Looking to make the most of your limited outdoor area? This article provides landscape design tips and tricks to maximize your small backyard potential, focusing on both aesthetics and usability.
Some tips will focus on aesthetics. These tips can make the space feel larger or more beautiful. Other tips focus on use. They help design the yard to be user-friendly. Some tips are practical, highlighting common mistakes and important considerations for designing small spaces.
These tips are not in a particular order. This is a list of things to keep in mind when doing a landscape design ideas for a small space.
Designing with Use in Mind
Start the landscape design process with use in mind, especially in a small space. What activities are desired in the backyard? What could enable more use of the space? For example, consider designing some sort of overhead structure in areas with a lot of rain. This allows for spending time outside without getting rained on.
Additionally, consider aspects like privacy. With plenty of privacy, it can be more comfortable to go out in the backyard in pajamas and pick some herbs for breakfast.
Design should be about turning the outdoor space into an extension of the indoor space. It should be more comfortable to spend time in. Identify any unused parts of the yard and diagnose why they are not being used. Then, make a plan to use those parts of the yard more.
Plant Size and Placement
Pay very close attention to the mature size of plants. Experienced gardeners will find this a simple tip. However, it is often overlooked.
All plants have a size that they mature to. This can be looked up online. Ideally, type in the Latin name of the plant or the common name. Be sure to put the specific variety name in when searching, because different varieties of the same plant will mature to different sizes.
This is extremely important in small spaces, because there is not a lot of room for really big plants. Oftentimes for small yards, staying with plants that are more compact or more narrow is best. They take up a lot of vertical space, like tall and skinny plants. It is also possible to plan on plants that will grow overhead, like trees that will have overhead canopies.
Regardless, pay close attention to the mature size of plants. This will prevent ending up with something that takes up more space than desired.
Paying Attention to Views
Pay attention to the views from windows as the design takes shape. Consider what will be seen outside of the windows. This is especially important for a large window in a living area or a kitchen, where people will be looking out commonly.
The yard can be designed in a way that’s like a work of art. It can frame a pretty view. There could be some sort of focal point, an arranged seating area, or a specific plant that acts as a focal point with other aspects of the design complementing that.
If there are kids playing in the backyard that need to be kept an eye on to make sure that they’re safe, make sure that their play areas are within view of a window. Alternatively, if there are things that are undesirable to see, also keep that in mind from the views of different windows.
This could be ugly utility boxes or undesirable views. Have a friend come over and stand in the window. Look out the window, and then give directions to the friend. This helps in determining where a certain design element should be. This helps get an accurate measurement of where that element should be compared to the view of the window.
Greenery and Diagonal Angles
To make a space feel larger, adding layers of greenery along the borders can help. This is especially important if it’s tightly fenced in or feels a little bit claustrophobic. Tall narrow upright plants and grasses or narrow trees and vines on trellises are all examples of different ways to layer different textures of greenery in a very narrow space. This can soften the view.
Adding more plants to a space, even though they might take up a couple of feet, will make the space feel a little bit less closed in. Another way to make a small space feel larger is to include some diagonal angles in the design. 45 degree angles in particular will make the space feel a lot larger.
Consider turning the layout of paths, patios, and plantings at a 45 degree angle to get this effect if that works for you in the space.
Compost, Waste Management, and Utilities
Do not forget about compost and waste management in the design. Even if not composting food scraps, every yard should have a space to store organic matter or materials. If doing maintenance in the yard, cutting back grasses, or pruning shrubs, there should be somewhere to put these materials, even if only temporarily, until they can be taken away.
Remember to leave space, perhaps out of the main line of sight, for garbage cans, recycle bins, compost bins, and yard debris bins. Or even just a little space to stack up these organic materials out of the main line of sight.
Before starting the design, and especially before digging in the ground or doing any landscape installation, call the local utility company. Have them mark where utilities are buried so planning can be done accordingly. The utility companies do not want anyone getting hurt or damaging any of the infrastructure.
Be sure to plan space in the design. Make sure to have proper access to these utilities for maintenance and so they are not damaged.
Vertical Space and Privacy
Utilize vertical space as much as possible. This can include using raised beds and having trellises or arbors. Growing things in containers and layering by stacking containers on top of raised beds is another option. There are entire books and channels associated with vertical gardening or making use of vertical space. Thinking vertically as much as possible can lead to creative ideas.
Pay close attention to privacy. Even with amazing neighbors, it is unlikely anyone will feel comfortable spending time in their outdoor space if they feel like they’re on stage. Consider walking around the yard or even sitting in certain parts of the yard that may want to install a patio. Watch for different spots that might need to be covered up.
Privacy can be created using plants, like a tree or a hedge of some sort. It is also possible to use a piece of artwork, a single fence panel, or just one single trellis. There are a lot of different ways to create little moments of privacy. Even a single ornamental grass in a pot can make a really big difference.
Lawn Alternatives
If working with a pretty small space, consider eliminating the lawn. Lawns are not necessary. A lot of people immediately add lawn to any kind of open space in their landscape, but there are a lot of ways to design around it. This avoids the maintenance, the mowing, the irrigation, and the fertilizing.
Lawn requires a slightly different maintenance schedule than a lot of other aspects of a landscape design. Eliminating a lawn is just one less thing to have to worry about and maintain. Pets don’t necessarily need grass to do their business. Many dogs are perfectly happy to do their thing on some gravel, some mulched area, or maybe like a small ground cover area. It definitely depends on the pet.
Yards without lawn can still provide plenty of space for kids to play. If the yard’s pretty small, they’re not going to have a really big grassy area to play kickball or frisbee anyway. Consider designing the yard around different activities of playing. Nature play can be used as an example. There is a lot of information about creating nature play areas for kids. A design can include an area that has a swing set or a play structure, or create some sort of fort area in the yard. These are all alternatives that don’t require having a big section of a small space be just solid grass.
When growing up, there was an outside blanket, a big old fluffy comforter, that was used in a mulched area. It was laid down, and then it was perfectly comfortable to sit and play in that area.
Lighting and Art
Landscape lighting can really highlight certain areas in a nice way. It can make the space feel bigger at night. The shadows and dramatic backdrops that light design can add to the landscape can be really appealing. It also can make the space a little bit safer to spend time in or navigate at night. However, please only use landscape lighting or outdoor lighting when actively needed or when actively using the space.
Integrate art into really small spaces. There can be little pockets of art or little vignettes or just little statues or things set up in even the tiniest and most awkward parts of the yard. What is the ugliest part of the yard? What’s the smallest little section of the yard that could be added to to turn it into a little work of art on its own?
The garden art options out there are endless. They range from sculptures to metal work. It is even possible to just use rocks or bits of wood or arrange rocks in a certain way that’s beautiful. Cute and creative things like this can be done in even the smallest sections of the yard. This can also include containers or container gardens. Having fewer larger containers will make the space feel bigger and more organized than having a lot of little ones.
Small Space Advantages
There are actually a lot of advantages to having a small outdoor space. Some people have a really small vegetable garden, and they harvest way more produce out of this small space that they keep up with and fully utilize compared to someone who has a really large garden space that they can’t maintain or keep up with. Small space overall can just make maintenance feel a little less overwhelming, so it is possible to stay on top of things a little bit better.
The intimacy of a small space can also make outdoor spaces feel kind of like an extension of indoor spaces. A good design can make a tremendous difference.
In conclusion, optimizing a small backyard involves thoughtful planning, strategic use of space, and creative design choices. By prioritizing functionality, considering plant sizes, maximizing vertical elements, and incorporating personal touches like art and lighting, even the smallest yards can become inviting and enjoyable extensions of the home.
