Small yard landscaping ideas
May 18, 2022 11:10 AM Subscribe
We're going to redo our small city yard this year. We are thinking about no grass, low maintenance, and eco friendy. Some things we might want is raised beds for veggies, an outdoor kitchen, and some sort of shaded seating area. What other things might we want to think about? We're in Minneapolis, so the winters are cold and the summers are hot.
Outdoor kitchen — don't go overboard. I made a very serviceable little "kitchen" using the small portable size weber grill, set on a stone retaining wall topped with bluestone slabs, a cedar cabinet to conceal the LP bottle, more bluestone slabs to stand on and presto.
Something I wish I had done years ago but am now enjoying immensely is an alpine rockery laid out along the top of that same retaining wall (but you can build it at ground level or in a raised bed). You need a bunch of nice rocks, miniature plants/shrubs of all kinds, and pea stone for mulch. Garden centers have sections with miniatures. Sun/part shade works fine.
posted by beagle at 11:20 AM on May 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
Something I wish I had done years ago but am now enjoying immensely is an alpine rockery laid out along the top of that same retaining wall (but you can build it at ground level or in a raised bed). You need a bunch of nice rocks, miniature plants/shrubs of all kinds, and pea stone for mulch. Garden centers have sections with miniatures. Sun/part shade works fine.
posted by beagle at 11:20 AM on May 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Backyard currently gets full sun. Big trees would cause problems for the powerline coming in from a back corner to the middle of the house.
posted by advicepig at 11:22 AM on May 18, 2022
posted by advicepig at 11:22 AM on May 18, 2022
Best answer: Are you able to give us any layout guidance?
In my small semi-urban backyard way down here in Florida the four standout quality of life features are:
- a raised bed full of veggies
- flowering shrubs that add beauty and smell wonderful
- a couple of small but prolific fruit trees
- shade
If I had room for it the next thing I'd add is a stone pizza oven.
posted by saladin at 12:04 PM on May 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
In my small semi-urban backyard way down here in Florida the four standout quality of life features are:
- a raised bed full of veggies
- flowering shrubs that add beauty and smell wonderful
- a couple of small but prolific fruit trees
- shade
If I had room for it the next thing I'd add is a stone pizza oven.
posted by saladin at 12:04 PM on May 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
Clover and creeping thyme are both good groundcovers but they don't stand up to foot traffic like grass. You can walk on them occasionally but if kids are going to be running around or you'll be walking on it a lot then you'll likely end up with bare patches. Once established they're fairly low maintenance, you're just pulling out weeds and grass as they come up.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:05 PM on May 18, 2022
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:05 PM on May 18, 2022
Best answer: Some things that have come up in our small urban yard:
-Rain: if you're putting up shade for seating, is it waterproof? Do you want to be able to sit outside even if it's raining? Thick comfortable seat cushions - even ones designed for outdoors - will trap water and will stay wet. Maybe consider waterproof storage bins for cushions or tarps for furniture.
-Lighting: do you want to be outside after dark? There are outdoor-rated LED string lights that are not too expensive, but you'll need power outlets. If you're planning on digging a significant depth, you might think about running conduit to corners of the yard for outlets (and maybe water and gas if you want to go really nuts with your outdoor kitchen).
-Heat: pandemic living has shown us a need to have a way to keep warm outside in the shoulder seasons. Look up your local rules about outdoor burning (it's illegal here) and decide whether you want to pursue heaters, fire pits, whatever. IR heaters do well in exposed areas but are power hungry; convection heaters will not work in windy conditions.
-Storage: despite the small size of the yard, we've found a shed to be very beneficial since we don't have a garage.
-Compost: I know it's great to have homemade compost, but it's a critter magnet and if you have a rat problem in your area they will chew through it and make themselves at home. I'd probably skip it.
-Vegetable garden: I suggest reading up on square foot gardening if you haven't had an urban veggie garden before. You can do a lot with a little, but keep your expectations reasonable. Raised beds require way more soil than you might expect. Plain framing lumber will not survive outside for very long, so build your bed walls with something that can withstand moisture (cedar would be ideal but is expensive; cinder blocks are popular but then you have to reach over them). Build the beds only as wide as you can comfortable lean over without hurting your back. Drip irrigation is cheap, easy to install, and will save you water (as well as insuring you don't forget to water if you include a timer or moisture sensor in your setup). I use stuff from Dripworks and find it easy to deal with. Drain the hose at the end of the summer and it will overwinter in place without any issues, but buy extra drip line because rabbits like to chew on it.
