Circular garden designs can add interesting visual appeal and functionality to small backyard spaces. The circular form lends itself well to creating compartments and intimate spaces within a compact area. Rounded beds and winding paths also help make small gardens feel larger.
If you have a tiny yard or narrow side area to work with, consider incorporating circles into your layout. Here are 15 creative circular garden design ideas perfectly suited for small spaces
1. Central Focal Point
A circular planting bed or feature located centrally immediately draws the eye. Place a round patio, fire pit, fountain, sundial, tufted grass, or tree ringed with flowers in the heart of your garden to create a focal point. Encircling paths, benches, or lower border plantings help emphasize the circular shape.
2. Split Circle Design
An elongated narrow garden can be divided into two separate “rooms” using partial split circles on each end. For example, create a dining circle on one end and a lounging circle on the other. Connect them with a winding path in between.
3. Circular Lawn Ring
Ring a small lawn area with a donut-shaped planting bed. This breaks up and defines the open space while also allowing planting on all sides. The circular lawn can then become a focal point or centerpiece.
4. Concentric Planting Rings
Layer concentric (nested) planting rings in a round bed for visual interest. Place lower growing edging plants around the outside, medium heights in the middle, and taller focal points toward the center. Mix colors and textures for variety.
5. Labeled Garden Quarters
Consider dividing a small circular or square garden into quadrants labeled with identity signs (Herb Garden, Cutting Garden, Butterfly Garden, etc). Include narrow dividing paths between each labeled section.
6. Circular Border Edging
Edge planting beds and borders with rounded shapes rather than just straight lines Curve out areas along paths and walls to add flow Circular clipped hedges work beautifully for curved edging,
7. Stepping Stone Path
Winding paths help guide the eye and make spaces feel larger. Lay out circular stepping stones as an informal path. Choose a variety of sizes, shapes, colors and materials for visual texture.
8. Garden Rooms with Pavers
Use circular pavers or paved areas to define individual “rooms” within a small garden. For example, make a fire circle, lounge circle, and dining circle. Link them with gravel paths.
9. Arbor Entrances
Connect different garden spaces or entries with arched trellises and arbors. These provide vertical elevation and emphasize the rounded spaces on each side.
10. Circular Planting Islands
Break up open lawn with circular planting islands. Each becomes its own mini garden space. Evergreen shrubs and groundcover create nice contrast to surrounding grass.
11. Container Rings
Surround towers, obelisks, water features and other vertical elements with rings of ornamental pots. Choose a variety of round container sizes, shapes and heights for interest.
12. Partial Circular Beds
Maximize planting space along fences and foundations by softening corners with partial curves and crescent beds. These create a more seamless flow than hard right angles.
13. Circular Vegetable Plots
Grow vegetables and herbs in a series of round raised beds for functionality and aesthetic appeal. Make them narrow enough to reach across for easy access.
14. Fire Pit Circle
Define a cozy seating area around a small round fire pit or chiminea. Circle it with rounded river rocks, pavers, or gravel and place curved benches nearby facing the warmth.
15. Splash Fountain Center
A simple recirculating fountain makes a lovely focal point. Place a round preformed pond or pool at the center of your garden design. Surround with greenery to highlight the water.
Design Tips for Small Circular Gardens
When planning a circular garden for a compact backyard, keep these tips in mind:
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Focus on one or two striking focal points to draw the eye and avoid clutter.
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Use symmetry and repetition of circular forms to add harmony.
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Incorporate winding paths to create the illusion of more space.
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Layer plantings for vertical interest in narrow rings and beds.
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Choose narrow edging plants and compact varieties suitable for small spaces.
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Minimize lawn areas which can feel dominating. Replace with Circular raised beds.
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Use trellises, arbors and screens to add height along fences and walls.
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Include a combinations of paths, patios and decks for optimal use of square footage.
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Position features like benches and statuary where they can be viewed from multiple spots to maximize enjoyment.
Plants for Circular Gardens
For lush circular garden designs in small yards, consider using these plants:
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Low carpeting edgers: Creeping thyme, Irish moss, sweet woodruff, ajuga, dichondra, sedums.
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Narrow borders: Dwarf hostas, impatiens, pansies, violas, vinca, ivy, cyclamen, coleus.
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Compact shrubs: Ball arborvitae, boxwoods, azaleas, dwarf spruce, heathers.
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Mini trees: Japanese maple, star magnolia, crabapple, cherry and plum.
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Vines on trellises and arbors: Clematis, climbing roses, honeysuckle, jasmine, morning glory.
By creatively working circles into the landscape and choosing the right plant varieties, you can design an inviting, functional small space garden full of round garden charm.
I went right back up to my office and sketched out a design:
Having a planned design on paper really helps me to stay on task. I might change my mind or make the plan better when I go plant shopping, but this gives me a general idea of what I want to do.
Looking at the ‘before’ it’s hard to believe how cute the ‘after’ of this ‘before and after circular garden’ could be!
I put shopping links in the post and at the end of the post, all in one place.
A few weeks ago, I talked about how excited I was to finally be able to start landscaping around our house. (At that time I was researching garden design ideas for inspiration. Here’s that post with some pretty ideas. Since we bought this late-1950s house about a year and a half ago, we’ve been very busy fixing it up from top to bottom. In case you missed all that, here’s how it looked a few months before we bought it (you can read all about our repairs here).
‘A little awkward and not very charming’ is how I would have described it. Things that were almost symmetrical weren’t quite, and things that weren’t asymmetrical in a nice way made things look bad.
We painted it last summer, after the addition, porch, roof, and gutters were all finished. Getting rid of the blue and maroon was a huge relief for my eyes! I wanted to keep the same goal I had on the inside: to add character and charm and carry that idea to the outside in a “Colonial Revival Cottage-y” way.
I mentally divided each area into sections so that the landscape wouldn’t be too much for me, both in terms of the work that needed to be done and the design that had to be done. The first section is on the East side of the house… the circular garden.
Planting the circle garden | How I designed it | The Impatient Gardener
What is a circular garden?
Circular gardens, due to their unique design, can be ideal for this purpose, especially in small or urban spaces. The first strategy involves layering. This utilizes the concept of planting shorter plants at the front of your garden and taller plants at the back.
What is a good garden design for a small garden?
Ideal for a shady area in a small garden, a circular bed of various hosta plants offers a lush, green, and easy-care option. 8. Tropical Retreat Use tropical plants in your flower bed design to create a lush, vibrant circular garden. 9. Edible Garden Circle Incorporate vegetables and herbs in your raised bed for a functional yet beautiful garden.
How to design a circular garden?
You aren’t always limited by the circles when designing a circular garden. Here, the round garden design has plants both outside and inside the circular design. The gravel paving covers the tropical plants within the circular, while the outer layer has a couple of terrestrials.
How big should a circle garden be?
It also increases the growing space of each quadrant to a 4-foot-width. A small circle garden will take up a circular area with a diameter of at least 11 feet, a medium-sized garden will require about 17 feet diameter, and a large circle garden will require a diameter of at least 23 feet (or larger).