View of Backyard From the Lanai - complete with one tree and bushes surrounding air conditioning units.
We have a tiny backyard that I would like landscaped. How do I use it?
+9
It is made even smaller with a 6 foot fence, a covered lanai and two air conditioner units that are surrounded by bushes. I have 2 pallets to put some kind of an herb garden on, either vertically or horizontally. The side yards are basically pathways, with gates on both sides of the house, to the backyard. OH! And, the builder planted two lovely trees in the backyard just to make it extra troublesome. Help!!!
View of Backyard with Lanai and other tree that the builder planted.
Side yard with gate and bushes surrounding air conditioning units and a little of the tree.
View of other side yard with other gate, lanai and other tree.
First you could have opted out for the trees when the house was being built. Most people want trees as they add shade and purify the air for us naturally. If you do not need or want them, they are still small enough to be dug up and relocated elsewhere or given away.
How do you want to use the yard? Patio space with a grill attached to the lanai? Garden beds with shrubs and flowers? Small vegetable garden?
Do you want on line space planning tools? I just take a piece of paper and draw things out until I find a design that I like. Then start searching for plants that will grow in the spaces allotted for them.
I would use the area in front of the sunny wall in your picture, and plant in pots.
First of all, you have a beautiful yard! To landscape it, you need to decide what kind of time you want to spend in it. Add a few stepping stones to an area of pavers or flagstone for a grill or firepit to stay. String lights along the fence. By all means grow your herbs in a sunny spot along one of the side fences. Set out some interesting accent shrubs in pretty pots. Find an interesting statue, wind-spinner or banner and place it near the bushes. See the potential, not the problem!
Set out a couple of Adirondack Chairs under the tree by the lanai then trim the lower branches to where you can walk under it. It is a fine looking tree and will get bigger with good care. Look around for shrubs you like and that will not grow into monsters. Start them small and the will acclimate themselves to the moisture in the ground. Planted in pots require a lot of care and can be suseptable to freezing and the pots are expensive if you want to break up the look of the fence. I would also trim the other tree and how about a bird feeder hanging from a branch or maybe two feeders. My plants would have flowers and/or color. It is a nice yard you show in the pics. It can be made homey with a little effort and it does not have to all be done at one time.