Pro Ideas for Adding Interest to a Rectangular Garden
Tired of looking at four straight lines? See these before and after photos for ideas on how to break up that geometry
Kate Burt
4 April 2020
Houzz UK. I'm a journalist and editor, previously for the Independent, Guardian and various magazines. I'm now excited to part of the editorial team at Houzz UK & Ireland, bringing the best of British and Irish design, interiors and architecture to Houzz.com.
Houzz UK. I'm a journalist and editor, previously for the Independent, Guardian and... More
Many of us will have been dealt the same hand when it comes to our gardens: a square or rectangular plot. It’s a very common shape, but it isn’t always obvious what can be done to bring these spaces to life.
This is where it can pay to enlist the help of a garden professional, who will look at your boxy patch with expert eyes and, instead of lines, see winding paths, an unexpected pond, a curved lawn… Check out these before and after transformations for inspiration.
This is where it can pay to enlist the help of a garden professional, who will look at your boxy patch with expert eyes and, instead of lines, see winding paths, an unexpected pond, a curved lawn… Check out these before and after transformations for inspiration.
Add in mystery
How do you go from a thin patch of scrappy lawn to a lush, wildlife-enticing garden with multiple zones? Enter garden designer Paul Richards of Paul Richards Garden Design, who pulled off just such a transformation.
“[The garden] had been a boring grass rectangle with a narrow border up each side,” he says. “The owners wanted a series of places to sit, lots of interest, and something to garden. So my challenge was to create a number of different areas in what is quite a small plot, and for all of them to feel like little enclosed spaces.”
How do you go from a thin patch of scrappy lawn to a lush, wildlife-enticing garden with multiple zones? Enter garden designer Paul Richards of Paul Richards Garden Design, who pulled off just such a transformation.
“[The garden] had been a boring grass rectangle with a narrow border up each side,” he says. “The owners wanted a series of places to sit, lots of interest, and something to garden. So my challenge was to create a number of different areas in what is quite a small plot, and for all of them to feel like little enclosed spaces.”
Can you believe this is the same plot?
“Because it’s a fairly long, thin garden, we wanted to make it feel like a series of spaces,” Paul explains. Key to the clever design is a winding pathway, which takes people on a journey through different areas, each with its own view.
“There’s quite a lot of height in the planting as well,” he adds. “That was deliberate, so that, as you look down the garden, you don’t see the whole thing. You have to walk through it to find out what’s there.”
See the rest of this beautiful garden.
“Because it’s a fairly long, thin garden, we wanted to make it feel like a series of spaces,” Paul explains. Key to the clever design is a winding pathway, which takes people on a journey through different areas, each with its own view.
“There’s quite a lot of height in the planting as well,” he adds. “That was deliberate, so that, as you look down the garden, you don’t see the whole thing. You have to walk through it to find out what’s there.”
See the rest of this beautiful garden.
Stay ahead with a curve
A winding route was also key to the transformation of this angular plot.
A winding route was also key to the transformation of this angular plot.
Designer Fiona Green, of Green Tree Garden Designs, created a series of circular lawns connected by a winding path that allows the homeowners to take a slow walk through their outdoor space, enjoying the pretty planting as they go.
Fiona used a tight circle motif to make the garden seem larger. Three round lawns are bordered by paths created with sandstone sets mortared into place.
Get more inspiration from the makeover of this garden.
Keen to start planning a garden makeover? Find local garden designers and landscape architects in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
Fiona used a tight circle motif to make the garden seem larger. Three round lawns are bordered by paths created with sandstone sets mortared into place.
Get more inspiration from the makeover of this garden.
Keen to start planning a garden makeover? Find local garden designers and landscape architects in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
Introduce asymmetry
This 6m x 7m garden was a bare square before designer Stefano Marinaz of Stefano Marinaz Landscape Architecture got to work on it.
A starting point for the shape of the new design came in the form of two established trees; an old fig tree growing in the right-hand back corner and a cedar tree (pictured), in the left-hand corner. Stefano decided to keep both.
This 6m x 7m garden was a bare square before designer Stefano Marinaz of Stefano Marinaz Landscape Architecture got to work on it.
A starting point for the shape of the new design came in the form of two established trees; an old fig tree growing in the right-hand back corner and a cedar tree (pictured), in the left-hand corner. Stefano decided to keep both.
The space is now a stylish, shaded courtyard retreat. “We let [the fig’s] asymmetrical position on site determine the asymmetry of the final garden design,” Stefano says. “I prefer an asymmetrical layout anyway, particularly in a small garden like this. If things are too symmetrical, it makes the space feel even smaller and looks very predictable. This is more interesting.”
He also added five tall planters, but just down one side. “They act like punctuation points along the wall,” Stefano says. He also chose them for their height. “They’re 1.2m tall,” he says. “The idea was to break up the height of the wall a bit.”
See more views of this small but beautifully formed shady garden.
He also added five tall planters, but just down one side. “They act like punctuation points along the wall,” Stefano says. He also chose them for their height. “They’re 1.2m tall,” he says. “The idea was to break up the height of the wall a bit.”
See more views of this small but beautifully formed shady garden.
Create contrast
The owners of this home inherited a rectangular garden that was mainly lawn, with narrow beds fringing the perimeter.
The owners of this home inherited a rectangular garden that was mainly lawn, with narrow beds fringing the perimeter.
Jo Fenton, of Fenton Roberts Garden Design, softened the lines by introducing two oval lawns, rather than one solid rectangle. What also makes this such an interesting space to look at now, though, is that it features many contrasts in the planting.
For the front part of the garden, some of which can be seen here, Jo used a mix of plant forms and growing habits, and also leaf shapes and sizes. She points out the contrast between the upright and spiky forms of the irises, phormiums and euphorbias with the rounded or horizontal forms, including the rosemary spilling over the patio and the sedum flowers.
Then, at the back of the garden, Jo changed the mood completely.
“We’ve created a mini woodland at the rear,” she says. Ferns, hellebores, honesty, foxgloves and brunnera create the lower storey of the woodland floor, with a mix of evergreen and deciduous shrubs giving height and depth to the space. Reclaimed railway sleepers bridge the gap between the new lawn and the raised deck and shed at the back.
Read more about this transformation.
Tell us…
What shape is your garden and which of these ideas would work well in the space? Share your thoughts and photos in the Comments section.
For the front part of the garden, some of which can be seen here, Jo used a mix of plant forms and growing habits, and also leaf shapes and sizes. She points out the contrast between the upright and spiky forms of the irises, phormiums and euphorbias with the rounded or horizontal forms, including the rosemary spilling over the patio and the sedum flowers.
Then, at the back of the garden, Jo changed the mood completely.
“We’ve created a mini woodland at the rear,” she says. Ferns, hellebores, honesty, foxgloves and brunnera create the lower storey of the woodland floor, with a mix of evergreen and deciduous shrubs giving height and depth to the space. Reclaimed railway sleepers bridge the gap between the new lawn and the raised deck and shed at the back.
Read more about this transformation.
Tell us…
What shape is your garden and which of these ideas would work well in the space? Share your thoughts and photos in the Comments section.
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I have the same problem. Posted before for ideas, but there hasn’t been any ideas forthcoming from the professionals.
My garden is the same: wide but short. Ideas for this shape please!
Heather, bnoade and catkin2014, yes I flagged this same request up earlier on this thread. Houzz, there is a perfect new article idea right here for 2021!