Side-yard solutions: ways to make use of this overlooked space - Garden

Sunset, June, 2003 by Sharon Cohoon

Pity the poor side yard. It's one of the most visible and frequented parts of the landscape. Yet we often treat it like a dog run at a kennel-all paving, no plants. Narrow as these spaces may be, it's possible to turn them into real gardens, or to use them for extra living space. Two side yards, pictured on these pages, offer proof.

Utility with charm

Robyn and Dana Hogan and their teenage son Chad have messy hobbies--scuba diving, boogie boarding, and spearfishing. That means wetsuits need to be rinsed off and gear stored away. And very big fish--halibut and sea-bass-need cleaning. Such tasks are better done outdoors whenever possible, so the Hogans decided to install stations to handle these chores in the side yard of their home in Monarch Beach, California. Since this narrow corridor is visible from indoors, Robyn also wanted it to look pretty when it isn't in use. Capistrano Beach landscape architect Theresa Clark managed to fit in an outdoor closet for scuba and fishing gear, a shower to use before and after water sports, and a sink for cleaning fish. (Robyn found the antique limestone sink in France.) "I also use the sink as a prep station when I'm working with cut flowers," says Robyn. "All the mess stays outside." There's a dog door to the space just big enough for the Hogans pair of tiny papillons, Roxy and Lucy.

A trellis covered with a white-flowered potato vine (Solanum jasminoides) creates a picturesque focal point that draws attention away from the neighbor's house. Garden bench, urns, and antique door trim are final proof that no space is too small to be lovely.

Plant a pocket garden

When Herb and Karen Niles moved into their new house in Huntington Beach, California, they wanted to rework the narrow passageway that connects their front yard to a back patio. Despite the fact that the space measures just 6 feet wide and is in shade much of the day, the best option seemed to be a pretty garden viewed from inside the house. "We didn't want our only view to be of our neighbor's gray wall," Karen says.

To create pleasant views, Huntington Beach garden designers Sandy Atherton and Sherry Lewis planted tall, narrow, fast-growing shrubs-including camellias and Podocarpus gracilior-in front of the neighbor's wall (at right above). For a dash of color in a sunnier spot near the front, they added clematis vines. They left wide strips between large (2- by 2 1/2-foot) slabs of Arizona flagstone for planting, and filled the spaces with giant ajuga and Lamium maculatum 'White Nancy'. Autumn ferns, begonias, and Loropetalum cliinense 'Razzleberri' spill out into the pathway from beds beside the path.

"Because the garden is so shady, we relied on the texture and color of foliage instead of blooms," says Lewis. "And as a result, the garden looks great year-round."

RELATED ARTICLE: Small-space strategies

* Create an espalier.

Training a plant to grow flat against a wall or fence is a great way to soften a narrow space. A wide variety of flowering shrubs and fruit trees lend themselves to this treatment. For sunny spots, consider citrus, 'Climbing Cecile Brunner' rose, Cotoneaster Iacteus, crabapple, edible fig, mirror plant (Coprosma repens), and pyracantha. Camellia, goldenchain tree (Laburnum wateren), Texas mountain laurel (Sophora secundiflora), and vine maple (Acer circinatum) are good in part shade. For support, tie the plant's branches to a lath trellis or to a system of wires attached to the wall.

* Attach planters to walls. Hat-backed terra-cotta or stone containers can dress up walls outside windows. Or place flower boxes atop block walls and fill them with plants that have cascading habits, such as bacopa; this trick can also block out views from neighboring windows, providing more privacy.

* Grow vines overhead. For added privacy, install an elevated, horizontal trellis and train vines across it, creating a green roof over your side yard.

* Hang art. Use the wall between your house and your neighbor's as an art gallery. Mount a stone basrelief, a copper sun god, or a wrought-iron gate or other piece of found art.