Want a More Luxurious Yard? These Are the 6 Plants Landscape Designers Always Recommend for a High-End Look

Key Points

Use rare plants like Japanese maples for sculptural style.

Speaking of sculpture, boxwood hedges can be pristinely pruned for a polished look.

Large clusters of peonies and hydrangeas look luxe. Largeness in scale, in general, looks expensive.

Yards in fancy neighborhoods—and grounds at estates like the Breakers or the Biltmore— are great to look at for plant inspiration, even if your home is a fraction of the size.

Here are the plants that landscape designers say will make your yard (and therefore your entire home) look more luxe and expensive. Bring on the curb appeal.

Meet the Expert

Caroline Ervin is the founder of Caroline Ervin Landscape Design and the owner of The Georgetown Garden Shop.

Sophia Bennett is the senior landscape specialist with Williams Landscaping.

Russell Wightman is a landscape designer who is the founder of Russell Wightman Design.

Plants That Complement a Home’s Architecture

Credit: Chris Hackett / Getty Images

“First, understand the correlation with the style of the home to create a color palette that connects both with the native environment and the materials in the house,” says Russell Wightman, founder of Russell Wightman Design. “This allows you to choose between plants that do well in the climate conditions of the garden, as well as the overall style the home wants to reflect.”

For example, he explains, boxwood, roses, and bay laurel look excellent when accompanying a more traditional home, while sculptural plants look great alongside a home with funkier architecture.

Japanese Maples

Credit: Caroline Ervin Landscape Design

One way to make your yard feel fancy is to “plant an unusual or rare specimen plant, especially when placed as a focal point in the overall garden design,” landscape designer and plant shop owner Caroline Ervin says.

One of her top picks? A Japanese maple, particularly the Bloodgood Japanese maple and the Sango Kaku.

“Japanese maples are beautiful as a focal feature in the garden with their twisting and intriguing shape, with varied colors and feathery texture leaves,” she says.

Sophia Bennett, the senior landscape specialist with Williams Landscaping, echoes similar feelings.

“Japanese maples are living sculpture,” she says. “Layered branching and fine leaves make even a small space feel planned.”

Most Japanese maples will do best in zones 5 through 8, partial sun is best, and they can grow up to 15 feet tall and wide.

Boxwood Hedges and Topiaries

Credit: Design by Caroline Ervin Landscape Design / Photo by Melissa Clark

Ervin recommends the boxwood species as another excellent, elevated-looking plant for the yard. After all, they can be meticulously manicured to create a pristine and orderly look.

“They can be formed into beautiful hedges and pruned into interesting topiaries,” Ervin says. “With year-round evergreen structure, a boxwood creates the form of the garden.”

Boxwoods are best in zones 5 through 9 and will grow slowly in either sun or shade.

Large Quantities of a Singular Plant

Credit: Design by Caroline Ervin Landscape Design / Photo by George Brown

Some yards look fancy because of how over-the-top they feel.

“Just the sheer large quantity of all of the same plants in a large swath looks expensive and gives a sense of ‘quiet luxury’ as the garden won’t seem too busy or messy,” Ervin says.

Although you can choose among whatever plant you’d like to go all in with, Ervin shares a few favorite picks for an expensive look.

“A massing of white hydrangeas or rows and rows of peonies in bloom really draws the eye,” she says.

Hydrangeas

Credit: photography by Ulrich Hollmann / Getty Images

Speaking of hydrangeas, clusters of blue or white beauties will give you Newport, Nantucket, or Hamptons vibes in your yard.

Hydrangeas “give you a big bang for the buck,” due to their size, Bennett says. “Full blooms read as lush particularly repeated along a fence or foundation.”

Sizable Plants

Credit: Grace Cary / Getty Images

Finally, Wightman shares that larger plant styles are more effective in creating an expensive look. (After all, the younger the plant, the cheaper it likely is to buy.)

“Go with big plants,” he says. “Don’t wait for things to grow in.”

Examples to consider include oak trees and aloe trees.

Not only do large trees and plants look lavish, but they’ll also provide you privacy and shade.

Read the original article on The Spruce