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Rebekah Zaveloff, owner and principal designer of KitchenLab, co-founder of Design in a Bag.com and Houzz contributor. I'm a self-professed tile nut and believer in good design for all! You can also visit me at: http://kitchenlabdesign.com and http://designinabag.com
Rebekah Zaveloff, owner and principal designer of KitchenLab, co-founder... More »
Spring has just sprung in Chicago, where I live. We've had a very cold, wet spring, and it just seemed to take forever to get going. I'm a kitchen designer, but gardening is my second love. We did all the gardening design and work ourselves on our farmhouse in Michigan and we're about to embark on reinvigorating the small garden of our city place, which has been neglected since we suffered a fire last April. I'm looking forward to breathing some life back into our backyard, though in the city, the term 'yard' might be a liberal use of the term.
Urban gardens have their own challenges: often their smaller size, lack of sunlight, and extensive amount of hard surfaces. Here are a few spaces that make the most of their urban environments, and how you can, too.
Urban gardens have their own challenges: often their smaller size, lack of sunlight, and extensive amount of hard surfaces. Here are a few spaces that make the most of their urban environments, and how you can, too.
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by huntley & co
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| 1. Create an outdoor room. As much as I love big expansive open spaces filled with flowers and greenery, I also adore the enclosed intimate space of an urban garden. If you don't get much sunlight or don't have a lot of planting area, create visual interest with texture, hardscaping, fencing, gravel, etc. In the city, space is often limited, and the living space we create outside can add a sense of much more square footage. Use outdoor furniture and accessories as you would decorate a room in your home. Don't be afraid to bring a few throw pillows and a table linen from inside for a special meal when the weather allows. |
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| Outdoor rugs are a great way to define a space and make the outdoors feel more special. |
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2. Create an enclosed sanctuary. There's something so tranquil and peaceful about being surrounding and enveloped in a courtyard garden. I love the texture of the pavers in contrast to the scale and pattern of the concrete masonry wall. This courtyard is like a modernist painting, and I'm sure it's as enjoyable viewed from the inside as it is from the outside.
| In the city we're often sandwiched tightly between our neighbors. Rather than letting this be a liability, use fencing, plantings, or the walls of the buildings on either side to create an enclosed sanctuary and secret garden feeling. |
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by Alice Masin
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| Even balconies can get the feel of an enclosed sanctuary. Here, planters increase the height of the wall and give the space more intimacy. It might be tempting to go for the view rather than close it in like this, but this is the way to go if you're looking for more private space. |
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3. Employ simplicity and repetition. Minimalist garden spaces are some of my favorites. If your space isn't conducive to growing lots of plants and flowers, go for the simplicity of monochromatic hard surfaces and sculptural furniture, as well as repeating one kind of plant multiple times for structured drama.
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| 4. The power of fencing. In the suburbs and the country, fencing is often used to used to keep dogs and kids in or to define the space of the yard, but in the city, it's can be used as a design element. Rather than fencing has space so you can see through it, tightly woven, tall fencing can create an outdoor room and urban sanctuary in an instant. |
| Get creative with the fence design. Go tall but leave some negative space at the top for visual interest. |
by Espaces Viridis
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Even a garden with mostly hard surfaces and few plants can be an urban sanctuary by enclosing the space with a tall fence and creating texture and contrast with pavers and gravel. Whether you opt for natural or stained, the fencing defines the space.
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| I've always had a thing for corrugated metal, whether it's used on the outside of a building or the inside (such as on the back of an island), so I love this fence. The tall, wispy plants stand out against the color and texture of the corrugated metal. |
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Simple metal wire fencing and posts installed against a plain concrete wall is a wonderful way to get some pattern and texture in the space. This one does double duty as a trellis for climbing vines.
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5. Creating vignettes and sitting areas. Regardless of how much space you have, creating small and intimate sitting areas are a must. This, after all, it's all about having an outdoor sanctuary in the city. If you don't have room for a dining table, go with comfy lounge furniture and a coffee table instead.
| The taller trees and ivy help make this sitting area feel cozy and intimate. If you don't have space for in-ground plantings, use large pots. Arrange your furniture so it's ideal for conversation and hanging out. |
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If you do have a bit more open space, closing in your seating area with an umbrella and close-cropped plants will make it feel more intimate.
If you have the space, create different vignettes for different purposes — a table tucked into one corner and lounge seating in another. It encourages guests to wander and experience the garden from different points of view. I love how the simple peninsula of gravel defines the table area and how mis-matched pots and planters sprinkled around the space soften the hardscaping.
| 6. Rooftop drama. I think rooftop gardens are one of the tougher garden design challenges. After all, it's really all about the view and the planters. I love the structured repetition of the evergreen shrubs and the contrast between the greenery and the city. |
| This view makes me think the shrubs were designed to imitate the buildings behind. |
by pulltab design
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Rooftop gardens are great places to employ structured design elements. As with art, your choices are about line, scale and texture. The horizontal lines draw your eye out to the horizon on this rooftop deck.
Do you have a city garden? Please share a photo below!
More:
10 Ways to Bedeck Your Deck
3 Fuss-Free Ways to Garden
Charm up Your House With Windowboxes
Unexpected Edible Gardens
Browse outdoor products
Do you have a city garden? Please share a photo below!
More:
10 Ways to Bedeck Your Deck
3 Fuss-Free Ways to Garden
Charm up Your House With Windowboxes
Unexpected Edible Gardens
Browse outdoor products
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by Heather Lisi
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Ideabook updated on May 20, 2012.
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