5 Stunning Backyard Ideas For Spaces Big And Small
Kate Gould explains there are a number of factors to consider when choosing the right backyard ideas for your space, including: personal tastes, the location, and whether you're looking for backyard ideas on a budget or have a bit more to spend.
Two backyards, side by side, facing the same way, will be markedly different because of their owners’ wishes,' she says. 'This individuality makes garden design so much more interesting.'
Find inspiration from some of our favorite ideas for transforming your backyard.
1. Resolve Functional Issues
The right landscaping can make tricky sloping sites more user-friendly
A garden redesign is the chance to not only enhance its aesthetic appeal, but also the ideal time to resolve any practical or functional issues – problems that can be stressful and expensive down the line.
The first consideration should be resolving any issues with your backyard's natural topography.
Joshua Sear, architect and landscape designer at Barlow & Barlow tackled a potentially serious flooding problem in a client’s backyard. 'The garden was actually sloping back down towards the house, which meant in wet weather it was flooding the property.'
To resolve this, he considered various sloped backyard ideas, and decided to 'dig down two feet overall and level the whole garden. This created proper drainage so the garden and house are now flood proof,' he explains.
2. Fill A Backyard With Texture
Evergreen planting creates a lush backdrop in this backyard
When it comes to small backyard ideas, you can make a real impact and create a sense of more space by filling the area with light and texture through careful planting. If you're wondering how to add luxury to a backyard, then careful choice of planting is one way
Landscape designer Jane Brockbank had to fulfil her client’s brief of creating ‘a beautiful "green" picture that would be the constant visual backdrop to the main family kitchen/dining room.'
'It was quite a challenge,' recalls Jane, about the space at the rear of a terraced Victorian house.
Jane’s aim was to make the space ‘full of shimmery light and texture,’ so she decided to dig out the whole garden to the new basement level, including underpinning all the walls, placing planting in newly created beds at lower levels.
'It was a very constrained site – we needed to make it feel lighter and bigger than it was,' continues Jane. 'Much thought was given to the walls – they are very tall so we used many contrasting tall evergreen shrubs and evergreen climbers to counteract this.'
3. Create Contrast With Light And Shade
Make the most of an enclosed backyard with shade-loving plants that will thrive in less sun
Develop different planting between light and shaded areas for a garden of contrasts. There are many plants and shrubs for shade that can create a feeling quite distinct from sunnier areas of the garden.
Award-winning landscape designer Emily Erlam has created this, her own, small garden from a long narrow space behind her house. Its setting means it is naturally fairly shady.
'A tall wall on the back elevation makes it feel very private and enclosed, and now I have some quite tall structures in there it creates an even greater contrast between light and shade. In many ways this has been its success,' says Emily.
There are different factors to consider in how to design a sloping garden. 'We created raised terraces as you go up the garden to maximize our opportunity to capture sun and, seen from the basement, these also give a feeling of a cascade of planting,' says Emily.
She embraces its shadiness, calling it a ‘garden of evolution’, and continues to develop the planting since it was reworked about eight years ago. 'I have found that specific areas require different treatments to make the most of things like sunny spots and special spaces,' she adds.
4. Add Bespoke Backyard Furniture
Add custom-made furniture to your space for a unique look
Do not overlook the importance of outdoor furniture in your backyard ideas, and bespoke pieces can help to achieve your unique vision for the space.
This sculptural bench was created entirely on site in the garden by the Rosebank Landscaping team. 'We chose iroko hardwood and steam-bent it on site to ensure it fitted perfectly into the space,' says Matt Keightley, design director of Rosebank.
The vertical lines above the bench complement the curves of the seat and the surrounding exotic planting adds a soft contrast to the harder surfaces of the timber.
'We used Asplenium scolopendrium and Dryopteris wallichiana under the bench,' continues Matt.
Outdoor furniture doesn’t have to be off the shelf. Local fabricators can help you achieve a unique vision if you have the time and budget.
5. Plant A Living Backyard Wall
A living wall can be an effective way of introducing more greenery to a small backyard
Living wall ideas can transform an outdoor space, and the range and sophistication of the systems’ structures and maintenance make them suitable for many backyards.
Tom Massey Studio worked with Tapestry Vertical Gardens to design this, one of two high walls covered in vertical greening, for the client’s garden in London.
'These walls create a sense of enveloping nature. Here this creates a focal point for the dining area and includes ambient lighting for evening entertaining,' says Tom Massey.
Living walls are among the many vertical garden ideas that can make the most of every growing surface.