The possibilities are practically endless for adding decorative elements to your landscape, but these unique garden decor ideas are sure to liven up your outdoor spaces. Whether it be a cozy fire pit, a whimsical fairy house, or comfortable seating, there's an option on this list to suit almost any budget and style. So why settle for plain and boring when you can make your garden more inviting for both you and your visitors with a few of these garden decor ideas?
Pretty Plant Labels
Even something as simple as plant labels can add an artful element to your garden rather than just being utilitarian. Get creative and try your hand at DIY plant markers or invest in a set that best fits the look and feel of your landscape.
Whimsical Sculptures
Add a little whimsy and fun to your landscape with a sculpture like this fairy perched on a wall or perhaps a few garden gnomes among your plants. These sculptures can work well as focal points in a vignette designed to ignite the imagination of both young and old.
Dressed-Up Ladder
If you have lots of containers to display, a simple ladder can be turned into an eye-catching plant stand with a little paint and elbow grease. Grouping and elevating your pots on a DIY ladder stand helps create depth and lushness, while maximizing your growing space.
Beautiful Bird Bath
Providing water for your feathered visitors doesn't have to be done with a drab vessel. Let your bird bath do double duty as a piece of art, like this unique mosaic example.
Attractive Lawn Furniture
Even when unoccupied, outdoor furniture can enhance your landscape when you coordinate its color, materials, and style with your garden. Here, a simple wooden lawn chair and table work perfectly in this serene green scene.
Elegant Lighting
Nightfall doesn't have to end your garden time. A little landscape lighting can do wonders for creating an inviting outdoor spot for an evening hangout, or illuminating pathways so you can navigate your garden in the dark. You'll get even more out of your landscape lighting by selecting light fixtures that also add a decorative element during the day.
Colorful Garden Gate
Having a decorative garden gate like this one is a unique way to add interest and beauty to your property. Amplify its effect by matching the color of the gate to the flowers that surround it; in this case, with purple hydrangeas.
Sun Dial
When you’re out in your garden throughout the day, you may start to lose track of time, so having something like this antique sundial would be functional as well as decorative. Sun dials come in a variety of styles and sizes, and some can even become treasured family heirlooms.
Wind Chimes and Hanging Sculptures
Hanging wind chimes and other dangling decorations help fill vertical space with pleasant sounds and movement whenever a breeze comes by. However, it's best to use these types of garden decor sparingly to avoid creating a cacophony for both you and your neighbors, especially during stormy weather.
Glammed Up Garden Shed
A garden shed gives you a place to pot up seedlings, overwinter some of your plants, and store your gardening tools. But there's no reason why your shed can't be an attractive addition to your landscape instead of fading into the background. This example's bold colors complement the nearby flowers beautifully.
Matching Planters
A planter filled with colorful flowers always draws the eye but having multiple containers around your garden increases the impact, especially when they look identical or share a characteristic such as color or shape. Grouping these containers together and filling them with similar types of plants will give your yard a cohesive, full look.
Grand Garden Arch
A garden arch acts as doorway between "garden rooms," distinguishing one part of your landscape from another and leading foot traffic through the spaces. A well-placed arch also helps frame a view you want to highlight. Embellish the arch further by using it as a trellis for a flowering vine.
Gazing Ball
A gazing ball or globe always looks stunning in a landscape. Usually made of blown glass or stainless steel, these orbs can be reflective or multi-colored. This example is a bit of both, mirroring the plants around it and also featuring coordinating colors. Set your gazing ball right on the ground or place it on a pedestal to add some height to your garden.
Fiery Features
Fire pits and fire bowls have an almost magical ability to make any garden space feel warm and inviting. Choose one that looks almost as pretty when it is unlit so it always serves as an attractive decor item in your landscape.
Fairy Garden
One especially whimsical garden decor idea is to create a fairy garden, complete with a little cottage, tiny pathways, and even some miniature plants. Accessorizing these gardens on a small scale is a fun way to get creative, and can be a great way to engage children with nature too.
Rain Chains
Rain chains are an ornamental alternative to run-of-the-mill downspouts. They are designed to slow water down as it pours off structures, and look appealing while they do so.
Decorative Stepping Stones
A few artistic stepping stones will give your garden a unique touch while leading the way through your space. Shop for steppers that match the look of your garden, or make a DIY project out of it. Options are as limitless as your imagination, but creating patterns with pebbles, colored glass, and shells in quick-drying concrete is an easy and inexpensive place to start.
Garden Benches
Garden benches are a simple way to nestle a decorative yet functional element into your landscape. A bench visually punctuates a garden while also encouraging you and your visitors to take a seat and enjoy the scenery. Sweeten the deal even more with some pretty outdoor cushions.
Decorative Urn
A large urn on a low pedestal is a garden decor idea sure to add dimension, character, and elegance to your landscape. The urn can simply serve as a piece of art, or use it as a container for tall, stately ornamental grasses or a cascading plant such as petunias.
Soothing Water Feature
Water features in the garden naturally complement surrounding plants. Even a small fountain can be very decorative as it lends movement and the soothing sound of trickling water to your space. This particular water feature even incorporates water bird sculptures to complete the scene.
Hummingbird Feeder
Hummingbirds are some of the most exciting wild visitors you can have, but of course the creatures themselves are not a garden decor idea. Rather the feeders for attracting hummers can be just as eye-catching as these beautiful birds. Just make sure the feeder you choose is easy to keep clean.
Armillary Sphere
Armillary spheres are ancient devices that astronomers used to predict the times of sunrises and sunsets as well as the altitudes of the sun and stars. Now, they're used mostly as decorative items for gardens, imparting a vintage feel.
Rain Barrel
Rain barrels are an excellent way to collect fresh rain water to use in your landscape, flower beds, and containers. While they can be made of a literal wooden barrel, rain barrels are available in a range of decorative designs. This particular barrel has become a canvas for some fitting artwork.
Garden Bed Edging
A decorative edging around your garden beds creates a cleaner, more intentional look. You can use all kinds of materials, including bricks, concrete, pavers, and stone, so it's easy to match your edging to your garden style. Here, large stones make a durable and natural-looking edging to a lush collection of plants.
Rain Gauge
Keeping track of rainfall amounts helps you know how much you may need to water your garden through the growing season. You can do that in style with a beautifully designed rain gauge. This particular example has large numbers, making it easy to read from a distance.
