The gated backyard design ideas on this small plot provide several focal points that help make the space seem larger than it is.
Walled gardens have a lovely sense of privacy, but the clever elements used in this design draw the eye away from the surrounding walls and encourage the viewer to explore and plant the garden.
Solid landscaping, strong sight lines, and a semi-formal pool along with natural planting are just some of the design features and backyard ideas to enjoy in this city park.
The cumulative effect helps create a garden of ‘rooms’ to enjoy all year round.
(Photo credit: Peter Reader Landscapes)
“For many years the park has been kept as a children’s play space, with plenty of lawn, a sunken trampoline and a neglected hot tub,” explains park designer Peter Rieder.
As the kids grew, the clients wanted to incorporate some small backyard ideas and reclaim the space for adults as a garden to enjoy, relax and entertain. Great views from both the kitchen and living room, Peter adds.
Peter shares his gated backyard ideas for making the most of this urban backyard.
1. Create various outdoor “rooms” for more interest
(Photo credit: Peter Reader Landscapes)
The space is loosely divided into three separate “rooms” that are connected together and flow into each other through the use of hardscape, including ideas of low-retention garden walls and cobblestone details.
“There is a difference in the style and planting of garden rooms,” Peter explains, which helps create different landscapes.
(Photo credit: Peter Reader Landscapes)
Peter adds, “As you progress into the garden from the house, the style gradually becomes less formal and more natural in appearance, culminating in a grove of five best fruit trees within a small wildflower meadow.”
Growing a wildflower meadow is a great idea for a wildlife garden and you can create a wildflower area even on a small urban plot.
2. Add a garden pond for a major focal point
(Photo credit: Peter Reader Landscapes)
The idea of a centrally placed semi-formal garden pond forms a major focus of the walled garden design.
“The view to the pond extends from the living room patio between two flower beds creating a line of sight to an arm sundial on the other side of the pond set in a third flower bed with matching plantings,” Peter explains.
Sundials are a classic element of English garden ideas and can add a touch of traditional charm to a modern space.
(Photo credit: Peter Reader Landscapes)
A set of trigger points along the sundial complete the look and enhance the effect. Together, these attract the viewer to explore the park,” Peter adds.
3. Use strong lines for different garden horizons
(Photo credit: Peter Reader Landscapes)
The walled garden design has strong lines running through it on its vertical and horizontal axes.
“This includes a stream coming out of the central pond,” explains Peter, one of the many water feature ideas.
Strong lines create multiple focal points and interesting scenery within a relatively small space. Both enhance the beauty of the garden as well as draw the observer into the space on a journey of discovery. The different vistas also help create continuity across the entire garden and the three garden rooms, Peter says.
4. Mix evergreens with perennials
(Photo credit: Peter Reader Landscapes)
The planting is a carefully balanced mixture of vigorous evergreen spherical cubes and pellets, softened by mixed small shrubs and perennial planting.
Knowing how to grow ornamental grasses was also important to the design of the walled garden to provide good year-round structure for the garden.
(Photo credit: Peter Reader Landscapes)
Peter explains that the evergreen and year-round structure is “completed with softer highlights and colors throughout the year.”
The classic Lutyens bench is placed at one end of the garden for a place to sit and enjoy the views and planting.
5. Soften garden walls using trellis and climbing evergreens
(Photo credit: Peter Reader Landscapes)
This walled garden design involved clever use of a brick wall that encloses the garden.
“The wall provides an atmosphere of privacy and serenity, as well as providing a beautiful foil for the cultivation of the garden itself. If left blank, the wall would be very challenging visually,” Peter explains.
The effect of the wall is softened by trellis ideas in the use of large, regularly spaced square trellis panels. These are covered with one of the best evergreen climbers, jasmineoids tracholospermum, or star jasmine, plus mix jasmine with jasmine to bring out the extra summer color.
(Photo credit: Peter Reader Landscapes)
The overall effect is to design a beautiful walled garden that offers many different views and a relaxing environment for year-round enjoyment.