When many of us think of a yard, we tend to picture a nice square or rectangular patch of grass with a house neatly placed right in the middle. While it’s true that many landscapes do look like this, working with an oddly-shaped yard presents a fantastic opportunity to showcase your personal style and have a landscape that is totally different from anyone else! The stranger the lot, the more unique your finished outdoor space will be. To help you with your landscaping goals this spring, let’s look at some of the odder yard shapes you may encounter, along with some tips to help you make the most of these eccentric spaces!
Ultimately, the most compelling landscapes are the ones that have a bit of a journey built into them. Build yourself a meandering path to your choice of multiple sitting areas and reading nooks, for instance. Then, add in some warm, sunny spots for those crisp spring and autumn days and cooler, shady spots to protect you from the summer heat. The more interesting and dynamic you can make your space, the more likely you are to use it—and the less likely you are to get sick of it! While creating a journey might seem easier to visualize and create in a standard square or rectangular yard, it’s often not as simple in more unconventionally-shaped landscapes. Here are a few examples of some unique property layouts, and how you can make them as exciting and enjoyable as possible:
Pie-shaped landscapes have a property layout that closely resembles a slice of pie. My parents have a pie-shaped lot—their front yard is a beautiful small space and their backyard is huge! It might seem off-balance, but it’s a gorgeous yard because it’s designed well.
My top tip for pie-shaped spaces—or any weirdly-shaped space, really—is to break it up into “rooms, “ similar to how you’d divide up the space inside your home. Create an outdoor kitchen area around your patio, for instance, followed by a family section that everyone can enjoy and a play space for the kids. Defining distinct areas within your landscape based on their unique uses will help you make the most of your space and ensure your yard is as functional as possible. Then, improve the efficiency of your landscape by planning out a network or “journey” from space to space to space. Remember, this journey doesn’t have to be circular; work with what you’ve got!
When I think back to my childhood, the most fantastic landscapes I ever experienced involved crawling or climbing through spaces, not running around on a flat lawn. For these reasons, a sloped landscape is a gift! The steeper the slope of your landscape, the less likely you are to have lawn space, as it becomes too difficult and unsafe to maintain. However, you will more than make up for what you may lose from sacrificing a lawn by taking advantage of amazing plant varieties, attracting birds and wildlife to your space, and installing beautiful walking paths supported by elements like boulders and retaining walls! Just remember that the bottom of your slope will naturally receive more water than the top, meaning you’ll want to plant more drought-tolerant options up top and keep your moisture-loving plants near the bottom.
Having your home at the top of a sloped landscape is also a unique and exciting opportunity to play with views and plant selection. For instance, you can plant taller plants at the bottom without the risk of obstructing sightlines since you’ll still be able to see over them from the house, opening your garden up to a host of exciting new plant combinations!
Suppose your house is at the bottom of a slope instead of the top. Again, the first thing you’ll want to do is consider the view. If you’re standing at the bottom looking up, you can achieve a lot of privacy with smaller plants and shrubs due to where your vantage point is. If your landscape’s slope is too aggressive to maintain a lawn, it’s also a fantastic opportunity to add a couple of water features or a sustainable rain garden at the bottom, where the natural rainwater collects.
Consider using switchbacks to make use of the slope. Where two pathways join, you can set up a seating space or a play area for the kids. They can climb from rock to rock or space to space while mom’s nook is a bit more private where she can relax with wine and a book while still keeping an eye on the kids.
We’re seeing more long and skinny landscapes popping up all over Guelph, especially downtown. These landscapes can still have everything wider yards have, but you’ll have to organize it differently. As always, start by creating rooms separated by trellises. Trellises are great options for long and skinny yards, since they take up less space than trees or shrubs. They’re also great for privacy, making them ideal for a cramped downtown landscape!
Another way to make the most of your long and skinny yard is to play with the grade of your landscape. Imagine going from your back door out to your deck, down to a patio, then down to a lawn, then up to another deck after that. Changing up the grade in your yard like this helps you mentally reset as you enter each space, making your overall landscape design feel more exciting and dynamic. By adding steps, you’re also extending the journey, which makes your space feel bigger.
One of my favourite yard layouts of all time is the courtyard. Courtyards are big yet cozy spaces, where the entire family can enjoy time together. Start by adding a pergola or series of trellises in the middle of the courtyard to create a central “room” to up the coziness factor. If you want, you can then build spaces off of this central area, laying your landscape out like a spider web or wagon wheel. Finally, add in some personal touches, like hanging lights, patio heaters, fire pits, or even a tree canopy. If your courtyard isn’t completely closed in, you can add walls with fences, shrubs, or even rows of lavender to create boundaries that create that safe, cozy feeling.
With just a little bit of planning and these landscape tips, you can make even the most oddly shaped yard in Guelph look like it has a purpose. Stop by and visit Royal City Nursery’s Landscape Solutions today for even more landscaping advice or the tools and supplies you’ll need to get started!
