Small Yard Ideas

When I first embarked on my journey to find small yard ideas for our very limited backyard area, I thought that there was very little we could do with the space and certainly nothing fun or dramatic.  Boy was I wrong!  There are so many small garden ideas that can bring the same bold designs as landscaping for a larger property, but scaled down to be appropriate for more limited spaces.  As you can see, we were still able to have a small but lust green lawn for our dogs, and surround it with mature trees, larges bushes and some gorgeous ferns.  Our new backyard landscaping perfectly accents the modern stucco exterior of our home and really enhances the existing patio we already had. 

The first thing that is seen of your home is the front yard, thus it is important that you keep this space well groomed and up to date with beautiful front yard landscaping ideas. A great way to increase the curb appeal of your home is to do a do it yourself remodel or makeover. There are many different designs and front garden ideas to choose from to make your home the most beautiful one on the block. Our site can provide you with great tips and tricks on how to design a front yard landscape so that you can greatly reduce your spending by completing the project yourself. Start by searching through our small yard ideas and pictures so that you can find the perfect inspiration for your home.

Small yard ideas do not need to be as challenging or thought provoking as a lot of homeowners make it.  I always tell our clients to think about backyard landscaping ideas like they door plans for the interior.  Find an inspiration piece and then take your design from there, always keeping in mind the goal to make things feel open and uncluttered.  Never feel that you cannot incorporate something that you absolutely love only because you have a small space.  For example, in this yard, the homeowner really wanted cobblestone details to make it feel quaint and whimsical.  We added their stone down the center but then kept the garden edging very simple and green so as not to distract from the decorative path or make the yard seem crowded.

I have been warned by my neighbors that it can be quite hard to find small yard ideas that are not bland or underwhelming.  Because most of the popular landscape or outdoor patio designs that you see feature a wide variety of large plants, trees and shrubbery, it can be challenging to recreate those classic looks found on large properties or estates. Fortunately, I don’t want anything too complicated — I really like the look of a simple lush green yard like in this home. The vibrant colors of the grass contrast nicely against the architecture and provide a simple backdrop to enhance the look of the exterior material.  In my opinion, the key is not to stress over trying to incorporate too many or too complex of small backyard ideas because it can quickly overwhelm the space. 

Another great addition to any size backyard is a deck or patio. Depending on the size of your yard, you will want to design with small backyard patio ideas that will fit into the plan. Search through our photo galleries of landscape plans for some of the most popular designs this year. Build a raised deck surrounding a small yard ideas for a beautiful look and wonderful space for entertainment during the warm summer months. If you would prefer to have an entertainment area lower to the ground, opt for a patio. Some simple and excellent small patio ideas include using brick or stone pavers for the elegant look of these materials at much lower costs while surrounding the new look with a backyard garden.

Many people seem to think that professional landscapers only take on large sweeping estate projects with acres of lawns and foliage, but we actually work a lot with small yard ideas as well.  Small yard landscaping can actually be a lot more challenging than a larger property, because you have such limited space to make a design impact.  In these cases, you use techniques much like you would in a house -- keep things open, uncluttered, and take advantage of height.  This is exactly what we did in the small backyard designs we used behind this downtown condo.  We used the tall narrow evergreens to add color and height along the border of the lawn, then kept things simple and sleek in the center.