Back yard design: plan zones before plants

Backyard ideas that work all start the same way. A back yard that feels like one big lawn is usually a back yard without a plan. Zones turn it into places: somewhere to eat close to the house, an open lawn for play, borders along the fences, a growing area, a quiet seat at the far end.

Put the zone you use most closest to the door, and keep the surface between them the same width and material so the garden reads as a whole.

Before you draw anything, walk the plot at breakfast time and in the evening and note where the sun falls. Mark what you cannot move, such as trees, manholes and the shed, and design around them.

The plot in both examples is long and narrow, a common shape. The trick is to break the length into rooms and give the eye somewhere to travel. In the AI design below, a stone terrace sits by the house, a gravel path curves down the lawn, raised beds wait beside the shed and a pergola seating area closes the far end.

The same plot appears in the hero with a different idea: a pool and loungers on the lawn. Comparing two directions on one photo is often the quickest way to learn what you actually want.

Surfaces do the structural work that walls do indoors.

• Terrace. Stone or porcelain slabs by the house, sized for a table and chairs with room to push them back.
• Paths. Gravel for soft curves, flagstone for something more formal. Keep them wide enough to walk two abreast.
• Lawn. One generous shape is better than several small ones. Omriss includes options such as striped lawn, wildflower meadow and clover lawn.
• Edges. A clean line between lawn and border makes the whole garden look kept.

Backyard landscaping ideas often start at the fences, which look dull and make a garden feel boxed in. Planting layered borders along them softens the edges: taller grasses and shrubs at the back, lavender and perennials in front. Hydrangea, lavender, alliums and ornamental grasses are all in Omriss’s plant catalog if you want to try the look.

Leave the middle open. The mistake in many yards is planting the center and leaving the edges bare.

A pergola or gazebo gives shade and a ceiling for climbers; string lights and path lights make the garden usable after dark; a fire pit adds a reason to stay. Treat the sunniest spot as the place to sit, and check it at the time of day you will actually use it.

For small plots see small garden ideas, and for the full planning guide see garden design ideas.