Creating a landscape design down the side of your house can be tricky. With my background in landscape architecture, I want to offer tips on how to ‘unpack’ and apply 18 interesting landscaping ideas to the side of your house.
To turn the side of your house into a useful, beautiful space, follow this simple design process:
- Create a simple base plan you can trace over
- Do some basic site analysis to help identify opportunities to take advantage of, and problems you need to address
- Create a little ‘skeleton’ plan highlighting these areas with notes
- Look through inspiring examples that take advantage of similar opportunities, or find solutions to similar problems
- Create a first draft, drawing over the skeleton plan – adding the opportunities and solutions in various positions
- Explore different ideas and combinations by repeating Step 5 with different examples, ideas or inspiration
Following this process, you will end up with a simple yet effective garden design for the side of your house.
First we’ll look at the 18 side of house landscaping ideas (Step 4 above), then I’ll take you through the other steps in the design process.
One thing you’ll notice is not all ideas are “side of the house” situations. This is because it’s possible to find ideas that take advantage of opportunities, and are solutions to problems, everywhere – regardless of what space they are!
1. Create Intrigue With Screens
This design takes a simple idea – timber slat screens – and uses them to do a couple of simple, yet useful, things:
- Break up line of sight, adding depth to the space
- Help block ‘problems’ from view – like AC units or other ugly items
- Allow you to create ‘moments of intrigue’ – little opportunities to hide small spaces from view, like seating areas, garden beds or more – letting someone unexpectedly ‘discover’ them as they walk by
This concept can adapt to different looks depending on your preferred style or material palette.
Keep in mind strong winds that could blow them over. Have thin gaps to allow breezes to pass through.
2. Simple Palette, Easy To Implement
Although simple, this example shows how nice a basic design can be. The colour palette is restrained – light green shades, white and charcoal with some light brown in the background.
The layout is simple, suggesting it’s predominantly an access way. If you had a similar space – narrow and utilitarian – you could choose a simple set of colours and find materials that fit your style.
3. Focus On Texture & Shape With Plants
Many gardens rely on their plants a mixture of colours and heights to ‘carry’ their design. But this garden does something a little different. It keeps the plants similar in size and colour, instead varying the textures and shapes.
It also mixes, rather than mass, plants them – highlighting the contrasts. Additionally, the simplified colour palette pairs well with the slate grey, tan gravel, dark timber and rust & glass building.
If you want something similar, determine a colour range that works for your space and existing materials and find plants that fit in that range.
Make sure you have a decent variety of textures and shapes, and lay them out in a way that highlights the contrast.
4. Use Bold Colours & Shapes For Contrast
This is similar to the previous example, but now we contrasting colours – bold green leaves of varying shapes with the maroon and copper at the end of the space, drawing your eye.
I love how these highlight colours are then reflected in splashes of climbing plants along the black timber fence (maybe not by design). The jagged, cracked stone path completes the look, giving it a wild feel.
You could create something similarly ‘wild’ by considering a base colour palette with some bold feature/highlight colours – with accompanying ‘splashes’ or reflections as well.
And it doesn’t have to be a year round thing either. Perhaps the reflections only appear as flowers. Or in puddles after rain.
5. Handle Heavy Rainfall With A Brick & Grass Path
This path is a great solution for places with heavy rain. Hard surfaces don’t absorb water well – they ‘sheet’ it away into nearby spaces like garden beds.
Alternating squares allows you to handle heavy downpours where water is absorbed into the grass sections, and probably into a drain beneath the path.
And you still maintain enough stability to handle moving heavy weight down that side – say a wheelbarrow or a fridge on a trolley.
6. Have Your Path Set The Tempo Of The Space
This is a lovely space. The plants suggest a cottage garden feel, accentuated by the arbour, wooden gate and the lone chair.
What ties it together is the expanding and contracting path of gravel and stone pavers. It’s simple, but gives the space little points to inhale and exhale as you move through it.
It would have been easy to have a simple gravel path with straight edges – even using the same materials. But this one little addition really makes the space.
Make sure you explore different widths and patterns for your paths and garden beds, so you don’t miss opportunities like this.
7. Limit It To Key Materials
If you want a space that is mainly an access way – with some nice visual elements – this design does it well.
