Design for Small Front and Back Yards
Space, being a precious and limited commodity in towns and cities, should be functionally efficient. Using outside space is an enjoyable and stylish way of extending the boundaries of your home. Often in-between and left over areas can be designed into usable and even popular places for entertaining, relaxing or just hanging out. In order to make the most of a small space, one must break free from the preconceptions about what makes a garden and remember that first and foremost gardens are for people. The key to realizing the potential of your small yard space involves designing and planning areas suitable to your lifestyle.
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Outdoor Room (After) This tiny backyard was transformed into a living space incorporating a dining area, kitchen garden, and pet friendly area. Vertical elements, color and decorative accessories were used to give this urban space an enclosed comfortable sense of place.
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Outdoor Room (Before) Only the dog used this space for his private business!
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Outdoor Room (Opposite View) The dining area's brick back-drop adds to the interior feel of the space with the adjacent trees and umbrella providing the "ceiling" to the room. The trees are wound with exterior tube lighting to add an atmospheric glow during evening dining.
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Outdoor Room (Opposite View Before) Adjacent structure walls make a great beginning to an outdoor room!
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Outdoor Room (Kitchen Garden) Homeowners should always evaluate their lifestyle and pleasures when remodeling. Growing food was important to this retiring couple so they decided to remove the deck that they rarely used to install this elaborate vegetable garden which they always use and which provides unending joy to the caretakers. A difficult but delightful decision!
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Outdoor Room (Kitchen Garden Before) Previous unused deck which was demolished to make way for the new kitchen garden.
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Small Backyard Fragrant Garden Urban dwellers are accustomed to calling the space in-between their houses as back yards. As small as this wedge is, this space has a deck and two patios connected by a fragrance garden. Crab apple and snowbell trees both provide glorious fragrance during their blooming seasons as well as other fragrant perennials.
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Small Backyard Fragrant Garden (Before) This unenclosed yard was never used and felt unsafe to the residents living next to a high turn-over rental property.
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Small Backyard Fragrant Garden (Deck View) This deck with multi-directional staircase was designed as extra seating for the small patio. There is room for a small tea table and two chairs. The stairs can be lined with seasonal planting containers also adding a decorative backdrop for the dining patio.
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Small Backyard Fragrant Garden (Side Deck View) Tiny left over spaces can be used as garden or utility areas.
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Small Backyard Fragrant Garden (Opposite side of deck) Clumping bamboo (which does not run wild) was used on the other side of the deck to lend more privacy from the neighbors and to screen the barbeque.
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Small Backyard Fragrant Garden (View House After) The house is transparently concealed from the garden area to provide some privacy in an urban setting.
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Small Backyard Fragrant Garden (Fence View After) The rental property next door was screened by the new stockade fence which acted as the backdrop for elbow areas to be packed with fragrant and colorful plants. The existing tree was incorporated into the new fence.
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Small Backyard Fragrant Garden (rental property view before) The invasive tree tagged with blue tape was removed and the existing maple was incorporated into the new fence.
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Small Backyard Fragrant Garden (Opposite) Then enclosed wedge shaped yard terminates into a private patio for reading or a fire pit. The patio is screened from adjacent parking by a lattice screen.
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Small Backyard Fragrant Garden (Before) Invisible property lines were marked with the installation of the fence creating boundaries for a functional space.
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Small Backyard Fragrant Garden (Private patio view) The private patio has its own entrance from the driveway.
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Small Backyard Fragrant Garden (Private patio before) There is no way to tell where the legal property line terminates.
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Small Backyard Fragrant Garden (Private patio close-up)
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No Mow Shade Garden No-mow considerations include patios. A circle patio was designed to fit under the large oak tree with a bench for two and surrounded by lush shade loving plants. A natural stone path leads from the kitchen directly to the dining area.
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No Mow Shade Garden (Additional View) Fences were matched by color to unify the space and vertical surfaces were accessorized with plants to provide a more intimate feel. This space is used in the summer for dining and the annual family violin concert.
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No Mow Shade Garden (Before) A dirt plot was heavily shaded by the central oak on the site. The tree was pruned for light and a white picket fence was installed to match the neighbors fence.
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No Mow Shade Garden (Opposite vew Before) The shed was edged with a foot wide gravel bed to alleviate dirty splash and anchor the structure to the landscape. See the ugly unfinished fence.
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No Mow Shade Garden (Patio) The circular patio is nestled among Virginia sweetspires and sweet gale under-planted with astilbes, and shade loving ground covers. All four members of this family play the violin designating this garden as the venue for the annual family violin concert! What a treat for invitation only guests!!
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No Mow Shade Garden (Bench View) An additional seating area is provided for casual conversation and bird watching. The natural stone path leads the eye to the other end of the space which is lined with highbush blueberry shrubs for avian pleasure. The shed houses the snow blower but no lawn mowers allowed!
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No Mow Shade Garden (Shed path) The snow blower is housed in the new shed and at the request of the retired couple living here a stone path was designed for ease of access and egress to and from the shed. Highbush blueberry line one side of the path and a low variety of rhododendron lines the other.
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No Mow Shade Garden (Left side of shed) 'Ruby Spice' summersweet lines the chain link fence screening the ugly fence and the neighbor's yard but is low enough to remain neighbor friendly. The path is lined with Rozanne geranium for long duration of seasonal color.
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No Mow Shade Garden (Left side of shed before) The ugly fence and a buried driveway which was excavated for the new bird friendly garden.
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No Mow Shade Garden Right side of path) The old wood pile was replaced by rhododendrons and with climbing clematis on the newly installed trellises.
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No Mow Shade Garden (old wood pile)
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No Mow Shade Garden (Drainage site before) Small yards usually have some sort of drainage challenge. Here too many downspouts are directed down the side of the house.
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No Mow Shade Garden (drainage area after) Drainage downspouts were connected and buried under gravel.
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Courtyard Patio A tiny barren dirt plot was transformed into this outdoor courtyard used for casual cocktails and family dining. Natural stone slab steps add a more leisurely sense to the space with a small fountain and container garden giving the space a European flavor.
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Courtyard Patio (Side view) European style containers flanking the old world style steps act as a warm greeting to the arbor entryway. Listening to the bubbling of the nearby fountain is a favorite lunchtime activity for these work-at-home residents.
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Courtyard Patio (Before) We forgot to take the before before photo. Here shows a dirt square with the new fence married to a new stone retaining wall which replaced a collapsed railroad tie wall and falling down fence.
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Courtyard Patio (Yard and Deck entrance views) The small courtyard is accessed from the yard by an extra large size stone slab staircase inter-planted with ground covers for erosion stabilization. From the house, access is gained by descending a custom designed twisted staircase made from no-maintenance composite lumber (next photo.)
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Courtyard Patio (Deck) The original rotting wood deck was redesigned to accommodate two breakfast chairs and a custom twisted staircase to direct descending guests away from tight spaces.
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Courtyard Patio (Container garden) Container gardens always add artistic elements to a small space. Container style can lend flavor and character as shown here where Greek and classical styles are reminiscent of old European time.
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Courtyard patio (arbor) Arbors are wonderful gateways into a small patio paradise.
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Courtyard patio (Fountain) The sound of water is always useful to mimic a nearby brook or to screen out street traffic. Whether fountain, birdbath or pond, I always try and integrate moving water into every small garden design.
Call today for a consultation on
Design for Small Yards
Terrascapes Landscape Design
Telephone: 781-449-1788
info@terrascapeslandscapedesign.com