Big Ideas for a Small Yard

Without plenty of hardscaping, I was afraid I'd end up overplanting. Tacoma, Washington-based garden designer Richard Hartlage did a rough sketch of the half-diamond-shaped main terrace, curved screen, and diagonal grid of raised beds that define the garden.

Since the existing cedar fence was still serviceable, Richard designed two 8-foot-tall wire screens in front of it to lend height and dimension to the garden. I'm sure he also hoped that the trellises would encourage me to garden vertically, a great space-saving technique.

Here, the curved trellis near the back of the yard adds height and a privacy buffer. Planted with sweet peas, it provides valuable growing space in a small garden.

Learn How to Build a Wire Trellis like the one shown.