The layout is simple – straight lines – and material palette is minimal. The concrete is robust, the river pebbles contrast nicely with it and allow for water drainage into pipes that may feed the bamboo bed.
The bamboo is both visually interesting and adds some privacy. I think this combination of straight lines and simple materials works better with a more modern house, but even here it pairs OK with brick.
8. Create A Forest Floor Vibe With Stepping Stones Through It
The ‘purpose’ of this space is less about access and utility, and more creating a lovely space to look at. The stepping stones almost force you to wander, ensuring you can’t quickly move through the space.
This concept works better as a ‘feature’. If your space doesn’t have any access requirements, you could create a similarly pretty space with some occasional access.
Start with some slightly raised stepping stones surrounded by soft ground covers. Scatter some tall, thin upright elements (not just trees – bamboo, thin poles, some plants or flowers) and you have a similar ‘feel’.
You don’t need to exactly copy the materials either. Try a few different material and colour options to see what works with your house or preferred style.
9. Double Down On One Colour
This more mature wall is from a Red Cow Farm in NSW, Australia. I love the green on green on green look.
Getting the space down the side of your house to look like this is achievable, but requires a little more patience and maintenance.
I love the slightly wild look of the hedge. These little tendrils reach out to the boles of the trees – themselves trimmed to keep things clean and easier to maintain. And the beautiful soft ferns and plantings along the base complete the green wall feeling.
You could imitate a similar look down the side of your house, and instead of lawn could have stepping stones surrounded by a groundcover – as a complement or contrast to the rest of the green.
10. Use A Pergola To Take Advantage Of Nice Conditions
Another example from Red Cow Farm. You can see the lovely sunshine it enjoys. You may find similar conditions in your space. This is a great way to take advantage of it.
It is likely to be more expensive, but providing a hard surface, pergola and some climbing plants may open up a whole new space to use.
You could cook, entertain or perhaps just relax. And this layout can work with many material options so it can match many styles.
11. Design To Capture Temporary Moments
This example is a little different. What I love in this image is the rain.
It may seem strange designing around something like rain, but I want you to think about those little ephemeral moments of peace or joy you could take advantage of.
It might be as simple as creating a covered spot to view from. And having a distant feature – like a lantern – at the end of the space.
And whenever it rains you take a seat and enjoy the temporary spectacle of dappled light through the raindrops and trees.
It doesn’t have to be rain you focus on either. It could be sunlight at a time of day. Or enjoying autumn or spring mornings. Maybe clear winter nights.
Whatever it is, you can try to capture something temporary and hold it for a little longer – or make a space to fully immerse yourself within it.
12. Find Opportunities To Create Relaxing Spaces
This is something that can take advantage of an opportunity. A sunny or secluded spot. Somewhere to relax.
Do you have any areas down the side of your house that could use a hammock or similar spot to relax? Maybe the conditions are better than you expected, and this is just the kind of set up you can add to take advantage of them.
13. Create Pockets Of Intrigue Along The Way
Not strictly a side of house space, there are still ideas you can take from this image.
Having trees as the ‘barrier’ between path and ‘nooks’ – rather than pure background – is interesting. The day bed could be another way to relax in sunshine. And a water feature adds some nice ambience to any space.
Even the stepping stones – rectangular or sleepers – could be used in different layouts.
14. Low Maintenance & Minimal – A Feature Tree In A Courtyard
Perhaps the most minimalist example you’ll see – but it could work in certain situations.
If you have a simple colour palette you want to use, and keep it low maintenance, you could hardscape (pave, concrete etc.) the space.
And like this example, maybe you opt for a feature tree of some kind to provide interest. You could also add pot plants if you wanted to spice it up.
Material choice is very important – with less ‘distractions’ you want the ground, wall and tree/plant choice to be perfect for your style and/or to match your house/ garden.
15. Low Maintenance Feature Pots
As low maintenance, yet stylish, as it gets. Spread river pebbles as a garden bed, add some feature pots and fill them with succulents.
This requires certain weather and light conditions, but the concept – non-plant base, pots, low maintenance plants – can be applied to many colours, materials and weather types.
You could always add taller screening plants to add some privacy or variety of heights. Or maybe a background of climbing plants along a fence.
