Details often determine a purchase: the stitching on a jacket, the neat switches on a toaster or the smooth metal trim on an iPhone. Gardens are the same — those small touches of brilliance in the details complete the picture.
If we look carefully at the best garden designs, we can see how the small things matter most. From the construction of timberwork to the inclusion of textural materials and the novel use of plants, details are worth attention.
Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture
The neutral paving and gravel in this beautiful courtyard infill blend seamlessly with the building. The blue-green planted containers flanking the front doors are the really clever finishing details. The color of these planters follows the dark green of the foliage to complete the design. Containers can make a dramatic, witty or even subtle statement in any garden.
Integration Design Studio, Landscape Architects
Check out the extra touches that make this design stand out: the pebble base of the pond and the planting between the pavers. The pebbles in the pond floor provide texture and depth. The planted gaps in the paving echo the gaps between the steps.
Terra Ferma Landscapes
Gravel, pebbles and cobblestones are great garden design details. This clever pebble rill links several areas of this garden, breaking up the paving and creating a textural transition.
Pebble rills and dry streams are useful when a water feature would be nice but safety reasons won't allow it.
Exteriorscapes llc
Here, pebble-filled gabions support these planted rill-style beds. This design detail not only adds a new texture, but also creates a smooth transition from the steel of the rill to the gravel below.
Switzer's Nursery & Landscaping, Inc.
It is always important to keep with the mood and style of surrounding buildings when installing a pergola, but that doesn't mean its construction has to be primitive and simple.
The beautiful details of this pergola remind me of the furniture designed by the Scottish artist Charles Rennie Macintosh in the late 1800s. The jointing is a delight and adds interest in the garden even when it's not covered with climbers.
Phi Ventures Ltd
The through jointing of the crossbars in this pergola not only has a slightly Asian feel, but also the added benefit of the beautiful shadows the crossbars cast against the other timbers.
Lazar Landscape Design and Construction
The amazing construction of the rill supports in this garden creates a sculptural look with a functional use. The bolts and method of construction show clearly for extra texture and reflection. Keep in mind that you don't always need to hide the building method in the garden — instead, make a feature of it.
See more about garden rills
Lazar Landscape Design and Construction
This simple strained wire fence supports recently planted grapevines. It's a basic structure that does its intended job, yet it becomes so much more with the addition of the delightful post caps.
Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture
Decking can feel very stark in a garden layout due to the nature of the materials and the amount of space. This decking is considerably softened by raising each deck above the next and by edge planting grasses.
debora carl landscape design
Yellow-red succulents look as though they are trying to escape through this contemporary pole fence, leading the eye through the space while still forming a physical barrier.
Plantings can often take us by surprise — especially when their shape, color or texture is used as a specific detail in a garden's design.
This classic, minimalist patio shows how little touches of plant detail can transform good into excellent. The box balls in the formal raised planter echo the rounded container plants on the table, linking both areas and unifying the design.
Kenneth Philp Landscape Architects
Many of us are faced with the problem of unsightly drains or drain covers in our gardens. The spreading foliage of Baby Tears, Soleirolia soleirolii, turns a drain cover into a standout feature. The designer used a mixture of the standard green Soleirolia as well as the gold variety Soleirolia soleirolii 'Aurea'.
Planting note:Soleirolia grows in sunny or partial shade conditions and is easily controlled by judicial pruning.
Urban Nature / Troy Silva Design Group
Container gardening is not always about flowers and bright colors. This simple container reinforces the design's contemporary style, while the green-gray of the succulents contrasts perfectly against the steel.
More: Garden Design Essentials: Texture Unsung Garden Hero: Fantastic Foliage Garden Design Essentials: Shape and Mass
Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture
The neutral paving and gravel in this beautiful courtyard infill blend seamlessly with the building. The blue-green planted containers flanking the front doors are the really clever finishing details. The color of these planters follows the dark green of the foliage to complete the design. Containers can make a dramatic, witty or even subtle statement in any garden.
Integration Design Studio, Landscape Architects
Check out the extra touches that make this design stand out: the pebble base of the pond and the planting between the pavers. The pebbles in the pond floor provide texture and depth. The planted gaps in the paving echo the gaps between the steps.
Terra Ferma Landscapes
Gravel, pebbles and cobblestones are great garden design details. This clever pebble rill links several areas of this garden, breaking up the paving and creating a textural transition. 
Exteriorscapes llc
Here, pebble-filled gabions support these planted rill-style beds. This design detail not only adds a new texture, but also creates a smooth transition from the steel of the rill to the gravel below.
Switzer's Nursery & Landscaping, Inc.
It is always important to keep with the mood and style of surrounding buildings when installing a pergola, but that doesn't mean its construction has to be primitive and simple. 
Phi Ventures Ltd
The through jointing of the crossbars in this pergola not only has a slightly Asian feel, but also the added benefit of the beautiful shadows the crossbars cast against the other timbers.
Lazar Landscape Design and Construction
The amazing construction of the rill supports in this garden creates a sculptural look with a functional use. The bolts and method of construction show clearly for extra texture and reflection. Keep in mind that you don't always need to hide the building method in the garden — instead, make a feature of it.
Lazar Landscape Design and Construction
This simple strained wire fence supports recently planted grapevines. It's a basic structure that does its intended job, yet it becomes so much more with the addition of the delightful post caps.
Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture
Decking can feel very stark in a garden layout due to the nature of the materials and the amount of space. This decking is considerably softened by raising each deck above the next and by edge planting grasses.
debora carl landscape design
Yellow-red succulents look as though they are trying to escape through this contemporary pole fence, leading the eye through the space while still forming a physical barrier. 
This classic, minimalist patio shows how little touches of plant detail can transform good into excellent. The box balls in the formal raised planter echo the rounded container plants on the table, linking both areas and unifying the design.
Kenneth Philp Landscape Architects
Many of us are faced with the problem of unsightly drains or drain covers in our gardens. The spreading foliage of Baby Tears, Soleirolia soleirolii, turns a drain cover into a standout feature. The designer used a mixture of the standard green Soleirolia as well as the gold variety Soleirolia soleirolii 'Aurea'. 
Urban Nature / Troy Silva Design Group
Container gardening is not always about flowers and bright colors. This simple container reinforces the design's contemporary style, while the green-gray of the succulents contrasts perfectly against the steel.