Small yard landscaping design
23 Landscaping Ideas for Small Backyards
Making the Most of a Petite Plot of Land
By
Lisa Hallett Taylor
Lisa Hallett Taylor
Lisa Hallett Taylor is an expert in architecture and landscape design who has written more than 1,000 articles about pool, patio, garden, and home improvement over 12 years. She has a bachelor's degree in Environmental Design and is certified in fine and decorative arts appraisal.
Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process
Updated on 12/02/22
Reviewed by
Mary Marlowe Leverette
Reviewed by Mary Marlowe Leverette
Mary Marlowe Leverette is one of the industry's most highly-regarded housekeeping and fabric care experts, sharing her knowledge on efficient housekeeping, laundry, and textile conservation. She is also a Master Gardener with over 40 years' experience; writing for over 20 years.
Learn more about The Spruce's Review Board
The Spruce / Christopher Lee Foto
Not everyone is blessed with a big backyard. For those who live in places with tighter outdoor spaces, it's just a matter of practicing smart design on a smaller scale. Whether you live in an apartment, condo, townhouse, loft, or house that has more indoor than outdoor space, you can still carve out a yard with soil, trees, plants, patios, seating, and even water features.
We've found 23 diverse designs and solutions for small backyards and outdoor spaces, from urban to suburban and everything else in between.
The Best Landscape Design Software
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Tucson Small Yard Design
Kathryn PrideauxKathryn Prideaux works magic with small spaces in Tucson and other Arizona cities, infusing the colors of the sky, surrounding terrain, and nature into her landscape designs for patio homes and condominiums.
She expertly fuses styles and materials: rejuvenating mid-century modern outdoor furniture, adding rustic materials, finding innovative uses for colorful tile, and incorporating sculptural forms and succulents. Although Tucson's Skyline Springs condominium complex has a swimming pool, the owners of this unit wanted a private pool. Prideaux Design, with the help of Cimarron Circle Construction Company, designed a stunning blue glass mosaic-tile pool as the yard's centerpiece, with a ledge for in-pool lounge chairs when desert temperatures spike. Additional features include a poured-in-place etched concrete patio, rusted steel panels and walls, original adobe block walls, and a revitalized vintage Brown Jordan patio dining set.
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02 of 23
Yard for a Historic Home
Jacobs GrantGerman Village in Columbus, Ohio, is a neighborhood of brick row houses built in the 1800s by German immigrants that has been undergoing preservation and revitalization since 1959.
A small backyard in the district that had faded concrete pavers and an oversized iron table was transformed by Jacobs Grant Design into a functional, enjoyable space for its new homeowners. Jacobs Grant divided the space into two areas: an outdoor living room and a dining area, surrounded by hornbeam and boxwood hedges to create intimacy and structure. Designed in collaboration with Pots Abilities, the spaces include brick and bluestone, materials used on the facade of the historic house. -
03 of 23
Spanish Bungalow
Dig Your GardenFor decades, lawns have been the go-to ground cover without anyone giving it much thought. That is until the ongoing drought in California and other dry regions forced landscapers and homeowners to rethink water-guzzling grass and come up with alternatives. Dig Your Garden's solution for the small yard of an older Spanish-style bungalow in San Anselmo, California, was to replace the grass with creeping thyme and other low-water ground covers and plants.
A new Arizona flagstone pathway was added, along with a small patio that repeats the terra cotta tones found elsewhere on the home's exterior. Other features, kept to a minimum, include an orange Fermob armchair, colorful pottery, and drought-tolerant plants like tibouchina, lion's tail, lavenders, rosemary, yarrow, sunset hyssop, dwarf strawberry tree, and various succulents and ornamental grass.
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04 of 23
Turning the Front Yard Into the Backyard
Catherine BoslerWhat do you do when your house has no backyard? You borrow space wherever you can find it. In this case, landscape designer Catherine Bosler looked to the 560-square-foot front yard for this Los Angeles area property. Inspired by the nearby coast, Bosler Earth Design added a wood deck painted in a distressed grey to create a living room with a fire pit. An outdoor dining area and has decomposed granite (DG) underfoot and features a grill and prep counter. Bosler also incorporated a tall fountain to mask street noise and attract birds, added built-in benches of wood and stucco, privacy hedges, and a trellis with jasmine for its appealing fragrance.