16. Using Retaining Walls To Address Problems & Harness Opportunities
Despite not being a side of house space – it sits off an entertaining area – the bones of this idea are something that could be used in such a space.
A small raised garden bed allows you to plant trees and shrubs in places with poor soil quality, lack of space, or perhaps low light at ground level. Raising the bed also allows you to irrigate and drain the space properly.
You can also spend less on younger plants and trees as they are closer to eye level and might create privacy in a shorter time span.
Throw in a simple raised bench to enjoy a sunny spot, or maybe a work bench or storage space, and you can implement solutions to handle problems and opportunities – all within a simple retaining wall style framework.
17. Allow Space For Temporary Activities
This example highlights two ideas. A simple colour and material palette – whites, light greys and dark greens – creates a lovely space with a climbing plant as the feature. It’s simple and easy to maintain.
I also love the splash of colour the rug and cushion add to the space. Again, if the area enjoys some sunshine – or is hidden from the wind – you could take advantage of it periodically with some picnic rugs and cushions.
This idea isn’t ground-breaking – it’s more to help you recognise not every design needs permanent elements to make it work.
18. Mass Grasses Beneath The Trees
The designer, Clyde Oak, talks about his design process in the Medium article. He mentions he only uses three plants here, and how less is often more in landscape design.
I tend to agree, and love the effect of the feathered grasses mass planted beneath the light green pepper trees(?).
This space is less functional – not really an access way or to create privacy. It’s much more a space to enjoy being in, and looking at.
To create something similar you’d need to find grass and trees that create a similar feel in your region, determine how much space they need to grow, and plant them appropriately.
They would be quite unusual and fairly low maintenance. That said, you’d want to periodically prune them to ensure the area doesn’t become a tangled mess.
So, having looked through these different examples, it’s time to see how to apply some to your space by outlining the other steps in the design process.
If you have read my landscaping ideas posts before, Steps 1,2 & 3 are the same.
You will still want to do them – you just won’t need to read through them, so I’ve hidden them to reduce clutter. Where I discuss something relevant to designing the side of a house, I’ll keep the text visible to you don’t miss anything.
If this is your first time here, simply click on the heading (or +) to see the step in more detail.
1. Create A Simple Base Plan
Get a piece of paper, pen, ruler and marker/s.
You can choose to create a scaled plan or stick to a basic outline of the space. Scaled will be more precise but take longer, and if all you want to do is explore ideas, a simple outline should be enough. Just know that if you plan to build (or have built for you) you will need a scaled design at some point.
Your base plan should include:
- Your Doors & Windows (including their heights above ground level if they start higher than floor level)
- Existing elements you will keep – trees, sheds, steps, patios etc.
- Boundary lines
- Neighbouring elements – trees, sheds, steps, patios etc. – that aren’t on your property
- Neighbours house and their doors, windows etc.
- North Arrow – so you can tell where the sun will come from and travel
- Scale (if needed – e.g. 1:100) or a Scale Bar
A few more tips to help you create a base plan that is easy to use:
- Keep the side of your house parallel with the edge of the paper – it’s easier to draw ‘off’ the house, especially if you are drawing to scale
- Try to include surrounding areas beyond this space – this will help you ‘tie’ the space into other areas of your yard, allowing you to extend your design beyond this area
- For a scaled plan, you will need site or architectural drawings to refer to, or you need to measure the space yourself
- If you aren’t drawing to scale, try your best to have the space correctly proportioned so you don’t design something completely inaccurate
- You can use some soft hatching or other marks to denote sloped areas or high and low points
- Scan/copy your first drawing so you can draw over it – I recommend maybe 5 copies, as we’ll use a few in the next two steps
Here is a basic example I will be using of a space down the side of my parent’s house.
2. Site Analysis – Opportunities & Problems
Take one of your base plan copies. The aim of this step is to draw or take notes on the different weather conditions in your area and how they interact with your site.
On your plan, hatch, draw or note the following:
- Where are the sunny and shady spots? How do they change across the year?
- Does this area get very windy or noisy?
- Do you have spaces where water will run or collect?
- What rooms do you have looking into the space, if any?
- Do you have neighbouring oversight? Or other things off your property that impact how the sun, rain and wind interact with the space?
