What city or grow zone are you in?

Hello, thanks for asking! I'm in zone 3, I believe. Calgary, Alberta Canada.

Are you allowed to put up some fencing for privacy in case you'd like a sitting area? (Horizontal wood came into my mind). Guess a way to hide sign is to place a fairly mature conifer to hide view from windows, one that will not grow too large.

HI -- I knew it , I thought so - me too . We have been working on our yard also , and we got rid of the lawn . Your yard is a lot smaller so this would be easy for you to do also. If you keep it very simple and just use ground covers and mass plantings of a few choice plants. Now the garden centers are starting to have the sales . The Super Store garden centers seen to have the best selection and prices this year. First plant some trees. Plant a Weeping Birch in front as your feature tree. Straight out from the left front corner of the house. Then plant 3 "Dropmore Linden Trees " in a line down the left side of the yard .Mass plant some Day lilies in the strip on the right and a row on the left side of the walk ," Stella D Oro " - or is that the walkway to your back yard ? If it is then just do the front square section on that side.Then just lay landscape cloth and steping stones or sidewalk squares and fill in with small grain (pea) gravel,- the rest of that side to the side gate. For the rest of the yard just add a few big rock groupings and a few ornamental grasses or other plants for a bit of height , maybe some small evergreens like junipers , etc. and the rest in a ground cover like "Snow in Summer". We are going to plant some No - Mow grass " Eco - Lawn , you do not have to mow it and it's drought tolerant. You will also need something for a foundation planting under the front window. The daylillies will work there also.I like their grassey look. Try to find a better spot for those darn bins, - maybe down the side yard if there is room. Good Luck !

I'm surprised you have quite a contemporary home in the middle of the Calgary's suburbs ... I try to have a minimal grass area as well in my yard, and one possible solution is to do more hardscaping with ornamental plants as mentioned by lefty47, also consider some raised concrete platforms for privacy.

It's so good to hear from you guys; I don't know anyone who is interested in landscape design that I can talk to!

pcmom1, thank-you for your suggestions. A structure with horizontal wood slats would look good with the house, and an evergreen is a good idea for permanent screening. I can't go very close to the street because utility lines are buried there...

Dytecture, I love the Mid Century Modern Remodel pic. I agree, hardscaping is a great idea! Thanks!

lefty47, heehee, that's funny that you recognized Calgary in the pics! I really appreciate your detailed recommendations. I am a big fan of the birch tree. I don't know if you can see it, but there is actually a Dakota Pinnacle Birch in the pic, but it died, and so did five others on the block this year. The birches don't seem to do so well in this community with its clay soil I guess. I do like the grassy look of daylilies, and we actually bought some no-mow eco seed too. We just don't know where to put it!

I am pleased with all of your suggestions, thank-you so much.

What a cute house! I love the vibrant chartreuse that Dytecture referenced in his attachment. I think that would look great against your house. I know this is probably a dumb question, but do you keep your trash can on your front porch? Perhaps it can be re-located to the back. That will help a great deal with curb appeal. I would also do a zone appropriate planting right at the base of your home to camouflage the exposed bit of your foundation. hope that helps. Charmean Neithart

Hi there, I have lived in Calgary too and understand how incredibly dry it can be there. I think ornamental grasses would look wonderful with your home and be quite easy to care for. They also look wonderful as a winterscape. Here is a good link to The Walnut House on this site, the ornamental grasses at the base of the home would also work for you. I am also including a link to some of the grasses that would work in your zone. Here near Vancouver in Crescent Beach area, there are some wonderful modern homes with very structured gardens of all grasses that just look perfect with the homes.

http://www.houzz.com/projects/5796/The-Walnut-House

Oh and here is the other link, http://bluestemnursery.blogspot.ca/2011/08/growing-grasses-in-calgary-ab.html.
The orange coloured grass would really add a counterpoint of interest if it was on the left base of the house as it so nearly echoes the door.

Susan Mills

I think the key to small spaces is to divide them up to create pockets of interest. Ironically, this will make the space feel larger! What you do with each space depends on your taste, the climate, orientation to the sun and so on. In terms of design, I would start with how you want to use the space and the functions you want it to perform. A garden is a space you experience in many different ways. It's not only about how it feels when you're within the space but how it looks from within the home. For me, a great garden is not only a space for being in, but is also an extension of your home, one that creates an enriching your visual experience. Your windows are view onto the world, and the winodws onto the garden become a living canvas, an ever-changing view defined by the architecture of the home.

