The fact that you have a small yard should not stop you from enjoying it. It’s true that landscaping a small yard comes with certain challenges, but landscaping companies Los Angeles have worked with small properties before and learned how to overcome these issues. So don’t give up on your dream of having a beautiful lawn or a colorful garden just because your yard is small. You can still create a wonderful exterior for your home, regardless of the size of the plot you’re working with. You just need to know how to do it.
What are the challenges of landscaping a small yard?
If you have a small yard, you’ll face some challenges working in it. The biggest problem, of course, is the lack of space. This severely limits what you can do. But it’s not the only thing you need to worry about. You also need to think about the placement of the home that your custom home builders Los Angeles are making. Is it in the corner of the property, in the center, on one side…? This will also affect the space you have to work with. Finally, you need to check the quality of the soil. When you have a small yard, you need to pick plants for it carefully. But the plants you choose will require certain conditions to thrive. You need to make sure that your soil meets those conditions.
Creative ideas for landscaping a small yard
When landscaping a small space, it’s all about making the most of the space you have. Don’t worry – with a few creative ideas, you can make a beautiful landscape even in the tiniest of yards.
Create a layered landscape
For fairly obvious reasons, the number of plants you can put in a small yard is limited. This makes it all the more important to diversify the flora as much as possible. This gives your yard visual interest and appeal in a way that planting the same plant everywhere simply won’t. One good way to diversify is in terms of height – choose a variety of plants that grow at different levels from grass to bushes to trees. If you can, add some raised planters or flower boxes to increase the height of chosen areas. This will add depth to the landscape and can even make your yard appear larger.
Use walls and fences
A small yard can benefit from not being fenced in – the lack of physical borders makes spaces appear larger. But if you want to have privacy around your home, you need to hire general contractors Beverly Hills to put up walls and fences around your property. Luckily, you can use these as extra space for plants. Vines are the obvious choice. But you can also put some planters in nooks in a wall or hang them off of a fence and plant flowers there.
Vertical and hanging gardens are your friends
Horizontal space is a luxury in a small yard. But vertically, the sky is the limit. So opt for columnar plants: plants that grow vertically, without spreading out too much. This will give you more room to plant other things. If you still find yourself running out of useable soil, you can always hang some extra planters from walls, fences, patio roofs, pergolas, and other gardening structures.
Choose the right plants
Going vertical is not your only option. You can put trailing plants on walls, rooftops, and large planters. Or make use of the crevices in your pathways, stairs, and other structures with crevice plants like succulents or hens-and-chicks. Finally, there’s a reason why miniature plants are an obvious choice for a small yard – they don’t take up as much space so you can go wild with them!
Use color effectively
No garden is complete without a little bit of color. If you have a small yard, you should diversify in this area as well – multiple colors create more visual interest and the illusion of a larger garden. But you should also pay attention to the placement of differently colored plants. Putting bright flowers forward, where you can see them, will draw the eye to the front; paying attention to the plants right in front of you will make the rest of the yard fade from focus and give the illusion of a larger space.
Add texture to your yard
Combining different textures will add to the depth of the yard and make it look bigger. They will also just make your landscape more interesting. You can achieve this with lots of different foliage – tropical plants with large leaves, tall cacti with thorns, and brush with small leaves will all infuse your yard with different vibes. Finally, don’t forget that landscaping isn’t just about plants. You can have general contractors LA put down different pathways, walls, fences, outbuildings, decorations, and more. All this adds more texture to the landscape.
Design miniature oases
Miniature plants are good but miniature gardens can be better. Your yard can contain multitudes if you want – just divide it into different sections. You can make a small desert area for cacti and succulents. Or a Japanese zen garden with bonsai trees and rocks. Create a mosaic of different oases that cover the entire yard or make one small section into a focal point in the midst of other flora. The good thing is that miniature gardens are just that – miniature. They’ll fit into any yard, no matter the size.
General tips for landscaping a small yard
Whatever aesthetic you choose for your landscaping design, there are some things you simply must keep in mind for small yards:
- use the space you have wisely: take advantage of all the different nooks and crannies in your yard and don’t be afraid to spread out over the backyard, front yard, and around the sides of the house
- create a focus point: you don’t want to overcrowd the space because that makes it appear even smaller; instead, choose one statement piece for your yard – a patio, a gazebo, a particularly nice tree – and work from there
- go small and cozy: large and spacious is not going to work in a small yard; opt for small pieces of furniture and create a cozy atmosphere instead
Landscaping a small yard does present some challenges. But if you follow these tips, you can create a beautiful outdoor area for your home regardless of the size of the property you’re working with.