8 Common Landscape Challenges and How Pros Solved Them
Landscape pros tackled everything from steep slopes to poor drainage in these homeowners’ projects
An outdoor renovation never starts from a blank slate, as neighboring properties, natural elements and other factors can impact and even challenge the project. Read on to learn how landscape pros on Houzz found solutions to create beautiful, effective designs despite renovation obstacles. We share photos of their work along with their tips, to demonstrate the solution and inspire your own remodel.
2. Steep Slope
Los Angeles landscape architect June Scott frequently faces a two-pronged landscape challenge. “We’re often asked to design on very steep slopes, some with tricky-to-plant hard clay or serpentine soils,” she says.
Solution: Scott likes to choose plants that can spill down a slope or create a living fence in front of it. She also uses native plants, which have adapted to local soil conditions.
The property seen here combines a steep slope and poor natural soil. In the front yard, “we planted the hillside where we were able to dig, then let plants drip down,” Scott says. She also incorporated native plants. The entry is now an inviting, plant-filled space.
Work with a landscape designer near you
Los Angeles landscape architect June Scott frequently faces a two-pronged landscape challenge. “We’re often asked to design on very steep slopes, some with tricky-to-plant hard clay or serpentine soils,” she says.
Solution: Scott likes to choose plants that can spill down a slope or create a living fence in front of it. She also uses native plants, which have adapted to local soil conditions.
The property seen here combines a steep slope and poor natural soil. In the front yard, “we planted the hillside where we were able to dig, then let plants drip down,” Scott says. She also incorporated native plants. The entry is now an inviting, plant-filled space.
Work with a landscape designer near you
The backyard slope at the same home was “impossibly steep,” Scott says. Rather than plant it, she added a row of bamboo in its own planting bed to help conceal it. “Counterintuitively, planting taller plants at the base of a hill helps minimize the slope,” she says.
Read about more ideas for sloped lots
Read about more ideas for sloped lots
3. Unappealing Front Yard
A front yard is important for creating a good first impression. This Chicago-area home’s outdoor space didn’t match its stately facade. It was shallow, with fewer than 30 feet between the house and the public walkway, and had a considerable cross pitch that the homeowners didn’t like.
Solution: Josh Griffin of Hursthouse Landscape Architects and Contractors started by eliminating the front lawn. He replaced it with flagstone walls, elevated gravel paths and two levels of planting beds to mitigate the pitch. The design also created the illusion of more depth. The flagstone walls and decorative gravel panels “push the house back visually, so it is less imposing than it would be with simple planting beds and lawn sloping down to the walk,” he says.
Discover more front yard ideas
A front yard is important for creating a good first impression. This Chicago-area home’s outdoor space didn’t match its stately facade. It was shallow, with fewer than 30 feet between the house and the public walkway, and had a considerable cross pitch that the homeowners didn’t like.
Solution: Josh Griffin of Hursthouse Landscape Architects and Contractors started by eliminating the front lawn. He replaced it with flagstone walls, elevated gravel paths and two levels of planting beds to mitigate the pitch. The design also created the illusion of more depth. The flagstone walls and decorative gravel panels “push the house back visually, so it is less imposing than it would be with simple planting beds and lawn sloping down to the walk,” he says.
Discover more front yard ideas
4. Hidden Views
A new home in the Glassell Park neighborhood of Los Angeles offered incredible views from inside but lacked a yard that took advantage of the vista. “It was a supersteep slope with only narrow, uneven ribbons of usable area,” says landscape designer Deborah Gliksman of Urban Oasis Landscape Design.
Solution: Gliksman leveled and expanded the yard’s upper section next to the house and added a two-tiered lawn. Retaining walls along the slope allowed her to terrace the lower portion. She finished off this area with a lawn, cable railing and a pergola-covered seating area. “Now there is ample space to kick back and relax, watching the sun spread its glow on the surrounding hillside as it makes its slow journey down the horizon towards sunset,” Gliksman says.