In practical terms, I would start with the ways in which you want to use the space. This might include a seating area in which you can enjoy a coffee in the warmer months, or a glass of wine at the end of the day. With these kind of spaces it's nice to create an area that feels private and shielded but also maintains a discrete views of the street, a connection to the neighbourhood, allowing you to watch the world passing by without being invasive, or feeling overlooked.

To create interest, I would establish some wilder areas within the space, and alter the levels of the terrain. At present it's all one level, albeit sloped, and therefore a little monotonous. By building up beds, using stone, wood and bricks, whatever you're comfortable with and can afford, you will break up the space and therfore add scale, which immediately establishes visual interest - there's something for the eye to focus on. Flat spaces have no point of reference, and therefore don't look interesting, unless you're talking Arizona! My personal preference is for stone and and matting plants, interspersed with small shrubs and low-level grasses. This combination is resilient and quickly propogates. It adds a lot of visual interest and can be as tame or as wild as your like. It's great for insects - bees, butterflies, and other creates essential to life. It's also low maintenance! I'm hopless at gardening these days, so I like designs that tend to themsleves, whithin reason. This treatment would break up the space and create lots of texture, in the horizontal plan. You could also add a small pathway between the bedding, a micro journey around garden...

However, it's also important to add vertical lines to a garden - all too often garden spaces are designed only in plan view, and peple forget about the vertical elements. These are extremely important as they add a sense of depth, and therefore scale, to the space. Vertical plants/features can be used to frame views and define spaces, both within the garden and from the home. Vertical planting might include grasses, 'architectural' plants, a small tree or two, carefully choosen in respect to your foundations, and so on. Exactly which plants you choose, and the size to which they will grow, comes back to how you will use the space, your local climate, and of course your budget!

I'm also a big fan of ponds. As a kid, water was heaven! There's always so much going on in a pond. I know they're not to everyone's liking, but a small pond, 2 x 1.5m, is enough for wildlife, for the birds, and will attract all kinds of amazing creatures. There are also some very beautful water plants though I have no idea what's suited to your climate.

I guess in summary the advice is don't start with the plants, start with the ways you will use the space. Once you have a clear idea, the rest will fall into place and the decision-making will be simpler and easier :)

Ditto all of above posting! I am also in a very tough climate, and swear by having a few large ceramic planters around. These add their own color and interest, and also serve to raise a beautiful plant above the rest. Also an easy change out should that plant start to suffer!

Lighting! As above poster said: much is about the view you create from inside the house. Having lighting on the garden path, at the base of beautiful tree pointed up at the trunk and branches is magic at night.

I remember when our yard was done our landscaper said that landscaping was 80% drainage and 20%plants. Above poster spot on about getting everything else in place before the plantings! (ps: love shrub called "Burning Bush")

Thanks, Charmean! I absolutely love vibrant chartreuse, and actually that is my accent color inside the house to go along with the whites and greys. It's a great combination. I knew I'd raise a few eyebrows with my trash cans on the front step. Haha. They definitely won't be a permanent feature! :)

Susan, ornamental grasses have always interested me, and that orange grass pic of yours was stunning! What a clever point; such a clump of grass would echo the entrance beautifully. The yard seems to have no trouble growing native grasses, that's for sure!

You've given me a lot to think about, Aaron. Starting out with a structural plan that meets the intended use of the space is certainly the place to start. I will be rereading your post and seriously considering all of your observations. Thank-you! This will surely help me to focus on achieving a unified whole, an aesthetic unity.

Color and interest from sources other than plants is a wonderful suggestion, pcmom1. These elements could serve to heighten drama, where my leanings towards modern, minimalistic, and monochromatic plantings might be too monotonous!

I just bought a house in Florida and it has been in drought there for the past three years at least. The front yard was a wasteland of dirt and little weeds. I aso wanted to de-emphasize the service door into the garage.

I started researching plants for that zone that could tolerate full sun and little water. Surprisingly there were quite a few. I managed to complete a nice little area with several plants that will tolerate sun and drought, mulched over with a brown cypress mulch and set with stones. I used coquina which is native to the area, and of course you would need cold tolerant plants, but I was quite proud of the design, a smallish tree that will go no more than 20 feet in the middle, with two smaller plants similar in color and foliage shape to each side. I hope you can see what I mean,

I am sure you could find similar plants for your area. Something like a small pine, even jack pine in the middle, maybe. If there is clay, you could dig in and work some sand and organic compost in first. Maybe set diagonally across the corner. Here is a site for water wise gardening in Calgary: http://www.calhort.org/gardening/waterwise.aspx

The pictures show before and after showcasing the planting I described above. I chose plants with a silvery foliage to go with my aqua house (painting in progress during photo). The plants will get bigger, this is just the start. Over on the right you can see the foliage of one of the queen palms I put in to flank the front walk. We had to go back from the street a bit due to the public works underground as well.