"The challenge was to fit everything into such a small space without feeling contrived and overdone and to make the space very private," says Bosler.
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05 of 23
Backyard with a Hot Tub and Barbecue
Land Studio CA falling-apart deck and a desire to get rid of their lawn prompted the owners of this San Francisco home to enlist Land Studio C. Measuring about 1,500 square feet, the backyard now features a hot tub with a custom bench and vertical planting (back corner), a fire table, built-in barbecue, Corten (weathering) steel accents, and string lights.
In this view of the yard, we see a pathway of concrete pavers set in pea gravel, land a lounging area with an umbrella and delineated hardscape. The hot tub's screening wall, bench, and a side yard screen were made from the old redwood deck.
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06 of 23
Another Part of the Yard
Land StudioYes, this is the same yard in the same fairly small space, designed by Land Studio C for a house in San Francisco.
Viewed from the middle of the yard toward the house, you can see the outdoor living room with the fire table, dining area, and small back porch. -
07 of 23
Asian-Inspired Backyard
Change of SeasonsSacramento-based design firm Change of Seasons was inspired by the dividers of a Bento Box for its remodel of a backyard that features stone-lined sections or compartments to add interest and structure to an eco-friendly contemporary garden.
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08 of 23
Tiny Toronto Backyard
Beyond LandscapingWorking with limited space, Beyond Landscaping was able to create a low-maintenance retreat in the backyard of a home in Toronto, Canada, that features a small fiberglass pool, composite decking, a horizontal fence for privacy, and artificial turf.
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09 of 23
Family-Friendly San Francisco Backyard
CreoThe challenge: To design a backyard for a young family in San Francisco that could include room for dining and seating along with space for two little boys to let their imaginations run wild.
Creo Landscape Architecture planted bluegrass and no-mow fescue on a berm for the children to play, along with interactive sculptures. Creo used durable redwood to build the fence and bench, while Podocarpus (plum pines) provide softscape and privacy. When not in use, the kids' outdoor toys are stored in the redwood benches. -
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Neat and Vertical Backyard
Megan MaloyEmma Lam and her design team at A Small Green Space specialize in small yards: the bulk of their clients are in Jersey County, New Jersey, and nearby New York City. This 16 by 11.5-foot urban backyard is shared by three condos, making it a challenge for the designers to access via three private flights of stairs that lead to the yard. Since there is no outdoor water supply, the plants chosen are drought tolerant. Among the upgrades to the neat, symmetrical design include:
- Lightweight furniture
- New fencing that includes vertical planters
- A bluestone patio
- An artificial lawn
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Small Backyard With Planters
KL DesignsThe owners of this small yard in the San Francisco Bay area hired KL Designs to redesign their outdoor space to accommodate raised wood planters in which they can grow vegetables and herbs.
Building raised beds allow the plants to grow in quality soil, keeps them away from city-dwelling critters (such as squirrels and mice), and provides easy access for maintaining the vegetables. -
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Organized Backyard Layout
Blue HibiscusFor symmetry and organization, a patio made of irregularly shaped Arizona flagstone was replaced by designers Blue Hibiscus Gardens with rectangular bluestone tiles in an ashlar pattern. A matching side patio was added using base rock and pre-cut pavers. A cozy deck features built-in seating and a concrete-top natural gas fire pit with prism fire glass. New plants include a Japanese maple and Pittosporum 'Silver Sheen'.
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Reimagined Brooklyn Brownstone
Irene Kalina-JonesWith the children outgrowing the kid-oriented yard, a Brooklyn couple, both professors, decided to renovate the garden of their Brooklyn brownstone. With the help of Outside Space NYC, the backyard was divided into three areas with different levels.
