Modern garden ideas

Many people regard 'modern' or 'contemporary' garden styles as being low maintenance, with fewer plants and more hard landscaping (patios and paths) than you would associate with an 'old fashioned' garden. These designs often feature raised beds, straight lines and and standalone 'feature' plants such as an olive, banana or palm tree – some even regard this style of gardens as 'posh'. More modern (and indeed fashionable) than this, however, is a wildlife or biodiversity garden, which provides habitat for bees and other pollinators, holds on to water and draws down carbon dioxide, helping in the fight against climate change. These gardens have lots of plants, minimal hard landscaping and a pond or other water storage capacity. They are the very latest trend in modern garden design, and can be very cheap to design and maintain.

Small modern garden ideas

In a small garden, space is at a premium. Make it look bigger by dividing it up into sections, with raised beds and clean lines adding a contemporary, slick feel. Train climbers such as clematis and ivy up fences and walls to blur boundaries and make the garden look bigger. Make sure you have room for a tree and some shrubs to add height and depth, and find space for native plants that will draw in egg-laying moths and butterflies, which will feed birds. You might want to opt for a single colour scheme for a uniform look, or pack as much colour as possible in the space, for something more cheerful. Add bee hotels, bird boxes and a 'bee bank' (bank of fine sand) to attract as many species of wildlife as possible.

Modern garden edging ideas

Straight, clean edges give a garden a sleek, modern look. Choose from brick, wood, stone or gravel edging or, for a softer look, plant low-growing floppy plants such as heuchera, cranesbill geraniums and lady's mantle at the front of your borders, which can grow over the edges. Alternatively, ignore edging altogether and let plants seed themselves into cracks and corners, adding to its modern 'wild' look.

Modern raised garden bed ideas

A raised bed can provide clean lines and focal points. Many are rectangular in shape but you can build your own to suit the space you have available. Choose from a range of materials, from wood to metal and bricks, which you can paint to match your garden's colour scheme. Pack the bed with flowering plants for pollinators, and consider a small tree to add height, interest and wildlife value.

Modern garden patio ideas

While it's useful to have some hard surfaces in gardens, large patio areas can contribute to flooding and urban heat, because they have few or no plants, and can't absorb water. Modern patio designs are more permeable than traditional patios, with plants used to slow the flow of water into drains.

Try growing plants in the cracks between patio slabs instead of using pointing, or adding planting pockets in the patio to absorb some of the water that runs off it. You could also run a pipe beneath the patio that takes water from the roof of your house to a land drain in the garden. This will further help prevent flooding and ensure your garden contributes to wider landscape recovery.

Modern garden path ideas

For garden paths where you would usually use paving, consider gravel or permeable slabs, or use stepping stones rather than a continuous path, which will enable you to grow more plants and help your garden absorb and hold on to more water. Alternatively, consider using a permeable hardcore-type material to make your path, and let plants seed into it. This is often called a 'dirty path' in garden design circles and is the ultimate in modern, stylish garden design.

Low maintenance modern garden ideas

Many people think low maintenance gardens have fewer plants and more hard surfacing, but the opposite can be true. A small garden meadow requires mowing just once or twice a year, while some low-growing hedges and shrubs need pruning only once a year. Consider also a gravel garden, which will reduce the need to water plants or weed between them, and raised beds which can be managed more easily than open beds.

Growing low-maintenance plants like lavender, rosemary, buddleia and hardy geraniums will enable you to have a beautiful, floriferous garden without much effort.

Modern garden lighting ideas

Garden lighting makes your garden more inviting and accessible, enabling you to enjoy the space on summer evenings. For a modern look, use uplights and spotlights, which can be spiked into the ground or mounted on walls, and rotated to shine in any direction. Perfect for uplighting shrubs and trees to highlight interesting bark or bring out particular foliage. Stick or post lights sit above ground and shine outwards and downwards, so are perfect for a path, steps or the pond edge. Fairy lights can also add a contemporary look, draped over trees and shrubs, or a pergola. With garden lighting, always make sure you use a soft yellow light rather than bright, white lights, as this is better for insects, which can be disturbed by bright white light. Then, always make sure you turn the lights off as you leave the garden, to minimise the impact on wildlife.

Plant recommendations for modern gardens

A modern garden can be anything you want it to be, and so the plants you grow in it can be anything you want them to be, too. For wildlife, choose native trees and shrubs, along with single-flowered plants that bloom over a long period. For low-maintenance modern gardens choose shrubs that need very little pruning, plus plants that flower over a long period and don't need deadheading. For an architectural look go for standalone statement pieces like a a palm tree or olive. Or for a stylish, uniform look, grow plants within one colour scheme, such as growing only white-flowered plants.

Frequently asked questions

How to make a garden look modern?

Make a garden look modern by removing as much hard landscaping as possible, and replacing it with permeable paths and patios, land drains and ponds, and growing as many plants as possible. If you want clean lines and a slick look then opt for straight lines, a uniform design and raised beds. For a more modern, unkempt look, go for dirty paths, recycled hardcore, wild borders packed with plants and lots of habitat opportunities.

How do you modernise an old garden?

Grow more plants, remove as much hard landscaping as possible, install a land drain and dig a pond.