Ideas and Layouts for Landscaping a Small Yard

A small yard can still yield an eyeful of colors and textures.


Even small yards can have multiple beds and gardens, each with a different story to tell. Designing with a purpose can make the process more fun, as well as give you various ideas to work with. Size isn't the issue, as you can play with ideas to make your yard look bigger and more exciting.

The Foundation

The foundation planting is among the first things people see when coming to your home. It ties your house into the rest of your yard. Foundation plantings, as the name suggests, go around the foundation of your home and complement the architectural details of your house while drawing the eye to the front door and any other focal points there may be. Foundation plantings are generally free of wild and untamed plants, although splashes of color tie in nicely. Shaped hedges such as hollies or boxwoods with a few accent plants near the door and corner are commonly used as foundation plantings.

Illusion: Deepening a Short Yard

If your yard is small, color choices can create the illusion of a bigger yard. If your small yard is short, putting cool-colored plants near the rear can make your yard seem longer and deeper. Cool colors include blues, greens and violets. The silvery-blue color of the compact "Blue Star" junipers (Juniperus squamata "Blue Star"), hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 9, deepen your yard, especially when paired with violets or greens such as the various purple hyssops (Agastache spp.) with their lush, green foliage. They are hardy through USDA zones 4 through 11 depending on variety.

Natural Gardens

Natural gardens can be one or both of two things: native plants for wildlife and beauty as well as a mimic of the natural landscape. Butterfly gardens typically combine lots of color and various heights to attract the local butterfly population. Native milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) attract various types of native butterflies with their nectar. The bright orange butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), hardy in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 9, are favorites throughout butterfly gardens. Hummingbirds love native snapdragons and penstemon (Penstemon spp.), hardy through USDA hardiness zones 3 through 11 depending on variety. Penstemons also add texture with their spiky foliage. Mimicking the natural landscape with different shapes and flowers can also make your yard look bigger because it ties into the natural landscape instead of competing with it. If you live in a hilly area, for example, mimic the hills and valleys with height in the back and on the sides.

Telling a Story

A landscape design should ideally be like reading a story. In the front, such as your foundation plantings, the beds are less dramatic and more formal. As your eye moves through the yard, the beds should become more visually interesting with a break in the middle (such as a lawn or open space), ending with the back bed being the exciting conclusion. This concept can do wonders in a small yard, as the story takes the mind off the size.

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