Side-yard solutions - gardening architecture - Brief Article

Sunset, Sept, 2001 by Peter O. Whiteley

How to turn the narrow, leftover space alongside your house into a garden asset

The side yard is the runt of the garden litter-one of the most challenging and overlooked outdoor spaces. Its proportions pose landscaping dilemmas to most homeowners. Setback ordinances, proximity to fences and neighboring homes, an apparent lack of privacy and limited sunlight also conspire against it. However, deftly handled, a side yard can be surprisingly inviting.

As these four examples show, lush planting and espaliered vines aren't the only way to go. With careful planning, you can use the type of hardscaping elements often found only in a more spacious garden at the rear of the house-including pathways, seating areas, water features, and lighting. Three of the side yards shown here use such devices to enhance the home's passage from front to rear. Another is a minuscule, dead-end space that was rescued from oblivion by a wall fountain and a pond.

fountain alley

A set of new French doors open on a once-ignored side yard and its fountain. The buff-colored concrete path-with inset terra-cotta tiles- is bordered by urns resting on pads that echo the smaller tile shapes.

DESIGN: Bernard Trainor Design Associates (650/569-3163)

* meander

A serpentine path of stone and Scotch moss broadens to make a private patio. The simple overhead structure, running from eave to fence, supports shading vines; a low but broad step next to the house leads to a pair of doors that replaced a window. Other inviting touches include a Japanese-style arching bridge over a dry streambed, a large container of water plants, a cast-iron table and chairs, and drought-tolerant plants. The gate at the back of the photo faces the street, and a redwood-and-bamboo gate at the rear end isolates the side-yard world designed by owners Janne and Bill Mahan of Menlo Park, California.

* Squeeze play

Built at window height, this sculpture, tile backdrop, and elevated pool fit snugly in a 5-foot-wide area between house and fence. A submerged light in the lily-filled pond creates a night-time focal point for guests seated in the dining room. Bamboo growing in the raised planter behind the tiled wall adds privacy screening.

DESIGN: Michael Glassman and Associates, Sacramento (916/444-1275)

* Asian accents

This multilayered garden includes clumping black bamboo, a shallow pond with river-rock edging, Japanese maples, low-growing mondo grass, and stepping pads of black canterra tiles.

DESIGN: Michael Glassman and Associates

improving your side yard

* Plan ahead. Map out electrical, lighting, irrigation, drainage, and even sound needs before installing paths and planting. Also check with local building officials on such issues as access, fence height, and setback requirements.

* Choose the right plants. Since side yards are usually no wider than 10 feet and are bordered by the tall walls of the house and fence, these sheltered spaces receive limited sunlight. But the strong midday sun of summer can be rough on sensitive shade-loving plants in side yards. Any plants you choose, then, should be labeled for partial shade, not full shade. Other options include low-growing ground covers (such as creeping thyme or blue star creeper) between steppingstones or bordering a path and slender deciduous trees (such as birch) for a forested look.

* Create outdoor privacy. Where codes permit, extending the height of fences adds to the sense of privacy in these gardens. Often there's no bar to adding simple, skeletal frames to support vines, which shade windows in the process.

* Unite inside and outside. Add sliding glass or French doors to extend the homes living space to the side yard.

* Create focal points. Center a wall fountain or other decorative feature on or in front of the fence opposite a window or door. Use large containers, tall sculptures, or pedestals to punctuate the garden with color and form. Small benches or a cafe table and chairs are the right scale for seating that won't block walkways. Add night lighting to dramatize key features or the path and to extend the time the side yard can be enjoyed.

* Define the front and rear. A side-yard garden is a world unto itself, so consider ways of setting it apart. For the front entry, a gate centered in a short section of fence adds to the sense that this is a private retreat. Create screening at the backyard end to separate the side yard from the rest of the garden.