Mediterranean Garden Ideas and Designs

Modern Water-Side Landscape Remodel and Lawn Replacement - Backyard, Novato, CA

Lagoon-side property in the Bel Marin Keys, Novato, CA. Entertaining and enjoying the views were a primary design goal for this project along with replacing the lawn with CA native and low water plants and a total renovation. The project includes a large camaru deck with built-in seating. The concrete steps and pavers lead down to the water's edge. I included a sunken patio on one side and a beautiful Buddha statue on the other, surrounded by succulents and other low-water, contemporary plantings. I also used Dymondia ground cover to create a natural pathways within the garden. Plants shown: Bush Germander (Teucrium fruticans 'Azureum'), Sea Lavender (Limonium perezii, and Blue Oat Grass. Photo: © Eileen Kelly, Dig Your Garden Landscape Design. Design Eileen Kelly

Rain Harvesting Landscape - Front Yard - Poway, CA

Ecology Artisans

Roof rainwater harvesting front yard landscape. Used to be turf grass, now planted with California natives like yarrow, ceanothus, manzanita.
Design ideas for a medium sized mediterranean front xeriscape full sun garden for spring in San Diego with mulch.

Winding Fence Way

Promise Path Landscaping Inc

Bocce Ball court with decomposed granite
Design ideas for a medium sized mediterranean back xeriscape full sun garden for spring in San Diego with a garden path and natural stone paving.

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Terrassengarten am See

Trautmann Gärten GmbH

Wilfried Trautmann
Inspiration for a mediterranean garden in Stuttgart.

Spanish Style Meets California Friendly

Urbafloria

Jacky Surber Aeoniums surrounding a recirculating fountain.
Photo of a medium sized mediterranean front xeriscape full sun garden in Los Angeles with a water feature and concrete paving.

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SoCal Concepts, Inc.

This is an example of a medium sized mediterranean front partial sun garden in Orange County with a retaining wall and mulch.

Rusted Steel Firepit and Concrete Seatwall

Pistils Landscape Design + Build

Natural stone path, concrete seat wall and rusted steel fire pit.
This is an example of a large mediterranean back partial sun garden in Portland with a fire feature and gravel.

Custom Steel Garden Beds

Pistils Landscape Design + Build

Rusted steel garden beds.
Inspiration for a large mediterranean back partial sun garden in Portland with a vegetable patch and gravel.

Culver City - Backyard Swimming Pool

BE Landscape Design

Allen Haren - Photography
Photo of a medium sized mediterranean back xeriscape full sun garden for spring in Los Angeles with natural stone paving, a raised bed and a wood fence.

Quaint Spanish Courtyard in Santa Barbara California

Santa Barbara Home Design

Design Consultant Jeff Doubét is the author of Creating Spanish Style Homes: Before & After – Techniques – Designs – Insights. The 240 page “Design Consultation in a Book” is now available. Please visit SantaBarbaraHomeDesigner.com for more info. Jeff Doubét specializes in Santa Barbara style home and landscape designs. To learn more info about the variety of custom design services I offer, please visit SantaBarbaraHomeDesigner.com Jeff Doubét is the Founder of Santa Barbara Home Design - a design studio based in Santa Barbara, California USA.

Arcadia Spanish Colonial | Fountain

Greey Pickett

The landscape of this home honors the formality of Spanish Colonial / Santa Barbara Style early homes in the Arcadia neighborhood of Phoenix. By re-grading the lot and allowing for terraced opportunities, we featured a variety of hardscape stone, brick, and decorative tiles that reinforce the eclectic Spanish Colonial feel. Cantera and La Negra volcanic stone, brick, natural field stone, and handcrafted Spanish decorative tiles are used to establish interest throughout the property. A front courtyard patio includes a hand painted tile fountain and sitting area near the outdoor fire place. This patio features formal Boxwood hedges, Hibiscus, and a rose garden set in pea gravel. The living room of the home opens to an outdoor living area which is raised three feet above the pool. This allowed for opportunity to feature handcrafted Spanish tiles and raised planters. The side courtyard, with stepping stones and Dichondra grass, surrounds a focal Crape Myrtle tree. One focal point of the back patio is a 24-foot hand-hammered wrought iron trellis, anchored with a stone wall water feature. We added a pizza oven and barbecue, bistro lights, and hanging flower baskets to complete the intimate outdoor dining space. Project Details: Landscape Architect: Greey|Pickett Architect: Higgins Architects Landscape Contractor: Premier Environments Photography: Sam Rosenbaum

Yorba Linda 2014

xeristyle | exterior | design

Nicklaus Paulo of xeristyle | exterior | design
Mediterranean front xeriscape full sun garden for spring in Orange County.

Guest Carriage House

Beilman Architecture

Inspiration for an expansive mediterranean courtyard driveway partial sun garden for spring in Miami with a garden path and brick paving.

Four Steps to a Formal Garden

Hoy Landscaping Inc.

This landscape is absolutely paradise from the containers to the bent grass and everything in between. Photo By: Jeff Kain
Design ideas for a medium sized mediterranean back formal fully shaded garden for summer with a garden path and natural stone paving.

