With the right garden design, even the smallest backyard can be transformed into a stunning outdoor oasis. Whether you’re working with a compact urban yard, a narrow side space, or a cozy patio, these creative small backyard garden ideas will help you maximize every inch and bring new life to your outdoor space. A small backyard doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style or functionality. With creativity and thoughtful planning, your compact garden can be as impactful as a sprawling landscape.
Whether starting from scratch or refreshing an existing layout, these small backyard garden ideas offer plenty of inspiration to make your outdoor space your own. From vertical gardens to clever layout tricks, we have gathered an inspiring collection of ideas to help make your small backyard beautiful and functional. Underneath each image, you will find further details along with a link to the source of each landscaping project.
Tell Us: Which one of these small backyard garden ideas do you find most inspiring? Let us know in the Comments below!
1. Mediterranean Rose Garden.
This rose garden is half hidden, and the curving path entices you to explore further. Creating a sense of mystery by partially obscuring the boundaries of the garden increases the sense of space. (via Skyline Design Studio)
2. Garden Beds Around A Fire Pit.
Benefiting from varied stone and gravel hardscapes, this backyard is used in many ways. Transitions are marked with a change in the structure of paths, walls, and features. The dining area is defined by a seat wall that ends where the fire feature area starts. Garden beds surround the space as an accent, softening the space. A rugged yet warm design for a relatively small backyard. (via Mariani Landscape)
3. Spilled Flower Pot.
Various colorful pansies spill out of a resin whiskey barrel, filled with topsoil and covered with mulch to retain moisture, help prevent weeds, and for overall aesthetics. (via Integrity Residential Services)
4. Narrow Japanese Garden.
The dry stream provides a place for the eye to travel—installation by J. Walter Landscape & Irrigation. A cloud-pruned Japanese Black Pine (Pinus thunbergii) is a resilient evergreen conifer that towers next to the bamboo fence. At the top left are azaleas, while ornamental grass appears in the foreground. (via Plan-it Earth Design)
5. Meditation Garden.
This small reflective meditation garden features modern Japanese styling details. (via Derviss Design)
6. Woodland Garden.
Decomposed Granite path between Giant Sequoias leads to repurposed, reshaped, and stained rear concrete slab. Micro-climate-appropriate plants complete the picture. (via Ketti Kupper Conscious Life Design)
7. English Garden For Flowers and Vegetables.
A multi-faceted garden next to a patio space is full of perennial/annual flowers, deciduous and evergreen shrubs, vegetables, and ornamental grasses. Plants in containers add aesthetic beauty and can easily be moved around. They also work well in small backyards, as you can grow a variety of plants in a compact area. The fence surrounding this garden is a typical stockade wood fence. The supports are not visible as they are on the back side (neighbor’s side). This type of fence typically has three horizontal brace rails and posts every 8 feet. The stockade wood cladding covers the rail and post structure, hence it is not visible from this side. (via Arrow. Land + Structures)
8. Water Feature In A Small Space.
The owners’ travels to Asia inspired the design of this small backyard. A water feature was designed to mask adjacent traffic noise and effectively maintain a small footprint. The flowers are a Japanese Iris or Iris ensata, and the variety used was called ‘Sensation’. The material used between each 4×4 post is a CMU block wall with a stucco finish for the fence. The floor tile is thermal bluestone. (via Horn & Co.)
9. Succulent Wall.
These are made from primed and painted cedar with a pond liner used on the inside to protect the wood (with drainage holes spaced about 12″ apart along the bottom). The wood used is 2×8’s and 2×10’s. Each bed is 7″ high and 8″ deep. This would be a great solution for a vertical herb garden in an indoor/outdoor kitchen nook or as a privacy fence. The planters are watered by hand as they are not thirsty plants, but it would be possible to water with drip irrigation. Depending on the weather, they are watered once a week or every two weeks. Succulents include: Westringia ‘gray box’, senecio rowleyanus, and senecio radicans (trailing succulents). (via Living Gardens Landscape Design)
10. Small Water Feature.
A small fairy fountain or birdbath can create a soothing soundscape and attract wildlife. The fountain was sourced from Aquascape. Add the fountain to a small flower bed in your backyard, set atop river rocks and finished with mulch to keep the soil moist and the weeds at bay. (via Magic Garden Dreams)
11. Vertical Garden Walls.
Install garden walls or trellises to use vertical space in your small backyard. This one features a garden privacy wall that wraps a spa, spa deck, and outdoor shower, providing a sense of intimacy. (via April Philips Design Works)
12. Edible Urban Oasis.
In south Seattle, a tiny backyard garden needed a makeover to add usability and create a sitting area for entertaining. Raised garden beds for edible plants provide the transition between the existing deck and the new patio below, eliminating the need for a railing. A fire pit offers the focal point for the new patio. Angles create drama and direct flow to the steel stairs and gate. The fire pit is from Thos. Baker. (via Mark S. Garff, Landscape Architect)
