16 garden design ideas to make the best of your outdoor space

These garden design ideas are key to creating a scheme you'll love for years to come. Whether you're looking for garden landscaping ideas to overhaul your outdoor space, or more tailored garden design inspiration such as garden furniture, paving, lights, plants, borders, decking and more, we've compiled some fabulous garden ideas to help you transform your back garden, whether it's big or small – and it'll help to boost your property value, too.

But before you proceed with any redesigns or updates, take a look at your garden as a whole, says Andrew Kyte at The Chelsea Gardener: 'Find out as much as you can about the garden's position, direction and outlook. Not only will this affect planting, it can dictate how you use your space.'

Whether it's a small garden, long and narrow garden, cottage garden or courtyard garden, you should observe where and at what times of day different parts of the garden gets light and sun. Think about access and what you want to use your garden for – planting and growing veg, sunbathing, eating alfresco or simply sitting down to enjoy a cup of tea on a sunny morning?

1. Get your lawn into shape
Look out of your window at your garden and the biggest shape you'll probably see is your lawn. If it's a good, strong shape, it will set the entire garden on the right track. And remember, it doesn't have to be a rectangle – try an oval, circle, square or oblong shape.

You'll need the right tools to complete the job. The experts at price comparison service, PriceRunner, has revealed a rise in searches for nifty robotic lawn mowers (126 per cent) and ride-on mowers (182 per cent) since the pandemic, with the Flymo Easi Glide 300 Electric Mower being the best selling lawn mower this year

For ongoing lawn care and maintenance, Stuart Thomas, gardening expert at online garden centre Primrose, advises: 'If your lawn is looking lacklustre, consider the three tenets of sunshine, showers and soil aeration. Cut branches back to keep excessive shade away. Water once a week early in the morning if the UK's frequent rain isn't cutting it. For aeration, take a fork to your lawn and poke heaps of holes. Do all of these and your lawn will be verdant before you know it. And don't mow it too short!'