Landscape by Kim Rooney
Small modern backyard partial sun formal garden in Seattle with a garden path and decking.

El jardín después de la reforma.
Photo of a small modern backyard shaded garden in Madrid.

In this urban context, we were tasked with finding a low-maintenance landscape solution for our client who travels extensively for work. Our award-winning design created a new seating area centered around a fire pit with bench seating and built-in LED lights to create a destination in the landscape. Our design incorporated low-maintenance materials and hearty plantings to create a serene escape from the city that requires very little upkeep. Large planters display seasonal annuals and frame the raised deck area.

Small Modern Garden Courtyard Design in Altrincham, Cheshire.
This is an example of a small modern courtyard garden in Manchester.

Small modern courtyard partial sun garden in Seattle.

Designed and planted by www.davidmalegardens.com. Photo by David Male
Design ideas for a small modern backyard partial sun garden for summer in London.

Modern Small Garden
This is an example of a small modern backyard full sun formal garden for summer in Dublin with a garden path and natural stone pavers.

Courtney Olander
Inspiration for a small modern garden in Seattle.

Sport Court game courts are custom-designed to fit the space in your yard. Almost any size or configuration is possible. Download our 10 tips for custom court building to help you understand the process. http://www.sportcourtstlouis.com/game-court-building-tips

Matthew Williams
Design ideas for a small modern backyard partial sun garden in New York with a garden path and natural stone pavers.

Round the corner a bespoke floating bench sits over a pebble shadow with lighting underneath.
Design ideas for a small modern backyard full sun formal garden for summer in London with a vertical garden and gravel.

Custom made Ipe (Brazilian Walnut) privacy fence/divider. A gorgeous hard wood choice for outdoor fencing.
Photo of a small modern side yard full sun formal garden for spring in Toronto with a retaining wall and concrete pavers.

3 months after planting. Cordyline a. 'Red Star' and a hybrid in background. Autumn Moor Grass, Penstemon 'Raven' and Echeveria Chris Kukula Landscape Architecture

Inviting custom deck, bench, and screen off of the indoor living space of this Kirkland home.
Photo of a small modern side yard shaded garden in Seattle.

Design ideas for a small modern sloped partial sun xeriscape in Seattle with a retaining wall and natural stone pavers.

This garden house was designed by owner and architect, Shirat Mavligit. The wooden section of outer wall is actually the outer section of a central volume that creates an enlarged open space bisecting the home interior. The windows create a view corridor within the home that allows visitors to see all the way through to the back yard. Occupants of the home looking out through these windows feel as if they are sitting in the middle of a garden. This architectural theme of volume and line of site is so powerful that it became the inspiration for the modern landscape design we developed in the front, back, and side yards of the property. We began by addressing the issue of too much open space in the front yard. It has no surrounding fence, and it faces a very busy street in Houston’s Rice Village Area. After careful study of the home façade, our team determined that the best way to set aside a large portion of private space in front of the home was to construct a landscape berm. This land art form adds a sense of dimension and psychological boundary to the scene. It is built of core 10 steel and stands 16 inches tall. This is just high enough for guests to sit on, and it provides an ideal sunbathing area for summer days. The sweeping contour of the berm offsets the rigid linearity of the home with a softer architectural detail. Its linear progression gives the modern landscape design a dynamic sense of movement. Moving to the back yard, we reinforced the home’s central volume and view corridor by laying a rectilinear line of gravel parallel to an equivalent section of grass. Near the corner of the house, we created a series of gravel stepping pads that lead guests from the gravel run, through the grass, and into a vegetable garden. The heavy use of gravel does several things. It communicates a sense of control by containing the vitality of the lawn within an inorganic, mathematically precise space. This feeling of contained life force is common in modern landscape design. This also adds the functional advantage of a low-maintenance space where only minimal lawn care is needed. Gravel also has its own unique aesthetic appeal. Its dark color compliments both the grass and the house, providing an ideal lead-in to the space of the vegetable garden. This same rectilinear geometry was applied to the side yard, but the materials were reversed to add dramatic effect. Here, the field is gravel, and the stepping pads are made from grass. Heavy gauge steel planters were set into the gravel to house separate plantings of Zoysia. The pads run from the library to the kitchen, allowing visitors to travel between the two as if they are walking on a floor decorated with grass. The lawn in all three yards is planted with Zoysia grass. This species of grass is frequently used in modern landscape design because it requires only moderate amounts of water to retain its exceptionally fine texture. When mowed, it presents a clean, well-manicured lawn that compliments the conservatism of the home.

Changed the backyard from one single piece of lawn to multi facet design to create visual interest. Lush yet neat and low maintenance garden.
This is an example of a small modern backyard partial sun garden in San Francisco with with path, brick pavers and a metal fence.

6' modern horizontal fence with cap in Austin, Texas
Small modern full sun garden in Austin with gravel and a wood fence.

Inspiration for a small modern backyard partial sun garden for summer in Auckland with with flowerbed.