Having done your base plan, you should have an idea of things like windows and doors into the space, and neighbouring elements and oversight.
You may need to do a little on-site research for things like sun, shade and wind. If you need to, spend some time outside across the day and week to see how the space feels.
Otherwise, look into the weather patterns for your region to get an idea of wind direction and strength, and rainfall, across the year.
NOTE: I haven’t included council restrictions and regulations yet, but they will be an important consideration should you look to build. If you have the time and inclination, now is a good time to look into it – particularly for easements and other access restrictions.
If you don’t want to do that research now, that’s OK. Once you’ve developed a few designs you like, you should talk to a landscaper or designer to ensure you are not violating any local rules.
You can see in my examples I’ve noted some more ‘esoteric’ elements – like the lovely colour & warmth from the neighbours wall.
You don’t need to do things like this, but remember, I did suggest you look for opportunities to take advantage of.
3. Create A Skeleton Plan
Take another copy of your base plan. Referring to your site analysis plan and notes, draw some simple ‘bubbles’ of the different areas in your space that are potential problems, or opportunities.
This can be as simple or complex as you like. The next step will be to try and address these ‘bubbles’ by adding some of the examples we explored above.
You can see in this one I’ve noted some spots of sunlight, oversight from the neighbours kitchen window, and the utility units. One thing not specified is the lack of direct sunlight – it receives little direct afternoon light except near the front yard.
I’ve also suggested the space needs to maintain a level of access through it – in this case for something like a wheelbarrow.
I’ve noted some potential ‘opportunities’ as well.
Like I said, the warm sight of the neighbours brick wall is something I personally like, especially during summer. Another is the three bedrooms could look out onto features – but I need to ensure I don’t block the full size windows.
With this skeleton plan in place, it’s time to ‘unpack’ some of the landscaping ideas we looked at above, and see how to apply them to this space.
5. & 6. A First Draft & Exploring Ideas
Retaining Wall & Bench Idea
Let’s take a few basic ideas from above to see how to apply them to my plan. I’ll start with an example that is pretty portable – can be applied to many situations – #16.
Above is my first rough exploration based on the retaining wall and timber bench idea. Nothing fancy on the right side – 600 mm retaining wall (probably brick???) with some low plantings and groundcovers in the front.
Feature trees opposite windows, partially blocking the neighbours view in. I’ve also added some timber benches. The left one doesn’t sit in sunlight, but would get a good view of the neighbours wall in summer.
The left wall is variable in height – low in front of the windows, higher in front of the utility units. Behind that I’d opt for a shade tolerant groundcover of some description – if something is suitable. Finally a simple gravel path up the middle.
“Wild” & Bold Feature Trees, Climbers & Stepping Stones
This time I’ve trimmed things back a little. Pushing the space back to the fence on the right might require retaining wall support (shown in the little section drawing at the bottom).
Viewing from the top of the sketch down – from backyard to front yard – you immediately see the larger feature trees. Not sure yet what they’ll be – perhaps something native that has some interesting shape or vivid flowers. Note the middle one partially blocks neighbours.
Mirroring those will be raised lattice sections covered (eventually) in equally as flashy climbers. These can also spread a little along the path. Opposite these, along the timber fence will be a more muted climbing plant that might have periodic interest – flowering or losing leaves (maybe climbing fig?).
Finally the path will be irregular paving stones in light gravel or maybe grass like the image. They should be stable enough to support heavy access and unlikely to wash away after rain like pure gravel.
Side Of House Meadow & Trees
Perhaps the most simple to look at, it’s essentially a mass of grasses with trees popping up here and there.
The trees closer to the house may need to be small to ensure they don’t hit any eaves (although past the ensuite window they might be ok). Those against the fence are free to grow taller, to provide some additional privacy.
I would opt to remove branches below about 5 or 6ft high just to keep things tidy and improve access.
I’d also have a ‘path’ that may be slightly raised earth, compacted a little so it can support weight and not become flooded. It may also help water pool around grasses and trees – but this would require more subtle earthworks.
So that is it for today. Hopefully his helped you understand how to draw ideas from anywhere – not just the usual side of the house landscaping ideas.
Share you thoughts and ideas for the space down the side of your house below!