In this area of the yard, a geometric pergola provides shade and creates a comfortable seating area on the ipe deck. Raised stacked-stone beds are planted with a mix of low-maintenance shrubs, perennials, and ornamental grasses. The homeowner added a modern, lightweight outdoor sofa and coffee table for a mid-century feel. -
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Brooklyn Bluestone
Amber Scott FredaAnother backyard in Brooklyn was redesigned by Amber Freda Landscape Design as a space for entertaining and relaxation. A bluestone patio, custom horizontal planter boxes with casters for mobility, and fencing made of Ipe complement the outdoor kitchen and seating area with a fire pit. Freda's challenge for this space: using the right plants for the widely varying pockets of sun and shade throughout the yard. In addition to a lush mix of flowering annuals and perennials, Freda used sweet potato vine, trumpet vine, Japanese maple, ornamental grasses, and dogwoods. Everything is equipped with automated low-voltage uplighting and drip irrigation lines.
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Gazebo Focal Point
FernhillA stunning wood gazebo is the centerpiece of a backyard in the quaint town of Lititz, Pennsylvania, designed by Fernhill Landscapes. With upholstery, pillows, and flowering plants that harmonize, the space is intimate and appealing.
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Downtown Chicago Pad
Reveal DesignBesides Wrigley Field, the next-best place to enjoy a Chicago Cubs game is your own backyard, right in downtown Chicago. Created by Reveal Design, the linear design features a patio was made with Technoblock pavers, Ipe, black steel and frosted-glass fencing, aluminum powder-coated planters, and the fire table and grill area are framed with Ipe. The illuminated orbs can be adjusted to change colors for holidays or sports on TV.
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Natural Berkeley Backyard
Green AlchemyGuided by the belief that gardens should blend seamlessly with the lives of their owners, Deborah Kuchar of Green Alchemy created a casual outdoor space for a house in Berkeley, California, that features natural materials like stone along with plants that create a lush, private space.
Simple, classic butterfly chairs and a fire pit are surrounded by angel's trumpet and lavender, among other growing things. -
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Luxurious Lissoni in Miami
RitzItalian architect and designer Piero Lissoni created the namesake Villa Lissoni at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach, a seven-acre property with more than 100 condominiums and a limited collection of 15 standalone properties. This upscale condo features a small, lush yard with tropical landscaping (including orchids), a private infinity pool (the property also has pools on-site), and patios that are accessible via floor-to-ceiling glass doors.
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Yard with Zones
Land AestheticSan Diego enjoys one of the most ideal climates in the United States (or anywhere), which is why the owners of this home in Encinitas sought assistance from Envision Landscape Studio to make the most out of their backyard space. Divided into zones or sections, the yard includes a lawn for pets and children, a fire pit with casual seating, a covered outdoor living room, a dining area, and a water feature, all surrounded by low-maintenance landscaping.
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Planter with a Purpose
Bradford AssociatesPeeking through the gate of a backyard in Providence, Rhode Island, remodeled by Bradford Associates, you can catch a glimpse of new fencing, a patio with lightweight furniture, and a raised bed that not only allows its owners to grow plants but helps to screen an adjacent raised filtration area.
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Corner Backyard in Virginia
Heart's EaseTucked into a corner of a backyard, a composite-decking bench was placed in front of a mature hydrangea bush to create an appealing nook. Designed by Peggy Krapf of Heart's Ease Landscape and Garden Design in Toano, Virginia, the space features a bench that is set on a stone pad to create a level surface. Urns planted with annual color can be changed out seasonally.
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Clean-Line Backyard Design
Christy WebberSymmetry, geometric design, and organization are often key to designing small backyards.
Christy Webber Landscapes was inspired by this Chicago homeowner's recent interior renovation--modern and using clean lines--to extend living space to the yard. The patio is paved with bluestone with blue-chip joints. A privacy fence is softened with medium-sized trees, like Japanese maple trees, along with birch and spruce trees, while boxwood, rhododendron, arborvitae, and pachysandra add year-round interest. -
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Super Small Backyard Turned into a Dream
Magic LandscapingAndrew Shepherd of Magic Landscaping was tasked with creating a backyard for a historic home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The challenge: "It had absolutely no backyard. What was there was about 20 feet deep and about 100 feet wide. The project scope was to create interest, beauty, privacy, and intimate spaces so that the family could go outside and spend time together," says Shepherd.
