Landscape Ideas for Small Yards

Tips on Landscaping Your Small Yards

Know all about small yard landscaping

There are many people who live in suburban areas with yards that are very small or some other people might not even have yards, such as those who live in trailers or in a condo or apartment. Though you have little space outside, be it a tiny yard or a balcony, you still want that curb appeal or that beautiful outside sanctuary to relax in on those hot summer days.

The tiny landscape

This is ideal for someone who has a small back yard or someone who just has a small sitting welcoming area in front of their townhouse. This type of small yard is obviously not really a yard, but there is enough space to do some small amount of landscaping. In such an area, you could plant some shrubs, but the best types of shrubs for such a project are the dwarf shrubs. These can range from rug junipers to small bonsai evergreens.

Ornamental grasses also work very well for such a landscape. Grasses require low maintenance and keep coming back every spring. The only thing that grasses require is to be cut back in the late fall or early spring to make room for the new shoots. Other plants that would work well for the small yard are as follows:

1. Perennials can be a wonderful addition and can beautify your garden at different times of the growing season. Some of these perennials are as follows:

a. Hostas are wonderful foliage perennial. Some hostas have beautiful blossoms as well. Hostas come in a large variety from very large and elegant plants to smaller varieties. Some hostas can have solid blue or green color leaves whereas others are variegated with yellow or white and green leaves.

b. Lilies are a wonderful plant for areas with full sun. There are different varieties of lilies with the most common being the day lily. The day lily also comes in many different hybrids. The most common hybrid of day lily is the Stella Dora variety and this is a small variety that will not over take the small yard and when it blooms, it puts out a yellow flower. Tiger lilies are also nice perennials for your small garden.

c. Bulb flowers can give your yard that beautiful spring color. These flowers include all varieties of narcissi including the common daffodil and jonquil. Other spring bulb flowers include tulips, hyacinths, crocuses, snowdrops, and annenomies. These flowers are bulb flowers because their root system is a bulb. The bulbs for these flowers are planted in the fall, depending on your location, usually in October.

2. Annuals are another great addition to your tiny garden. Annuals need to be planted every year. The best thing about annuals is the color they produce. There are many annuals for both full sun and full shade. Some of the annuals that are commonly available are:

a. Coleus are an explosion of color. If you are the type who likes color, coleus is the right thing for you. There are thousands of varieties of coleus with a wide range of color. Coleus do flower, but the flowers are not very impressive and should be clipped. Doing this is will allow the coleus to grow tall and fill your backyard wall or fence with color.

The color of coleus can range from purples to greens to bright pinks and reds. Some coleus can grow up to four feet tall whereas others are dwarf size, which are perfect for window flower boxes. Most coleus require full to part shade.

b. Impatiens are also great annuals. Like with coleus, there is also a large variety of impatiens. Most impatiens require full to part shade, but the new guinea impatiens requires full sun. Other impatiens are double impatiens, which has flowers that look somewhat like small roses. Impatiens have green heart-shaped leaves with flowers that can be red, white, pink or purple.

c. Begonias are also great annuals. Most begonias require full to part sun, but the mighty rex begonia requires full shade. The rex begonia is the largest variety of the begonias. Rex begonias almost look like coleus and have a flower that is similar to the coleus. Rex begonias have very large colorful leaves.

Other begonias include ice begonias which have a frosted purple leaf and a rose like flower that can be either pink or white. There are many begonias that come in all different shapes and sizes.

d. Calidiums are actually a perennial in the warmer climates, but in the colder climates they can be either grown as annuals or you can take the bulb out in the fall as the calidium dies and have the bulb dry and keep in a cool dark dry place. This, however, does not work very well. Calidiums are readily available at practically any garden center. Calidiums are like hostas, but their leaves are a different shape and usually have red, white and green leaves.

There are many more annuals available. However, the tiny landscaping might need more than just a few plants. Think about adding a few decorative stones and other objects to accent the plants that you have in your garden.

Clearly, if you live in a trailer in a trailer park, there are limits to what you are allowed to do, but you can always plant a little garden area in that you are allowed by the trailer park. For those of you who live in a townhouse and have a small back yard, think about making a small flagstone path and adding a few small boulders to accent the flowers.

Container gardening

Container gardening is not necessarily landscaping, but for those of you who live in an apartment or condo and do not have a yard per say. For your condo or apartment, your balcony is your landscape.

A balcony can be beautifully set up with flower boxes on the railing and some pots in esthetically pleasing places on the balcony. This also depends on the size of your balcony as well. Some balconies are large whereas others are small. For container gardening, you need the following:

1. Flower pots to plant your flowers in. Don’t choose the junky plastic flower pots for your container garden. Be creative. Find some nice clay flower pots that give a beautiful terra cotta color. You can also use antique tins for planting flowers in them. If you do choose to use old tins with images of antique products, you should drill some drain holes at the bottom of the tin to allow for water to drain and not drown the plants.

2. Houseplants can be a great addition to your container garden because they can be brought inside in the winter time. You can also bring in your favorite coleus specimens inside the house, but during the winter, coleus should be near a window which gets ample sunlight.

With a little creativity, you can do anything with your small yard or outside area. Furthermore, many home and garden centers also have books and computer software available for those who have no experience in landscape design and you can get plenty of pointers from expert designers by reading their books and following their tips. You can also get some home and garden magazines that show plenty of pictures and layouts for nice looking gardens that you can design.