-Drainage: if you're taking everything down to bare earth, regrade the whole yard so rain flows away from your house.
posted by backseatpilot at 12:26 PM on May 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
-Rain: if you're putting up shade for seating, is it waterproof? Do you want to be able to sit outside even if it's raining? Thick comfortable seat cushions - even ones designed for outdoors - will trap water and will stay wet. Maybe consider waterproof storage bins for cushions or tarps for furniture.
-Lighting: do you want to be outside after dark? There are outdoor-rated LED string lights that are not too expensive, but you'll need power outlets. If you're planning on digging a significant depth, you might think about running conduit to corners of the yard for outlets (and maybe water and gas if you want to go really nuts with your outdoor kitchen).
-Heat: pandemic living has shown us a need to have a way to keep warm outside in the shoulder seasons. Look up your local rules about outdoor burning (it's illegal here) and decide whether you want to pursue heaters, fire pits, whatever. IR heaters do well in exposed areas but are power hungry; convection heaters will not work in windy conditions.
-Storage: despite the small size of the yard, we've found a shed to be very beneficial since we don't have a garage.
-Compost: I know it's great to have homemade compost, but it's a critter magnet and if you have a rat problem in your area they will chew through it and make themselves at home. I'd probably skip it.
-Vegetable garden: I suggest reading up on square foot gardening if you haven't had an urban veggie garden before. You can do a lot with a little, but keep your expectations reasonable. Raised beds require way more soil than you might expect. Plain framing lumber will not survive outside for very long, so build your bed walls with something that can withstand moisture (cedar would be ideal but is expensive; cinder blocks are popular but then you have to reach over them). Build the beds only as wide as you can comfortable lean over without hurting your back. Drip irrigation is cheap, easy to install, and will save you water (as well as insuring you don't forget to water if you include a timer or moisture sensor in your setup). I use stuff from Dripworks and find it easy to deal with. Drain the hose at the end of the summer and it will overwinter in place without any issues, but buy extra drip line because rabbits like to chew on it.
-Drainage: if you're taking everything down to bare earth, regrade the whole yard so rain flows away from your house.
posted by backseatpilot at 12:26 PM on May 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
The most eco-friendly plantings would be plants native to Minnesota. Native plants that are sited well (for your yard’s light level, drainage, etc.) will do the best, and require the least maintenance from you. They likely won’t need any additional water after they are established! And they’ll support pollinators and birds and other local critters. Take a look at the Minnesota Native Plant Society for resources.
Since you said your place is small, consider cultivars of native species (sometimes called ‘nativars’), which are generally more compact and do particularly well in a yard/garden.
posted by Drosera at 12:34 PM on May 18, 2022 [5 favorites]
Since you said your place is small, consider cultivars of native species (sometimes called ‘nativars’), which are generally more compact and do particularly well in a yard/garden.
posted by Drosera at 12:34 PM on May 18, 2022 [5 favorites]
Reach out to your local Master Gardeners program! They will probably have lots of great tips, plant sales, and talks. My parents are both Master Gardeners, and drought-friendly plants, native plants, and pollinator-attracting plants are three categories they’ve encouraged me to explore, and I’ve really enjoyed it (especially gardening for pollinators - bees and butterflies galore!).
It looks like a big plant sale just happened last weekend, but here at least is a list of native plants they work with to supplement the resources Drosera mentioned above.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 1:15 PM on May 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
It looks like a big plant sale just happened last weekend, but here at least is a list of native plants they work with to supplement the resources Drosera mentioned above.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 1:15 PM on May 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Agree with the advice to focus on native plants if you're interested in low maintenance and eco-friendly gardening.
Some small stuff that makes my garden/yard enjoyable:
A fire pit for starry nights
A very nice vinyl outdoor rug
Solar lights of all types
A bench with an arbor
An outdoor shower
A hammock
Two distinct seating areas/outdoor 'rooms':
1. A table with chairs for dining
2. A couple of nice chairs and a loveseat for relaxing
Umbrellas everywhere if you can't plant trees
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 5:11 PM on May 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
Some small stuff that makes my garden/yard enjoyable:
A fire pit for starry nights
A very nice vinyl outdoor rug
Solar lights of all types
A bench with an arbor
An outdoor shower
A hammock
Two distinct seating areas/outdoor 'rooms':
1. A table with chairs for dining
2. A couple of nice chairs and a loveseat for relaxing
Umbrellas everywhere if you can't plant trees
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 5:11 PM on May 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:18 AM on May 18, 2022 [1 favorite]