7 Georgia Landscaping Ideas for Your Home

Grow native or edible plants or add a fountain in your yard to enhance your Peach State home. Discover which Georgia landscaping ideas are the best fit for your yard in this article.

Whether you are looking to create a private oasis in your backyard or need a few ideas to spruce up your front yard and or add curb appeal to your home, you can never go wrong with planting native plants and trees in your yard. 

1. Grow native plants in your Georgia landscape

Georgia native plants are those that naturally occur in the state without direct or indirect human introduction.

There are many reasons to include native plants in your landscaping, including that they are generally lower-maintenance than non-natives. These are plants that easily thrive in the region’s soil and climate. This means most native plants in Georgia will have a tolerance to high heat and humidity and will appreciate the state’s mild winters.

If you have wet areas in your yard, consider creating a rain garden with native plants. The root systems of these plants will stabilize and hold the soil.

Georgia native plants (grouped by key characteristics):

• High salt tolerance: Coral bean (high salt spray tolerance), blanket flower (high salt spray tolerance), seaside goldenrod (salt spray and soil tolerance), wax myrtle (high salt spray and moderate soil salinity tolerance), and live oak (high salt spray and moderate soil salinity tolerance)
• High moisture tolerance: Blue-eyed grass, dahoon holly, viburnum, swamp azalea, silver bell, red maple, and loblolly bay
• Shade tolerance: Atamasco lily, scarlet beebalm, red columbine, Indian pink, oakleaf hydrangea, red anise, eastern redbud, American holly, and sweetbay magnolia
• Tough and resilient: Passion vine, butterfly pea, sandhills milkweed, Georgia basil, and tickseed

Benefits of native plants:

• Low maintenance
• Conserve water
• Don’t require fertilizers
• Need fewer pesticides
• Promote biodiversity
• Non-invasive
• Support local wildlife: Birds, butterflies, and other pollinators often depend on these plants for vital nutrients

2. Hardscaping for Georgia landscapes

You can never go wrong with including beautiful hardscaping elements in your landscaping. Hardscapes can be purely decorative, but they also tend to serve a practical purpose. Think of a retaining wall or a fire pit, for example. 

Hardscaping ideas

• Patios
• Decks
• Outdoor fireplaces
• Walkways
• Fencing
• Pergolas
• Outdoor kitchens

Benefits of hardscaping:

• Saves water: Less grass and fewer plants mean less landscaping that needs to be watered.
• Lower maintenance: Hardscapes generally only require an occasional cleaning rather than regular mowing, weeding, and watering.
• Usable space: A deck or patio provides more space for get-togethers with friends and family.

3. Plant an edible garden

There’s nothing better on a beautiful summer day than slicing a freshly picked tomato for a BLT sandwich. Or reaching for some fresh basil to sprinkle into a delicious sauce you are cooking. But there are more reasons to grow an edible garden than just garden-to-table eats.

Benefits of an edible garden:

• Attracts pollinators like bees, birds, and butterflies
• Can be a fun family activity
• Helps reduce your carbon footprint
• Helps to lower grocery bills
• Encourages physical activity and a healthier lifestyle
• Adds color and variety to your garden

If planting an edible garden sounds intimidating, consider starting small. Herbs are a great place to start since they don’t require a lot of space and are easy to maintain. When starting a vegetable garden, consider beginning with tomatoes, lettuce, or radishes. 

4. Pool landscaping ideas for Georgia

Trying to figure out how to landscape around a pool can be quite challenging. Obviously, you don’t want to detract from the pool being the focal point, but you still need to surround the area with something. Luckily there are many ways to landscape around a pool to create your perfect backyard oasis.

Pool landscaping ideas:

• A well-placed pot of brightly colored flowers can bring some color and cheer to the side of your pool, such as zinnia, celosia, gomphrena, marigolds, and strawflowers.
• For more of a tropical feel, residents along the coastal or southern regions of the state can plant a few palms, bird-of-paradise, or caladiums around the pool.
• Adding large rocks or boulders to the landscaping around your pool can bring a natural feel to the area.
• Consider adding a pergola poolside for some shady seating. In case you’re considering including a pergola into your landscaping, check out our article: How Much Does a Pergola Cost?
• For added privacy, plant broadleaf evergreens like boxwood to create a natural wall of green around the pool. Lilacs, azaleas, rhododendrons, and holly also make good privacy hedges. However, be careful with holly, and make sure they are planted a ways away from the pool. These could be painful if someone were to fall into them.

5. Low-maintenance plants for Georgia

Beautiful landscaping doesn’t mean you have to spend hours every week tending to your garden. If you plant your landscaping accordingly, you can get away with just a bare minimum of work and still have a garden that looks like you spent hours upon hours tending it.

Low-maintenance shrubs for Georgia:

• Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens)
• Coontie (Zamia integrifolia)
• Eastern prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa)
• Adam’s needle (Yucca flaccida)

Low-maintenance trees for Georgia:

• Japanese maple (Acer palmatum)
• Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
• Crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia)
• Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)

Low-maintenance flowers for Georgia:

• Common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
• Coral bells (Heuchera sanguinea)
• Large flower tickseed (Coreopsis grandiflora)
• Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

6. Front yard landscaping ideas for Georgia

Every neighborhood has that house with the perfect-looking front yard that everyone else just wishes they could have. But with some planning and work, you can have a front yard that will have all your neighbors green with jealousy.