Using a combination of limestone boulders, Delaware pea gravel, cedar mulch, and lush greenery, Magic created fairytale-like paths, a fire pit, a trampoline for the kids, and a dining area.
Among the ideas above, also take time to consider:
- Container gardens: When you lack good soil or have an outdoor space that is mostly patio or decking, add pots, low bowls, repurposed wooden boxes or crates, and urns
- Think about vertical space: The sky's the limit when you grow your succulents, herbs, flowers, or even vegetables in a vertical container that is attached to a wall
- Hanging garden: Plants can be suspended from beams, eaves, or wall hangers; it's up to you what to plant and what works in your region
- A no-fuss patio or deck that allows you to get outside and has water-wise plants that don't require lots of care and maintenance
- A small kitchen and dining area: Love to grill? If space allows, you can add a basic grill, counter, outdoor refrigerator, and even grow a small herb garden to add flavor on the spot
- A private garden: City-dwellers often crave outdoor space. High walls and espaliered or climbing plants help to create a sense of seclusion
Once you start researching, you'll find that garden styles and solutions are limitless—there's a backyard for every petite plot of land.
Small Backyard Landscaping Ideas - 14 DIYs to Try
Plan Your Space
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You might think that keeping a small yard open and loosely planned would make it feel bigger, but the opposite is true. The key to a more spacious feeling is all in the organization. Define the spaces in your small yard and make their purposes clear. Delineate a dining or lounging area with a stone patio, or separate the play area from the dining area with plantings. All of a sudden, it looks like there's so much more space.
Related: 1 Dozen Ways to Make the Most of a Small Yard
Zillow Digs home in Seattle, WA
Play Up the Side Yard
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Side yards are often ignored, or just relegated to garbage can storage. Used correctly, however, this precious square footage can help you expand your usable space. Incorporate the side yard into your landscaping plan by planting a culinary herb garden, or add a slim cafe table for a morning coffee retreat.
Surely, you can find room for those garbage cans in the garage.
Related: 10 Inspiring Ideas for Your Side Yard
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Create a Destination
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A small yard will feel more grand if you turn it into a destination. Create an outdoor room with a nicely arranged patio set and grill. Or add a special feature like a fountain, fire pit, or cozy reading nook to make this tiny spot worth the visit.
Related: No Money to Burn? 9 Fire Pits You Can Afford
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Frame a View
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Architectural features like arbors or pergolas are perennial favorites in small yards. Use one to frame a view, hang a swing, or even plant a climbing garden. The height of these backyard structures gives the illusion of more space, while the features themselves add interest and character.
Related: 9 Creative Ways to Build a Backyard Hangout
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Choose the Right Trees
5/15
You can plant trees in a small yard so long as you choose ones that grow up instead of out. Taller, thinner shapes, such as columnar evergreens, and dwarf varieties of shrubs will give you lush landscaping without eating up all your space.
Related: 10 of the Best Trees for Any Backyard
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Use Levels
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Incorporating terraced landscaping helps to designate spaces, making a small yard look bigger. Elevate your dining area, or sink a conversation pit around an outdoor fireplace. Terracing can also carve out more space for plantings, while a lower wall can double as bench seating.
Related: 10 Outdoor Living Ideas to Steal from California
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Skip the Fence
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With the neighbors close by, you may feel the urge to put up a privacy fence.
Try to resist. Your yard will appear bigger if the eye can take in the plantings and trees beyond your property line. With a continuous view, the unobstructed greenery can all seem part of the same landscape.
Related: 11 Ideas for Better Backyard Privacy
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Garden Vertically
8/15
Attention plant lovers: filling a small yard with shrubs and flowers is a surefire way to clutter the space. Instead, grow your garden vertically with hanging baskets, wall-mounted flower pots, or stacked crates of greenery. You’ll add color without taking up precious real estate on the ground.
Related: 12 Backyard Updates You Can Do in a Day
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Stick with Small Furniture
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Not only does bulky patio furniture take up lots of space, it also overwhelms a tiny backyard. Stick with smaller pieces instead—preferably ones with a see-through pattern, which lets the eye travel further.