California drought-tolerant garden

Kaiser Gardens

This is a California xeriscape succulent garden. Clients wanted color and texture with drought-resistant plant materials. They enjoy garden sculptures, so we included a Buddha and a Roman bust planted with succulents. The previous owners of the property left behind some old San Francisco cobblestones, which we incorporated into the new design, using them as garden steps. We built low, raised beds out of stone, also existing on the property, and used containers along steps and against existing concrete walls to soften the hard surfaces.

Succulent Planters

CaliScape Landscape Services

Succulents are an easy, low maintenance way to spruce up your outdoor, or indoor, spaces. These plants require very low water usage making them a perfect plant for the southwestern United States, or for the plant lover who is constantly forgetting their watering can.

California Ranch Dreaming

Christiane Holmquist Landscape Design

Emma Almendarez
Inspiration for a small mediterranean front xeriscape partial sun garden for summer in San Diego with mulch.

Scenic Habitat

Roxy Designs

Photo: © Jude Parkinson-Morgan
This is an example of a small mediterranean back xeriscape full sun garden in San Francisco with a water feature and natural stone paving.

Complete Backyard Makeover with Pool Design

Pezzo Bello Interiors

Pezzo Bello Interiors
Photo of a large mediterranean back full sun garden for summer in Kansas City with mulch.

Mediterranean Garden Ideas and Designs

A beautifully designed mediterranean garden is as important as the emphasis we place on the designs of our interiors. After all, our grounds (however modest) frame our homes and contribute to first impressions not only of our houses, but also of the households within. Options for garden designs can be as elaborate or low maintenance as your lifestyle and preferences permit – consider both your aspirations for how it should look and how much time you can invest in garden maintenance. Consulting a gardener or landscape designer will ensure you have a garden that suits your lifestyle, the local climate and soil conditions. But don’t forget that with Houzz your first stop can be collecting images of garden ideas and designs you love in order to inspire your garden plans and potentially share them with a landscape gardening professional.

How do I come up with a mediterranean front garden design?

The priority for a front garden is kerb appeal. Begin by considering the area immediately around and leading up to your front door. You may want to opt for front garden designs that blend well with the style of your home – for example, abundant foliage and flowerbeds will perfectly complement a period property, whereas man-made materials, geometric shapes and contrasting textures are great ideas for a contemporary garden design. Even if your front garden is a small space, keep it tidy – if you have more space, make the most of it with garden ideas and features such as a manicured lawn, gravel driveway, water feature or garden fencing. If you don’t have the time or commitment to devote to gardening, then neatly pruned hedges, statement paving, hanging baskets, garden benches and outdoor lighting are all decorative, low maintenance garden ideas for your mediterranean front garden design.

How should I design my mediterranean back garden?

Back gardens typically offer more space than front garden designs and serve a more recreational purpose, so it’s important to know how you want to spend time in your garden before you design it in order to build in the features that you will enjoy. If you love relaxing in the garden and dining al fresco, think about patios, decking, garden furniture and BBQs. For the more horticulturally-inclined, incorporate flower beds, greenhouses or vegetable garden designs. Your landscape gardening professional can help you install structures such as sheds, pergolas and gazebos that complement your garden design, and artfully-placed garden ideas such as lawn edging and lighting will add definition to your chosen design.

How do I create a low maintenance garden?

The great news is, gardens aren’t exclusively for the green-fingered. Whether you’re not horticulturally-inclined or simply don’t have the time for a bit of landscape gardening, you can still have a mediterranean garden design that looks the way you want by making some smart design choices. While many of us favour low maintenance gardens like urban gardens, roof terraces and patio gardens, lovers of greenery don’t need to sacrifice grass for paving slabs. Whatever you want from your garden, there are a variety of gardening solutions that can be built in to make life easier. For example, labour intensive features such as vegetable patches, greenhouses and flower beds can be optimised with an automatic irrigation system. These can be offset with fuss-free garden ideas such as hard landscaping, including gravel, paving or decking, and hard-wearing evergreens that require minimal upkeep. You might even consider replacing your garden fencing with slow growing hedging, which can be maintained less regularly than wooden fence panels. If having a lawn is important, there are different types of grasses in varying degrees of durability and maintenance. You may choose to take a more relaxed approach to your lawn – “wild” garden designs can have great charm if the grasses and flowers are chosen carefully. If you prefer a manicured lawn, it’s a good idea to invest in a “mulching” lawn mower that will recycle clippings and remove the need for cleaning up. Finally, there isn’t a more low maintenance garden lawn than artificial grass which can look highly realistic and keep your garden looking green. Garden ornaments are a great way to add interest to your low maintenance garden design – go for smart garden ideas such as solar garden lights which are both decorative and functional. Find some of the most popular design ideas on Houzz.

Berkeley Mediterranean Backyard Patio & Pathway

Leigh Designs

Photo of a medium sized mediterranean back garden in San Francisco with a water feature and natural stone paving.

United Kingdom

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