Landscape Design
12 Ways to Make Better Use of Yard Corners
Tap into your landscape's full potential with sculptures, seating, fire features and more
Let's take it outside! We've been making corners work hard all over the house; it's time to make the most of the corners in the yard. Whether you live on several acres or have a postage stamp–size yard, a deck or a small balcony, I hope you'll see an idea or two you want to swipe while making plans for spring.
1. Tuck in an outbuilding. This serene pavilion is well sited in this Asian-inspired garden.
2. Create a composition with a sculpture. Draw the eye to the corner with a sculptural focal point surrounded by a border garden.
A tree with a sculptural form can also serve as a corner focal point.
3. Add an inviting seating area. An outdoor sectional sofa or corner bench is a good way to mark the edge of an intimate outdoor living room.
A fire pit in such a corner is an added bonus on chilly evenings.
This example adds a third side to the seating.
You can emphasize this seating area with a pergola. Lanterns or a simple string of white lights overhead will cozy up the space at night.
4. Place an ornamental tree. A tree will soften the spot where two hard lines meet.
See 5 well-behaved patio trees
See 5 well-behaved patio trees
5. Light up said tree at night. Lighting up this tree's sculptural form creates nighttime drama.
6. Install an outdoor fireplace. The corner provides an intimate space where you'll feel more closed in and cozy than if you were sitting around a fire pit in the middle of the yard.
7. Build a small pond. When you have a small yard, you may not want a water feature to dominate it. A pond in the back corner will beckon visitors to your yard's outer edges.
8. Mix materials. A wooden bench and concrete retaining wall's meeting spot emphasizes the corner in this geometric garden.
9. Wrap a climbing wall. I know you Houzzers are concerned about safety, especially when it comes to your kids. A local climbing gym composed this wall’s setup, the height limited potential falls, and the surface underneath is rubber.
Learn more about home climbing walls
Learn more about home climbing walls
10. Cut into a deck's corner. Clever moves at the end of the deck create more interesting sight lines and a closer connection between the built work and the surrounding landscape.
11. Wrap a deck corner with planters. Box planters add architecture and foliage to a deck. When they are placed right, they can provide extra privacy and shade. Depending on what you plant, they can also add colorful flowers and lovely fragrances.
12. Go vertical with a trellis. A vertical garden structure will give an entire corner privacy from the neighbors. You can extend plant life up the trellis with climbing vines like wisteria, ornamental sweet potato vines, and Chilean jasmine.
More ways with corners: Check out corners in the kitchen, corners in the home office, corners in the entryway, corners in the bedroom and corners in the living room and family room.
More ways with corners: Check out corners in the kitchen, corners in the home office, corners in the entryway, corners in the bedroom and corners in the living room and family room.