Related: 15 Doable Designs for DIY Outdoor Furniture
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Shop Smartly
10/15
When shopping for a small yard, always buy patio furniture that’s versatile and functional. For example, collapsible chairs and portable fire pits can be stashed inside the garage whenever you need more space. Double-duty pieces (like a bench that converts into a picnic table) also create less clutter, making your yard appear bigger than it is.
Related: 8 DIY Pick-Me-Ups for a Plain Patio
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Texturize Your Yard
11/15
It’s true that layers of plants, shrubs, and garden features add interest to a yard. Thankfully for homeowners with limited space to spare, texture also creates the same eye-catching affect. Select a handful of plants with a variety of textures, like wispy ornamental grasses, coarse Canna lilies, and delicate cosmos.
When arranging your flower beds, place the bolder varieties near the front to create an illusion of depth.
Related: 25 Plants for Your Easiest Garden Ever
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Create Curves
12/15
Straight garden features sometimes look blunt and unsatisfying. To add depth and dimension, rely on winding and curving lines instead, whether it’s for a garden path or landscape edging. The swirling shape draws the eye, creating a sense of movement and opening up the space.
Related: Edge Your Beds: 11 Easy Ideas for Landscape Borders
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Store Items in the Garage
13/15
If possible, don’t impose on your yard with clunky sheds or storage bins. Keep clutter at bay by stashing yard tools, outdoor equipment, and children’s toys in the garage instead. As a result, your property will look larger and more streamlined.
Related: 9 Clever Landscaping Hacks for Your Best-Ever Yard
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Blur the Lines
14/15
Take a cue from warm-weather dwellers by blending your indoor and outdoor living spaces. Transitional features like large glass windows and sliding doors create a seamless boundary, giving the illusion of a bigger backyard.
Related: 14 Spaces That Blur the Line Between Indoors and Out
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Bigger and Better
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You can have big beauty and big fun, even in a small yard.
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30 creative small backyard design ideas
Original and practical ways to organize your small backyard.
Do not be afraid to combine seemingly incompatible objects, use optical illusion and zoning techniques.
You are sure to find your own, comfortable and amazing design that will bring you pleasure and admiration of others!
Plan!
The area must not be flat and easily visible. Do not lay straight paths that visually reduce distances.
Plan your yard to include functional areas. Arches, screens, container plants, paving with different materials, terracing will help you zone the site.
Make even a short walk around the site rich in sensations: plant spicy, fragrant plants; a gravel path can rustle pleasantly underfoot; berry bushes will give you the opportunity to eat some delicious berries.
Make paths large enough for two people to walk on.
Organizing storage areas and matching colors
Where do you store your garden tools, children's toys, bike or watering hoses?
Decide where to store these items.
Then there will be more free space in the yard, the look will not cling to piles of scattered objects, the feeling of clutter will disappear.
For a smaller yard, limit the color palette to a few soothing shades. For example, white, silver, pearl, sand colors will be a great contrast for plants and yard elements, and will also be clearly visible even at night.
Light colors will visually make the space lighter and more spacious. Cold shades of blue and gray will visually push the boundaries of the yard.
Dark plants in the background will create an extra depth effect. Your territory will appear larger than it actually is.
Using lighting
The level of illumination plays a big role in the perception of the space of the yard. Brightly lit areas immediately catch the eye, shady areas are convenient for secluded resting places hidden from view. Be sure to consider these nuances when planning.
Use artificial lighting, because even at night you can highlight interesting elements or entire areas: a patio, a central path, a small bench, a beautiful plant or a flowerpot.
The LED lighting options are sure to please with their cost-effectiveness and ease of placement. Such a backlight is easy to install and invisible in the daytime.
Flowers and plants
Do not plant a lot of different plants if the area is limited. Stop for a few spectacular views, trees with a neat, narrow crown.
Place tall (evergreen) plants in the background, in the middle plant low bushes of hydrangeas, roses, astilbes, and in the foreground low-growing petunias, pelargonium, coleus, hosta, geyhera, lobelia.
Use vertical landscaping and use other surfaces with good access for planting and lawns (eg garage roof).