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A new home in the Glassell Park neighborhood of Los Angeles offered incredible views from inside but lacked a yard that took advantage of the vista. “It was a supersteep slope with only narrow, uneven ribbons of usable area,” says landscape designer Deborah Gliksman of Urban Oasis Landscape Design.
Solution: Gliksman leveled and expanded the yard’s upper section next to the house and added a two-tiered lawn. Retaining walls along the slope allowed her to terrace the lower portion. She finished off this area with a lawn, cable railing and a pergola-covered seating area. “Now there is ample space to kick back and relax, watching the sun spread its glow on the surrounding hillside as it makes its slow journey down the horizon towards sunset,” Gliksman says.
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5. Harsh Growing Conditions
The same yard proved challenging when it was time to plant the sun-drenched slope between the two terraced areas. “It had blistering sun and voles aplenty,” Gliksman says.
Solution: Gliksman filled the space with hardy and drought-tolerant plants. She chose a palette of yellow and purple California natives that are well-suited to the harsh conditions. To thwart the voles, each plant was installed in its own rodent-proof basket.
Learn more about gardening with native plants
The same yard proved challenging when it was time to plant the sun-drenched slope between the two terraced areas. “It had blistering sun and voles aplenty,” Gliksman says.
Solution: Gliksman filled the space with hardy and drought-tolerant plants. She chose a palette of yellow and purple California natives that are well-suited to the harsh conditions. To thwart the voles, each plant was installed in its own rodent-proof basket.
Learn more about gardening with native plants
6. Weather Restrictions
Too much sun or rain can prevent enjoyment of an outdoor space to the fullest. For that reason, Katherine Douglass of TCP Custom Outdoor Living recommends a covered structure to provide shade and protection from the rain. “While pergolas can be nice to have, they really don’t do much to block sun or rain,” she says.
The existing small covered patio at this Dallas home was nice, but the homeowners wanted a larger space that would offer them more protection when the weather wasn’t cooperating.
Solution: TCP Custom Outdoor Living expanded the covered space to include an outdoor kitchen, a lounge area and a fireplace. The team also added a solid roof to fully shield the space. As a bonus, motorized screens can be activated for even more protection.
Too much sun or rain can prevent enjoyment of an outdoor space to the fullest. For that reason, Katherine Douglass of TCP Custom Outdoor Living recommends a covered structure to provide shade and protection from the rain. “While pergolas can be nice to have, they really don’t do much to block sun or rain,” she says.
The existing small covered patio at this Dallas home was nice, but the homeowners wanted a larger space that would offer them more protection when the weather wasn’t cooperating.
Solution: TCP Custom Outdoor Living expanded the covered space to include an outdoor kitchen, a lounge area and a fireplace. The team also added a solid roof to fully shield the space. As a bonus, motorized screens can be activated for even more protection.
7. Too Much Shade
Mature trees add often-needed shade to a landscape and give a home a sense of permanence. At the same time, too much shade can cause problems. For instance, it “may result in an area that is poorly draining with lots of bare soil,” says Kyle Sanders, also of Hursthouse Landscape Architects and Contractors.
Solution: Sanders says it’s best to decide how the area will be used. “A solution could involve thinning of the tree canopy to allow more sunlight in, or taking advantage of the light and soil conditions to create a shade garden with plant communities better suited to those conditions,” he says.
Safeguarding the hillside oaks in the Chicago-area backyard seen here was the primary goal for the landscape design. “The client clearly understood the value of the tree canopy as it related to their home,” Hursthouse’s Jeff True says.
Instead of trying to change the hillside artificially, True worked with the existing grade to integrate the features the homeowners wanted. The new elements include a pond as well as a waterfall that stair-steps down the slope, creating a gentle connection between the home and the lowest part of the lot.
True also incorporated stone outcroppings and shade-loving plants inspired by the neighboring conservancy area, to give the space a natural feel.