13. Garden Paths With Purpose.
Incorporate stepping stones, gravel paths, or reclaimed brick to define zones and guide movement through your garden. This shaded landscape garden features a little Mazus along the walkway to create a colorful path. (via Smalls Landscaping)
14. Arbors, Trellises, Pergolas.
Add height and a focal point with an arbor, trellis, or pergola. Train climbing vines such as clematis or wisteria to grow over it for added charm. The arbor over the swing is intended to shade the sitting area in this hot yard as the sun comes from the left side of the swing. Evergreen Pandorea vines eventually grew over the top. The style mimicked that of the already existing pergola on the deck. The swing gives the family a resting place to watch people practicing on the putting green. (via Just in Thyme Landscape Design)
15. Raised Garden Beds.
Raised beds define planting zones, improve soil quality, and make gardening easier. Opt for wood, stone, or galvanized metal to match your style. This pollinator garden in Menlo Park, California, is in full raggedy bloom. It is abuzz with insects, bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds all summer. (via Confidence Landscaping, Inc.)
16. Compact Outdoor Seating Area.
Create a cozy nook with a built-in bench surrounded by greenery. A small sitting area encourages you to enjoy your garden more often. The addition of a fire pit is perfect for enjoying your garden in the evening, providing warmth and ambiance. (via Vaso Peritos Interior Design)
17. Container Gardens.
Container gardens are perfect for a small backyard, as they let you grow herbs, flowers, and even vegetables in movable pots. The beautiful display of spring annuals includes pansies and Foxgloves. (via Scott Byron & Co.)
18. Secret Garden.
Create a secret garden in your backyard with a cozy bistro set for enjoying morning coffee, afternoon tea, or a light lunch in an intimate setting. (via Amy Martin Landscape Design)
19. Edible Landscaping.
Every garden needs a place to grow vegetables. This custom, oversized cedar planter is a great place for the family to get their hands dirty. (via Urban Oasis Landscape Design)
20. Small Succulent Garden.
This succulent collection in south San Luis Obispo County consists of Mediterranean dry climate plants (they need to be planted in a frost-free zone). The stones are slate chips. The veragated plant on the lower right is euphoriba ‘tasmanian tiger’. The bright orange plant is the sedum ‘coppertone’. The red blooming plant is an ivy geranium, and the purple is a Melaleuca tree.
TIP: For watering, succulents appreciate a thorough soaking infrequently. You want to fully saturate the container, then let it approach dryness before watering again. The duration between watering is determined by your pot’s size, sun exposure, and indoor climate. This could range from once every couple of weeks, to once every couple months. The notion that succulents only like a sprinkle of water is misleading. Succulents do appreciate water, they are simply well adapated to do without it for longer periods. Succulent plants like the substrate to be hydrated completely, and then have water drain away quickly. Soggy soil and rot (overwatering) will take a plant down far quicker than one who stays on the dryer side. (via Gardens by Gabriel, Inc.)
21. Cottage Style Garden.
A Tudor-style home has undergone a cottage style treatment. If you have a small backyard space, wrap a garden bed around the perimeter of your home to add an attractive aesthetic. You can also grow vertically using a steel trellis to help support climbers such as roses and clematis. Add mulch to your garden to retain moisture for your soil and plants, prevent weeds, and create a finished look. (via Clairvoyé Design, LLC)
22. Urban Chill Out.
An abundance of plants complements the design of this small backyard garden oasis. The blue flowers are Agapanthus. The benches are custom-made from softwood decking boards; they were spec’d by the designer to be easily movable, so they are on casters and have a hinged top for storage. (via Abigail’s Gardens)
23. Small Perrenial Garden.
A townhouse backyard in Brooklyn, New York, features a small patio surrounded by a perennial garden. The furnishings include a Janus et Cie table, a sofa, and a daybed from Restoration Hardware. The custom-made French blue farm doors add a pop of color to this outdoor oasis. (via Todd Haiman Landscape Design)
24. Townhouse Garden.
A refined palette of quality materials is set within a striking and elegant design in the backyard of a townhouse. The space provides a restful and sophisticated urban garden for a professional couple to be enjoyed both in the daytime and after dark, with the string lights hanging from the pergola and the fireplace. The bold treatment of a black bespoke screen and pergola complements the use of corten steel in the fireplace design. (via Neil Jones Design)
25. Mini Zen Garden.
This California xeriscape succulent garden features color and texture with drought-resistant plant materials. A Buddha adds a feeling of Zen, surrounded by succulents. Old San Francisco cobblestones were repurposed into garden steps. Low, raised beds were built out of stone, which were existing on the property. Containers along the steps and against existing concrete walls help to soften the hard surfaces. (via Kaiser Gardens)
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