backyard landscapes
Sometimes people think that landscaping a small yard won’t be worth the investment because they see the spatial limitations as an impossible obstacle. They fear they won’t be able to do anything meaningful with a small or oddly shaped lot. In this article, we’re going to present two examples of small yard landscapes that will put those notions to rest.
The two small yard landscapes featured in this article are on lots where large new construction homes replaced out-of-date, less desirable houses in highly desirable neighborhoods. Both have well-proportioned front yards. The backyards, however, are limited due to the expansive footprint of the new house.
We’ll explore the creative challenges and opportunities presented by smallish or odd shaped backyards left over after an infill house replaces an older one on the same lot.
Modern Backyard Landscaping Ideas & Inspiration
Go for height along the property line. Your designer may use terracing, raised beds, and tall plants around the perimeter to raise the eye line. This contributes a feeling of openness, much like a high ceiling would do in an indoor room. Layer lush border plantings in front of stone walls or fencing to disguise those hard visual barriers while gracefully creating a pleasing sense of enclosure.
The water feature in the PROJECT 1 backyard was unusually challenging due to the location and limited space. The landscaping crew had to maneuver large boulders into place, and the feature goes vertical very quickly due to the limited depth of yard. But it turns out that this steep, high feature makes an impressive focal point and disguises the limitations of the yard—actually, making it seem larger than it is.
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In PROJECT 2, the rear deck covers a pre-existing basement stairwell that takes up nearly half the buildable depth in the yard (24 feet to the rear boundary). The landscape architect converted the stairwell to storage underneath the deck area. The architect says that this existing condition presented the greatest challenge of the two projects.
Beautiful Backyard Landscaping Ideas
When you look at the landscape plan, you can see and feel it if one of the features is either too large or too small. There has to be a balance between all the elements and the overall design so that it flows nicely and one part doesn’t detract from another. Chad Talton, Landscape Architect Filling the Landscape Without Crowding
Landscape architect Chad Talton says he tries always to be thoughtful and creative in his attempts to maximize all the usable area on a property. Obviously on small sites, every square inch matters. Talton says, he puts a lot of care into balancing size, scale, and shape. He evaluates and plans how he can best use positive and negative space in the overall composition. These concepts are demonstrated in both of these projects.
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A lot of times, I believe we are trying to create a feeling of comforting confinement by dividing the area into individual spaces. You want to avoid crowding the area with too many elements too close together. You don’t want to feel like by the surrounding landscape is smothering you. Balancing Size, Scale, and Proximity
Small Yard Landscaping Ideas To Impress
This spa fits perfectly into a corner at the narrow end of the backyard in project example #1 landscaping plan. ©Morgan Howarth Photography
Creative landscaping in small yards begins with a commitment to making the most of what you have. Counter to what you might think; small size can be advantageous because you can put more into it than budget might allow in a larger yard. It also presents an opportunity to design in greater detail with more variety using the highest quality materials to build up a lush backyard environment.
In both of these projects, the homeowners’ wish lists included a water feature, an outdoor grill, a covered structure, and so on. They left it to the landscape architect to figure out how to fit all of those elements into the allotted space. Talton is proud of the fact that none of their requests had to be dropped from the scope of work for lack of space or lack of imagination.
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