Higher Ground: 6 Spectacular Landscapes

We've toured stunning landscapes at Houzz over the years — from a Greek island garden to a bocce court overlooking the Pacific, from a small Hollywood Hills front yard to a grand Berkshires estate. All wow with special relationships to home, property, and greater context. Get planting season ideas from six special properties.

Carolyn Chadwick: This stunning Greek garden on Paros was designed to look as if it had always been there.

Carolyn Chadwick: Purple, blue, pink, and white flowers — tall African lily and pink society garlic — spread between house and ocean edge.

Carolyn Chadwick: Nothing like saving the best for last — the view from the house across gardens to the Aegean Sea.

See the rest of this landscape.

At Edith Wharton's former home, The Mount, many moods are created by landscapes. Closer to the house, more formal they are.

A stone staircase surrounded by ferns takes visitors from wooded entry to formal gardens.

A long axis lined in linden trees connects the two formal gardens.

The secret garden has a more rustic aesthetic — sunken, uses boulders, keeps a white and green color palette.

See more of The Mount's landscape | Tour inside The Mount.

Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture: This breathtaking property on California's central coast takes full advantage of Morrow Bay views. Straddles manicured and untamed, with native plants and careful color selection connecting built pieces to unbuilt landscape.

Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture: A system of meandering paths connects house to estuary literally and figuratively (colors and sinuousness), providing spots to sit in solitude and enjoy the view.

Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture: Boulders mimic distant mountain shapes.

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COCOCOZY Blogger and home accessories designer: Cococozy added lots of square feet to her living space by creating many areas to relax, do yoga, dine, visit, blog, read, and nap in the front yard of her Hollywood Hills cottage.

COCOCOZY: Thick cushions, colorful throw pillows, and a sophisticated rug bring indoor design comfort to the deck.

COCOCOZY: A large dining table is a favorite spot for friends to gather on warm nights.

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Feldman Architecture, Inc.: Two cabins designed to work with the slope of a wooded Mill Valley, California site.

Feldman Architecture, Inc.: Two studios built in lieu of an attached addition onto the main house, treading lightly on the land, with a rooftop providing garden space.

Learn more about rooftop gardens and green roofs.

Feldman Architecture, Inc.: The experience of traveling from main house to either cabin was carefully considered — slopes, materials, width, and places to stop and enjoy the view.

See more of these cabins, including some peeks inside.

Randy Thueme Design Inc.: This home sits atop a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Aptos, California. A beautifully planned entry court provides a peek at the ocean through the front door.

Randy Thueme Design Inc.: Round the corner — bocce ball court in foreground, ocean beyond. Outdoor kitchen includes a pizza oven.

Randy Thueme Design Inc.: This large, troughlike fountain provides a visual boundary at the cliff's edge.

See the rest of this landscape.