Your Landscape Must Be This Tall to Enter

Though having a flat yard can be very helpful (especially when it comes to maintenance), it's main drawback is the lack of height. With nothing to stand out and grab your attention, your eyes move straight through your landscape and over to your neighbor's beautiful maple tree. By creating different levels of height in your yard and directing the viewer's eye to the right spots, you will keep your potential landscape admirers' eyes in your own property.

Adding height to an otherwise flat landscape can be pretty easy. The most direct method is to actually add height to the ground in the form of small terraces or steps. Just raising the height of an area in your yard four inches can be a dramatic change. For example, you can have a low deck or patio area that has two levels: a shorter section that contains a grill and some storage space and a higher section that functions as a seating area. These two functional areas are defined by their difference in height and thus stand out more than if they were on the same level.

Another idea is to add a decorative wall or fence at the edge of your property. This will give the viewer something to look at while also marking the boundaries of your yard. You can also have shorter walls or fences inside your property that section off your landscape into different areas. By creating different functional areas, your eye will stop and look at each section individually instead of taking in the whole landscape at once. This diversity in your property makes for a visually interesting landscape.

You don't have to rely on just hardscape features like patios and walls to create height in your landscape -- you can use plants as well. A row of small trees will separate two areas of your yard just as easily as an eight foot fence will, and can be less intimidating. Utilizing plants to create height and visual interest in your landscape will soften the overall look of your yard and have the added benefit of changing colors, textures, and forms dependent on the season you're in. With a combination of hardscape and plant elements in your property, many viewers will hardly notice how flat your yard actually is.

For a finishing touch, don't forget to use accent pieces or plants to lead the viewer's eye to where you want them to look. By positioning a colorful plant or an elegant statue at the end of an area, you give the viewer a resting point for the eye; an exclamation point at the end of a green, leafy journey, if you will. Don't get too liberal with your focal points, however. If you have statuettes and pink flamingos scattered all around your property, your viewer won't know where to look.

Having a flat landscape doesn't mean it has to be boring as well. With a bit of extra forethought and planning, you can combine the benefits that a flat landscape can bring along with the visual appeal that comes with different changes in height. Thankfully, adding height to your landscape does not mean you have to build a mountain on your property, though I'm sure your local topsoil supplier would love to help you with that project.

About The Author:
Carrie P. Williams is a professional landscape designer with Turf Tamer, Inc. She has written many informative landscaping articles for Turf Tamer's Tip of the Week program.

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