Mature trees add often-needed shade to a landscape and give a home a sense of permanence. At the same time, too much shade can cause problems. For instance, it “may result in an area that is poorly draining with lots of bare soil,” says Kyle Sanders, also of Hursthouse Landscape Architects and Contractors.
Solution: Sanders says it’s best to decide how the area will be used. “A solution could involve thinning of the tree canopy to allow more sunlight in, or taking advantage of the light and soil conditions to create a shade garden with plant communities better suited to those conditions,” he says.
Safeguarding the hillside oaks in the Chicago-area backyard seen here was the primary goal for the landscape design. “The client clearly understood the value of the tree canopy as it related to their home,” Hursthouse’s Jeff True says.
Instead of trying to change the hillside artificially, True worked with the existing grade to integrate the features the homeowners wanted. The new elements include a pond as well as a waterfall that stair-steps down the slope, creating a gentle connection between the home and the lowest part of the lot.
True also incorporated stone outcroppings and shade-loving plants inspired by the neighboring conservancy area, to give the space a natural feel.
8. Lack of Privacy
It’s important to have privacy if you want to enjoy your yard away from neighbors and passersby.
Solution: A privacy fence is an obvious solution, but if that makes you feel too boxed in, other options range from curtains and shades to screens and partial walls. “Privacy walls incorporated in a patio cover are also ways to block wind or sun as well as blocking out nosy neighbors,” TCP’s Douglass says.
The deck that spans the back of this Atlanta-area home boasted great views. Its second-story location meant that it also lacked the privacy that the homeowners sometimes wanted, especially for when they’re relaxing in front of the fireplace or watching TV in the covered section of the deck.
Landscaper Scott Arnold added curtains that frame the arched opening in the deck’s covered area. “We often add outdoor or exterior curtains, which can bring privacy and elegance,” he says.
Why You Should Consider a Landscape Screen for Your Yard
It’s important to have privacy if you want to enjoy your yard away from neighbors and passersby.
Solution: A privacy fence is an obvious solution, but if that makes you feel too boxed in, other options range from curtains and shades to screens and partial walls. “Privacy walls incorporated in a patio cover are also ways to block wind or sun as well as blocking out nosy neighbors,” TCP’s Douglass says.
The deck that spans the back of this Atlanta-area home boasted great views. Its second-story location meant that it also lacked the privacy that the homeowners sometimes wanted, especially for when they’re relaxing in front of the fireplace or watching TV in the covered section of the deck.
Landscaper Scott Arnold added curtains that frame the arched opening in the deck’s covered area. “We often add outdoor or exterior curtains, which can bring privacy and elegance,” he says.
Why You Should Consider a Landscape Screen for Your Yard
Daren Langhorne of Core Outdoor Living in Virginia says he often encounters yards with retrograde conditions, where the rainwater flows toward the house rather than away from it. This normally isn’t a problem if water can be absorbed directly into the ground. “After [a] patio is built, however, we know that heavier rains will deposit silt on the patio, which doesn’t look great and requires routine maintenance,” Langhorne says.
Solution: Langhorne says that an area that has a mild retrograde condition and is not too close to the patio can be corrected by digging a trench and adding a drainage pipe. The trench can then be covered with loose crushed gravel and a layer of decorative stone.
If the grading is more pronounced (or heavier, as Langhorne calls it), he will install a retaining wall farther up the slope, with the trench and drainage pipe behind it to capture the majority of the water. “When heavier rains overwhelm this drain, there is more yard space to absorb the water before it reaches the patio,” he says.
That’s exactly what Langhorne did with this project, for a landscape in the Washington, D.C., metro area. He excavated the soil and built a retaining wall, which doubles as a seating wall, along the back edge of the patio. A trench along the back side of the retaining wall holds a 4-inch perforated pipe. A sock over the pipe protects it from silt buildup and clogging. Loose crushed gravel topped with decorative stone captures the rainwater and directs it into the pipe and away from the patio.
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