Pay attention to landscaping the yard with moss! With a small area, this method is definitely not to be overlooked.
As a result, you will get mega green spaces without any loss in area. Be sure to check out how it works and see for yourself!
Use container plants to quickly change the layout of your yard.
Recreation area
There are many ways to incorporate a barbecue area, hearth or fire pit into a small backyard design. The warmth and glow of such a garden hearth is no less pleasant than from an expensive and large one. There are also models of barbecues that are attached to the wall and do not occupy the site at all.
There is also good news for those who love water, melodious murmur and freshness in the air: it is quite possible to place a small fountain, a stream or a mini reservoir in a small area of your yard.
If there is absolutely no free space, build a beautiful drinker for birds. All of these options are sure to bring freshness and attract birds, dragonflies and butterflies to your yard!
Playground for toddlers, mini pond with waterfall, outdoor kitchen, shaped thuja in a container and flower bed - great for a small yard.
This design takes into account the interests of the whole family.
tips, ideas and ready-made projects
Walking through the streets of the private sector, one involuntarily pays attention to the design of courtyards. Particularly attractive are beautiful, tastefully decorated landscapes, near which you want to stay longer. Unusual compositions with artificial ponds, waterfalls, with elements of topiary, alpine slides and rockeries are interesting. Creating an extraordinary landscape in the yard requires work and knowledge of the basics of its design.
Contents
Principles of planning a yard near a private house
Yard is a part of a land plot adjacent to a private house. It is divided into the front, or front yard, and back. The front yard is between the facade of the apartment building and the fence. It is open to everyone who wants to look behind the fence, and is the visiting card of the owners.
For this reason, its design is treated with particular scrupulousness.
The back yard is behind the house and hidden from prying eyes. A secluded resting place is arranged here, outbuildings are located, poultry and animals are kept.
The layout of the yard largely depends on the size of the plot and the needs of the family. But there are general principles of its improvement, which the majority adheres to. The list of objects located on the territory of the yard includes technical buildings and decorative elements of the landscape. The first of them are a necessity, since they provide comfort to the owners of the house, and the second ones are needed to satisfy their aesthetic needs.
The objects of technical importance include a garage, a parking lot, a summer kitchen, a guest house, an arbor, an aviary for a dog. A garage and a parking lot are usually located just outside the gate, and other buildings are located in the depths, where road noise and street dust do not reach.
An aviary or booth for a dog is arranged in a dead corner, but not too far from the outer fence.
Objects of decorative value, these are flower beds, ponds, deciduous and coniferous plantations, lawns, small architectural structures, etc. Their number depends on the area of the yard and such elements in most situations are located along the fences and walls of outbuildings.
The space directly in front of the porch is not accepted to be filled with vegetation - it must remain free for movement. On the site at the entrance to the house, tiles or other paving covering are laid.
Exception to rule. When the yard is spacious enough, flower beds are broken near the porch on the side of the steps, where flower beds do not interfere with movement.
Front yard seating area
Pergola or shed, this is common in the front yard. They are surrounded by flower beds and climbing plants, and together they make up a landscape composition.
If there is free space, you can complete the picture with any hydraulic structure: a waterfall, a fountain, an artificial pond. The proximity of water contributes to a special microclimate, especially desirable near the place of rest.
It is very popular to build a patio in front of the porch. Proximity to the front door to the house makes it possible to spend every free minute outdoors. Here you can drink a cup of morning coffee, gather with your family for evening tea or keep secrets with friends and girlfriends.
On a small paved area, a table and a few chairs are set - these are the most necessary items in the arrangement of the patio area. Potted plants and sheer curtains providing light shade, comfortable wicker furniture and cushions are used to create a cozy environment.
Important. It is possible to create a full-fledged resting place on the territory of the front yard when it is isolated from the road by a blank fence or a high hedge.
Otherwise, it will not be very comfortable to spend time in a sincere conversation at the sight of prying eyes. Moreover, you will not be able to relax in a hammock or on a garden sofa swing.