Russian Sage. Looks light and feathery, small lavender flowers can take drought, heat and cold.

Remember something I read somewhere: do more with less. Meaning: better for impact to do mass plantings of a few things, rather than one of these, two of those, etc.

Hey ikwewe, it looks like you did a great job overcoming difficult conditions. Nicely done! I have been observing my soil, to see what could happily live there, and I'm stumped. Like you, I'll have to deal with drought and weeds, plus, the front third of the yard floods when it rains. :\ I think the Ponderosa Pine is a nice tree. Some that have been planted around here look fine, but their evergreen spruce neighbors are all dead. It really hurts to have to get my tree removed after I took such care with it; I'm plant-shy now! Thanks for the link, I'll look into it further.

pcmom1, Russian Sage looks like an excellent candidate to consider. Thanks! I am debating which color scheme to go with, and red-orange-yellow or blue-purple were high on the list. Hmm...

Funny. I saw the garbage bins on the front porch and my first thought was "oh that must be Calgary". Perhaps they should go in the back yard once the fence is built? I too have a corner lot in calgary, with a large light post and sign out front. I planted a trembling aspen clump (three stumps bought together in a pot) in my front yard so that when I look out my front window it hides the signs. (even in the winter, the branches provide a bit of camouflage).You just have to check with the City for where you can dig/plant. Our yard has quite the utility corridor all along the front and side of our house. so we were limited with our choices. So, it's grass with a couple of bedding areas close to the house.

here are a couple more pics.

Thank you for the comment on my design. I did look around the area to see what trees were doing well first. You mentioned the Ponderosa pines were doing well but not the spruce. I wanted a small tree so I went on the 'net to research how big the ones I liked would get. The one I really liked, I had to go up and ask the homeowner what it was, a Silver Bismarckia Palm. That is the one I chose to go in the middle of my little plot. For your area, I found an article about trees to plant. http://www.calgary.ca/UEP/Water/Pages/Water-conservation/Lawn-and-garden/Water-wise-gardening-and-plants/Water-Wise-Trees-and-Shrubs.aspx

It does say they need extra water the first year. I found the same directions for my Bismarckia and the Queen palms. Since I am not there all year round, I did hire someone to take care of the house and someone for the yard, and they both were very good about watering my new trees. It took about three months of almost daily watering and then they tapered off. The sprinkler system now waters twice a week unless we get rain. There was an article on HOUZZ this week about Canna Lilies which can add a touch of drama and color. They do need to be taken up in the fall and replanted in the spring in your area.

Pleased to meet you, deepistol. I feel like we're in the same club! The clump is an attractive solution in your yard. (I like the rocks, too). Your trees sit nicely off the corner of your house. Alas, I'm afraid I might have to choose between curb appeal and controlled views from the house, as my city sign is a third of the way into my front window's view, so if I sited trees there, I would be hiding my house from the street instead of framing it. This may be the crux of my dilemma.

ikwewe, thanks for the link, it was quite informative. I think I might try "going native" this time, and I'm slowly zeroing in on what I want. Keeping water-wise should be a top priority. I was told that many newly planted trees died this spring because we had hot days, and thaws, followed by bitter frosts. That's hard for any tree to take. I bet Pines in general are quite hardy, but I am reluctant to use a pyramidal tree, as it might just emphasize the tall and narrow aspect of the house instead of complementing it. I found a nursery that sells only native plants, and they don't give the trees any special care. I'm interested in the river birch, but it is something like 20 feet wide, and my little lot is only 26 feet deep. I'm not sure if that would be too big or not. Back to the old drawing board!

I'm glad that was helpful, that is how I decided what to plant in my yard, native plants or at least native to a similar climate. I know you are going to end up with something beautiful and be so please with it!

I'm interested in the design of that home... Where is that?

Wow, John, if you read the thread, it is mentioned 6 times where this house is. :)

Hi John! I'm in a neighborhood called Copperfield in Calgary, AB.

Did you guys ever come up with a landscape plan? Would love to see, if it's completed! :)

...still a work in progress!

That sounds very homey, KRM, thank-you! I especially love your path widening idea, that would be uniquely beautiful.

looks great! Love it!

looks great!

We like to use shorter trees to give definition to outdoor spaces - for example:

This lot has tons of potential and reminds us of one of our projects with a similar exterior color palette. Stick with ornamental grasses, low-growing ground cover, and a simple color scheme. Here are some ideas from our projects that could work beautifully in your space:

We also have some ideas aboutmodern landscaping in general, as well as afew tips for starting your landscaping project. Good luck!