Landscaping Tips for a Small Yard

Planning the perfect garden requires a lot of landscaping design, and small yards are no exception. One of difficulties of landscaping a small yard is to maximize the view while still keeping it functional and open. Even the smallest yard can be landscaped in a way that makes it a visual delight or an additional living space in your home for outdoor entertaining. Here are a few landscaping tips to help you turn your small yard into an outdoor oasis.

Add Height
One of the best ways to make a yard seem smaller is the simple trick of adding height to your garden. The easiest and quickest way to do that is to add a couple deciduous trees, as well as young pine trees which will grow to add height in the future. Place trees in the background, and then place smaller shrubs and bushes in the midground, with smaller low lying plants in front of the trees and bushes.

Create Islands and Focal Points
Creating garden islands in your small yard, as well as a few exaggerated focal points, will make your yard appear larger than it actually is. When designing the layout of your from or back yard, include a four season garden in between the viewer and the rest of the yard. This serves to stop the viewer from seeing what is beyond the island and leads them into believing that it is larger than it actually is.

Include Raised Beds and Create Alternative Gardens
Most first time gardeners and landscapers, forget that it is possible to create more garden and yard than you see in front of you. The best way to do that is to include raised beds and to create your own alternative gardens around your yard. Raised beds look great in front of a home or around the perimeter of a yard. By adding raised beds, or beds in a terraced style, you can double the ground you have to plant in. Alternative gardens can be included in miniature with the help of pots and planters. Add window boxes to your home to create gardens in miniature that will attract the eye and give you even more space to work with.

Add Seating
The best way to invite people into your garden is to add some seating tucked into and around the yard. For a small yard, it is best to incorporate any seating into the landscaping plans rather than adding them after the landscaping has already been created. It does not have to be a large seating area, single seats or benches work best. But, it is important to include them in and around the garden and landscaping itself in order to maximize space and leave the yard with an open feeling. This includes tucking seating into a bed of hostas, or adding a bench under a tall shade tree.

Landscape for Winter
Creating a landscape that works during more than the summer months is important for a small yard. In order to keep your yard looking good once everything begins dying and keep up the appearance that there is more yard then there actually is, you need to think of gardening with four season plants. This includes using both deciduous and pine trees, ornamental grasses, and plants that bloom more than one season in your garden.