on Feb 28, 2011 at 12:04PM

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Best Garden Designs: Purple Punches

The square edges of this built-in pond are a modern contrast to the wild landscape.

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Best Garden Designs: Lovely Levels

These natural-rock walls add interest to an outdoor space.

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Best Garden Designs: Don't Hedge Your Bets

Neatly manicured hedges avoid looking overly formal when used as a border for pretty free-growing blooms.

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Best Garden Designs: Restful Retreat

Try filling a small patio with several pots of pretty flowers to create your own personal secret garden.

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Best Garden Designs: Rustic Habitat

Allium hollandicum, a lovely lavendar ornamental onion, adds both height and color to this country garden.

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Best Garden Designs: Pretty Pathway

Select plants that vary in height to create visual interest. Here rustic pebbles create a winding pathway.

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Best Garden Designs: Stairway to Nowhere

This miniature path may not lead anywhere, but it adds an interesting architectural element to this landscape design.

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Best Garden Designs: Where the Grass is Greener

If you have no need for an open backyard (read: young children or a fetch-loving pooch), consider creating grassy pathways that wind around smaller garden beds.

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Best Garden Designs: Tea Time

Return to a more civilized way of living. Frame a lovely dining patio with a bed of tall-growing blooms. We adore cestrums, tree daisies, and penstemon.

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Best Garden Designs: Wheely Fun

Flea market finds, like this funky wheelbarrow, make for whimsical planters and are budget-friendly.

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Best Garden Designs: Urban Chic

Urban outdoor spaces can be both modern and beautiful. Here, the layered wood planter adds dimension to an otherwise stark area.

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Best Garden Designs: Easy Eclectic

Don't be afraid to mix-and-match fun planting containers. Use your imagination!

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Best Garden Designs: Garden Gazebo

Vibrant climbing bougainvillea are a lovely contrast to a metal gazebo. Gazebo kits can be purchased (we like this one) and can be surprisingly affordable.

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Best Garden Designs: Hillside Haven

If a large hill occupies most of your outdoor space, fret not. Many of the most beautiful garden picks will thrive in this environment. Plus, they'll help prevent land erosion.

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Best Garden Designs: Private Plot

Use natural elements—in this case tall trees that neatly line the backyard's perimeter—to help keep out nosy neighbors.

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Best Garden Designs: Snap to It

Using one flower en masse can have a dramatic effect in any garden. Here similarly-hued snapdragons take center stage.

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Best Garden Designs: Autumnal Beauty

Ornamental sweet potato and willows add color and texture to a multi-season garden.

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Best Garden Designs: Cozy Corner

Bring the indoors out! A comfortable, pillow-topped bench makes for a relaxing place to read or enjoy a cup of tea. Select pillows that are weather and water resistant (Target has a stellar collection).

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Best Garden Designs: Desert Dreaming

If you live in a hot climate, consider a garden scheme that is native to the region. Here, a wide array of succulents and cacti create a pleasing design.

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Best Garden Designs: White-Hot Lounging

Create your own sexy lounging space. Luxe, ultra-comfy white chairs provide the perfect space for entertaining. Hanging yellow curtains help highlight the citrus-hued floral selections.

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Best Garden Designs: Hanging Out

If you're lucky enough to have a grand old (and large!) tree in your backyard, make the most of it. This encompassing bench provides plenty of space for a potted garden, while hanging planters add a unique element to this space.

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Best Garden Designs: A View from Above

Make the most of a large backyard by using cut-in planting areas to break up a large grassy space.

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Best Garden Designs: Raise the Bar

Raised beds are the perfect solution for a garden space with poor drainage or less-than-great soil. Plus, they're relatively easy to build yourself.

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Best Garden Designs: Lovely Lavender

An outdoor staircase becomes a gorgeous focal point once draped with a stunning wisteria vine.

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Best Garden Designs: Bench Buddies

A dusty vintage bench is given new life when set against a backdrop of hot pink hydrangeas.

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Best Garden Designs: Mix it Up

Using varied paving mediums—like natural stone paired with brick—can add depth to a garden path.

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Best Garden Designs: Flirty and Feminine

Go all-out girly with a white lattice gazebo, spiral topiaries and pink hydrangeas.

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Best Garden Designs: Take a Seat

Look for an arbor with a built-in bench to replicate this look. Creeping Gloxinia comes in a variety of colors and will create a similar aesthetic when grown along the arbor.

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Best Garden Designs: Citrus Burst

Use flowers in a similar color family to create a dynamic garden. Here, sunny oranges, deep reds and cheery yellows punctuate an otherwise-simple plot.

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Best Garden Designs: Up and Away

Metal garden arches add height, dimension and drama to a garden.

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Best Garden Designs: Consistent Containers

Potted scarlet geraniums hang on the sprawling white porch and occupy small pots along the garden border. The repetition of this design element helps to unify the two spaces.

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Best Garden Designs: Tabletop Topiaries

Integrate a dining space with the greater garden by topping the table with natural elements such as these sleek topiaries.

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Best Garden Designs: Calm and Collected

Water features add serenity to an outdoor space. This simple pond makes for a lovely aquatic garden. Get great ideas for beautiful aquatic plants.

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Best Garden Designs: Raining Roses

If you adore roses, consider making them a focal point of your outdoor space. Climbing roses are a beautiful, elegant addition to any garden.

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Best Garden Designs: Time Will Tell

A stand-out sundial takes center stage in this small casual garden.

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