• Use mulch: Not only is it practical and good for your landscaping, but mulch can also help add curb appeal to your landscaping.
• Plant colorful flowers: Landscaping full of bright and vibrantly colorful flowers can make a home cheery and welcoming. A few flowers to consider are amaranth, aster, begonia, celosia, dahlia, gazania, impatiens, marigold, pansy, portulaca, and strawflower. 
• Use rocks in your landscaping: Use large rocks as decor in your landscaping or lay stones down for a walkway. Check out our article for ideas on How to Use Rocks in Your Landscaping.
• Plant a Georgia-friendly lawn: Of course, you can never go wrong with the American staple: a nice green carpet of grass. But be sure to plant grass best for your area. Most of Georgia will want to plant warm-season grasses, but there are some northern regions where cool-season grasses might be the preferred choice. For more details, check out our story about the Best Grass Seed for Georgia.
• Plant Georgia-loving trees: A well-placed tree not only adds curb appeal to your front yard, but when placed near a window, it will also help provide much-needed shade, helping to keep your home cool during the hot Georgia summers. Consider planting southern magnolia, sycamore, red maple, or black gum.
• Add a fence: A good fence can not only provide boundaries to protect children and pets, but a well-chosen fence can also be a beautiful addition to your landscaping.

For more about planting grass seed, check out our story about How and When to Plant Grass Seed in Georgia. And if your lawn is full of hard red Georgia clay, aeration can help. For more information, check out our story about When to Aerate Your Lawn in Georgia.

7. Georgia backyard landscaping ideas

There’s nothing more perfect than going out to your backyard on a beautiful spring evening and enjoying your outdoor living space. Whether you have a modest-sized or a large backyard, there are plenty of landscaping options available to both the motivated and lazy home landscaper.

• Plant the perfect lawn: Be sure to use our Month-to-Month Lawn Care Calendar for Georgia to help you properly plan and care for your Georgia grass.
• Add water features: Consider adding a birdbath, a fountain, or a pond for a serene backyard retreat.
• Create an atmosphere with lighting: Set the mood with twinkle lights or beautiful lanterns for a romantic evening with your loved one. Or light a pathway for a more practical purpose.
• Include a patio in your backyard: A patio is a great place for family and friends to gather either for a cookout or a glass of wine on a beautiful spring evening.
• Build a fire pit: Think about all the crisp cool Friday nights you can have huddled around a fire pit roasting marshmallows or just enjoying the warm glow of the fire.
• Plant some shrubs or other plants and trees: When choosing what to plant in your backyard, make sure to take into consideration your Georgia planting zone. If you plant accordingly for the climate and choose native plants, you will have the perfect backyard oasis with minimal effort.

FAQ about Georgia landscaping

How do you control weeds in your lawn?

There are three basic steps to take to control weeds in your lawn:

• Identify: There are three main types of lawn weeds: broadleaf, sedges, grassy/ grasslike.
• Treat: Choose the appropriate herbicide for the type of weed plaguing your lawn.
• Maintain: Keep a healthy lawn through good lawn care maintenance.

For more on how to identify different Georgia weeds, check out our article: Common Lawn Weeds in Georgia: How to Identify and Control Them. 

The best way to control weeds is by preventing them in the first place. The most effective way to prevent weeds is by using pre-emergent herbicides. This is a chemical applied to the lawn to establish a chemical barrier to stop weeds from developing. For more about weed control, check out our article: When to Apply Pre- and Post-Emergent Weed Control in Georgia.

What are some low-maintenance plants for Atlanta?

Everyone wants beautiful landscaping, but very few people have the time or motivation to spend out in their yard tending to needy grass or a delicate garden. Here are a few naturally low-maintenance native plants for Atlanta:

Low-maintenance trees for Atlanta:

• Red maple (Acer rubrum)
• River birch (Betula nigra)
• Sugarberry (Celtis laevigata)

Low-maintenance flowers for Atlanta:

• Black bugbane (Actaea racemosa)
• Fringed blue star (Amsonia ciliata)
• Partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata)

Low-maintenance shrubs for Atlanta:

• Fetterbush (Lyonia lucida)
• Southern wax myrtle (Morella cerifera)
• Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)

For more on low-maintenance landscaping in Georgia’s capital, check out our article: Low-Maintenance Landscaping Ideas for Atlanta.

Should you landscape differently for an above-ground pool vs. an in-ground pool?

Yes and no. There are certainly some things you can do the same: For instance, plant palm trees or other Georgia-friendly trees around the borders of your pool, and avoid spiny plants that may cause injury to people or your above-ground pool wall.

However, due to the height differences between the two types of pools, taller trees and landscaping are needed for an above-ground pool.

Here are a few Georgia-friendly palm trees to get you started:

• Pygmy date palm (Phoenix roebelenii): Zones 9-11
• Windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei): Zones 7-11
• Sabal palm (Sabal palmetto): Zones 8-11
• European fan palm (Chamaerops humilis): Zones 9-11
• Pindo palm (Butia Capitata): Zones 9-11
• Mule palm (X Butiagrus nabonnandii): Zones 9-11

For more pool landscaping ideas, check out our articles:

• How to Landscape Around an In-Ground Pool 
• Creative Landscaping Ideas for Your Above-Ground Swimming Pool

Ready to get started?

Do you want a beautiful Georgia landscape but don’t have the time? Contact one of our Georgia landscaping professionals to plan, create, and maintain your personal backyard oasis. 

Main Image Credit: white78 | Adobe Stock Free | License