How to set up a backyard
Backyard design with gazebo, patio area and pondBetween the house and the garden there is a space that is used in two directions: for a garage with a parking lot for a car and a resting place. If there is enough space, you can do both by dividing it with a hedge, a vertical green screen, or a flower garden. At the same time, the garage with parking is located closer to the gate.
The back yard is the best place for a recreation area near a private house. It is easy to create a completely isolated space here, inaccessible to the views of neighbors and street dust. On the one hand, it is protected from the wind by the wall of the house, on the other hand by an orchard, and from the side of the neighboring plot it is separated by a fence.
By constructing a light canopy, you can spend time in the backyard seating area without fear of summer rain.
This is where it is most convenient to create a barbecue area, install a barbecue or fold a garden stove.
It is also a suitable area for creating a sports ground, a place for children to play with a sandbox and swings.
Naturally, the backyard, regardless of its purpose, is decorated with various types of flower beds, it is appropriate to plant tall coniferous and deciduous trees here.
Paths and paving
A hard surface in the yard is important from a hygienic point of view. It allows you to keep the yard clean, and it is easier to take care of it: wash, remove leaves, throw away snow. Most often, continuous paving is used, when most of the yard area is laid out with paving slabs. Paths are laid from paving in different directions, helping to get to various areas: a garden, auxiliary buildings, a shower, a bathhouse, and so on.
Ford type paving is mainly used to create paths to various objects. The principle of its device is that a gap is left between the individual tiles.
At the same time, for ease of movement, the distance should not be more than 30 cm, and the tiles themselves are chosen large enough so that the foot fits completely on them. The space between the elements of this type of path is filled with lawn grass, pebbles, small gravel.
What to make paving and paths:
- Paving stones. Thick, brick-like tiles can easily support the weight of a car, so they are used for laying in parking lots. A blind area, a patio area, a path between the gate and the house are arranged from paving stones;
- Molded concrete tiles. Ideal for creating garden paths;
- Flagstone. Flat slabs are integrated into the lawn, combined with crushed stone filling, pebbles;
- Decking. Water resistant composite wood effect.
It is laid on a leveled area, sprinkled with gravel or crushed stone of small fractions. For greater reliability, decking is sometimes mounted on a crate made of timber; - Modular cover. Plastic plates with embossed anti-slip pattern, connected with a tongue-and-groove or foot-groove lock;
- Rolled plastic cover. Used to create temporary and seasonal tracks.
It is also possible to make a concrete screed with the prospect that some tile material will be laid on it in the future.
Plants in the design of the yard
Flower beds and beds help to create a special flavor around the house. The type of vegetation is selected depending on the style in which the site is designed. The size of the yard, the degree of its illumination and the design of the house are also taken into account.
Bulbous
Bulbous flowers will provide a spring explosion of colors: tulips, lilies, hazel grouses, daffodils, muscari, alliums, saffrons .
Their flowering period is not very long, but many species and varieties allow you to choose plants in such a way that it lasts from April to early June. At the end of flowering, the bulbs completely wither, modestly giving way to other horticultural crops.
Conifers
Variety of shapes spruces, pines, junipers and arborvitae opens up space in the landscaping of the yard area. They are used in the creation of hedges, are present in mixborders, planted in rocky gardens and as tapeworms on green lawns. Undersized and dwarf species are popular because they are suitable for decorating small yards and are used as container crops.
Dwarf conifersOrnamental shrubs
Background plants are designed to emphasize the bright colors of beautifully flowering perennials. In this performance, 9 are of interest.0180 snowberry, privet, tamarisk, mackerel, lilac . They will cover the fence and barn and will not divert attention from more sophisticated plantings, such as roses, hydrangeas, peonies or irises.
Shrubs with decorative foliage and lush flowering act as dominant plants. These are Thunberg barberry , forsythia, various types of spirea, spindle tree, viburnum buldenezh, louisiana, viburnum viburnum .
Tip. Evergreen shrubs and trees will add showiness to the flower composition: boxwood, holly mahonia, holly, cinquefoil, aucuba.
Perennials
Flower beds are based on herbaceous perennials. They define the backbone of the flower bed, around which the rest of the composition is built. For sunny places, erigeron, liatris, anemone, yucca, are suitable, and sedum and hosta grow well in the shade.
