Outdoor space
Perch with a view. Another concrete design, this tub is set at an angle to take full advantage of the dramatic view of Carmel Valley, California. The concrete surround set into a wooden deck has a sleek and simple look that works well with modern homes.
Create a focal point. As with adding character, a focal point takes attention off the size of the space. Arthur likes to use water features. He’s even added a single large planter right in the center of a small backyard to draw the eye into the center and push the walls away. “It’s a trick of the eye,” he says. Art and sculpture are good candidates, too. “A single sculpture with uplighting can be phenomenal,” Angus says.
Use one surface material. If you have multifunctional areas, use one material to unify the spaces. “Small spaces need that cohesion,” says Arthur, who designed this 17-foot by 25-foot space for a family with small children. A separate play zone keeps the kids close by while the parents are entertaining, and the continuous paving ties it all together. Radford goes even further, suggesting using the same material that’s found elsewhere on the property. For one of his backyard projects, he used the same paving material as in the front entryway. “It created a unified space that made it seem bigger,” he says.
5. Play with the angles. If you’ve got a small square spot to deal with, San Francisco landscape architect Rich Radford suggests turning paving in a lateral direction to your property line to create more hardscape space. For the 25-foot by 30-foot backyard seen here, he shifted the paving 45 degrees to get more surface area.
This enclosed courtyard garden shows in its design all the benefits of using the tricks of linear perspective. The longitudinal paving leads the eye to a vanishing point beyond the boundary wall, and while the four tall planters in reality are the same size, those at the rear look much smaller as perspective takes hold. Garden designers, like painters, are magicians, and perspective is just one of the tricks that they keep in their tool bag.
n this design, larger circles in the foreground and smaller circles in the background accentuate the perspective, convincing the viewer the garden is larger.
You can increase the illusion of perspective with steppingstones, especially when they’re on flat planes of grass or gravel. Here, the distance between pavers is reduced the farther away they are out in the garden, creating a great impression of distance.
Specimen plants. Properly chosen and sited specimen plants can make a good garden great. Make an effort to choose specimen plants that seem to have personality: a strong and contorted shape, interesting foliage texture or exfoliating bark. Remember that your specimen needs to both stand out and make a connection with its bed mates, as well as any nearby architecture. Conifers, such as this blue atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca pendula’, zones 6 to 9), and Japanese maples (Acer palmatum, zones 5 to 8) are natural choices for specimen trees in the Zen garden. Multi-stemmed trees, such as apple serviceberry (Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’, zones 4 to 9), paperbark maple (Acer griseum, zones 4 to 8), ‘Natchez’ crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia ‘Natchez’, zones 6 to 9) and various birches are suitable and recommended. Consider placing a boulder near or underneath your tree for an interesting vignette.
Urban backyard. The hot tub in this Seattle yard has a concrete surround and wooden steps, creating the look of a sunken tub without actually its actually being sunk below ground level. High privacy fencing (and even higher trees) create a secluded feeling, even with close neighbors.
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