The space left between perennials is filled with annual flowers that bloom all summer.
Lianas
Liana-like plants seem to be created for decorating the yard. They braid arbors, arches, fences, porch posts. Climbing plantations are used to create green screens when zoning the garden, separating outbuildings from the front part of the yard.
Often planted in the front garden in front of the house clematis . Their not too dense foliage transmits light well, and at the same time creates a kind of curtain that protects open windows from dust penetration.
Always in demand climbing roses , which can be planted near the porch, at the gate, at the entrance to the gazebo. Their long flowering period provides an atmosphere of conviviality throughout the summer season.
Climbing roses on a garden archLandscape features of the yard
The total area of the land allotment does not always affect the size of the yard. Rather, how much land can be allocated to the yard depends on whether the owners plan to grow vegetables and fruits or not. If so, then on a small plot, a vegetable garden and a garden often take priority at the expense of the yard area.
Design of a small yard
It is difficult to make a large yard on a plot of 6 acres, but you can deceive the perception and expand it visually.
A tiny pond will capture attention and distract from the surrounding background.
The illusion of an increase in territory will be stronger if the pond is made elongated. It is best to place it along the longest line. A similar effect of expanding space is felt in a landscape with a fountain installed on a hill.
If the allotment has an elongated shape, a small strip of land remains between the facade of the building and the fence for the front garden.
It is most practical to cover this area with paving, leaving narrow strips of earth around the perimeter along the fence for flower beds. Also suitable is the option when the flower garden is broken behind the fence. It will visually move the yard away from the road and brighten up its tightness. In such a situation, the garage takes place in the very corner, and the parking lot is also taken out of the fence.
A resting place near a house with a small yard is recommended to be arranged in the backyard.
It will be easier to spend your leisure time here. The gazebo is sometimes arranged close to the house and has a common wall with it.
Yard design on a plot of 10 acres
A land plot of 10 acres allows you to allocate about 3 acres for the front yard (but this is not a rule and depends on the location of the house on the plot). The classic option is when the house is maximally shifted to the border with neighbors, and the porch is turned towards the gate. In such a situation, on the opposite side, there is sufficient space for arranging a yard with a front garden. Not only a recreation area is arranged here. There is still enough space left to create a beautiful landscape with a mixborder, a rose garden, an alpine slide.
Since a garage is indispensable, it is taken out as close as possible to the gate: only a parking area remains between the gate and the garage.
This layout has its advantages. The building of technical importance (garage) closes the view from the street, thanks to which behind its walls you can create a full-fledged recreation area, a playground, and build a sauna.
Yard design on a plot of 15 acres
On a large plot of land there is a unique opportunity to build a house in the depths of the plot. The area in front of the cottage is completely at the disposal of its owners. It is divided into two main zones: an ornamental garden and a recreation area.
The main elements of the garden are flower beds, which are located on both sides of the path leading from the gate to the porch. The design of flower beds is the most diverse, but when breaking them down, it should be taken into account that the variegation of flower beds and the piling up of many types of vegetation tires the eye. Landscape designers recommend interspersing flower beds with cut lawns and separating them with low hedges.
Uneven terrain with a rocky landscape looks original. If the site is flat and its area allows, you can artificially create elevation differences, fill them with decorative gravel and create a corner of the mountain landscape.
An artificial pond, a dry stream, wide steps on steep slopes - all these are interesting ideas for decorating a front yard.
There can be more than one recreation area in a large yard. They are created according to interests: a secluded place of relaxation, family gatherings, gathering with a noisy company.
Each sub-zone is equipped accordingly, for example, a hammock in the shade of a pergola, a carved tea arbor, an open hearth (brazier, barbecue) under a canopy.
An important detail in the design of the courtyard: lighting
An essential detail in the arrangement of the courtyard is lighting. The main objects that should be illuminated first are the front porch, paths, outbuildings and recreation areas. Electric outdoor lights are hung above the porch. They are mounted in such a way as to clearly see the steps of the stairs.
On track routes, it is important to illuminate especially dangerous areas: slopes, turns, steps.
