Garden Design
Garden Design
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Gardens
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Gardens
Sunken patios, stacked garden beds, berms and other features are a great way to add interest to level outdoor spaces
Lauren Dunec HoangJune 16, 2023
Houzz Editor; landscape designer and former garden editor for Sunset Magazine and in-house designer for Sunset's Editorial Test Garden. Her garden designs have been featured in the Sunset Western Garden Book of Landscaping, Sunset Western Garden Book of Easy-Care Plantings (cover), Inhabitat, and POPSUGAR.
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Rises and dips in a landscape’s topography can draw the eye, creating a dramatic, dynamic view and (perhaps counterintuitively) often improve the usability of an outdoor space. Many of us, however, have an almost flat garden, since the typical urban or suburban space doesn’t feature much in the way of level changes. If you’re keen to add interest to your plot, take a look at these eight ways designers on Houzz built up or dug down (or just created that illusion) to give flat ground a fresh new perspective.
E2 Homes Ltd
1. Try a sunken patio
Instead of building up, consider digging down to add level changes to a flat backyard or garden. This garden by E2 Homes in Vancouver, Canada, features a sunken seating area around a fire pit. Dropping the height of the patio visually makes the garden appear larger, and the level change allows for casual seating around the fire in the evening.
Tip: Sunken seating areas require a solution for drainage. It’s best to work with an experienced landscape professional for design and installation.
Red Eagle Construction, LLC
2. Stack raised beds
This small garden in Oklahoma, USA, has a series of raised beds at staggered heights to create level changes. The raised garden bed design adds drama and creativity to a classic planting of spring bulbs, box hedges and mixed edible greens.
Ready to revamp your outdoor space? Find landscape architects and designers in your area on Houzz
3. Go vertical
Draw the eye upwards with vertical elements, such as climbing vines, narrow trees, arbours or other features that emphasise a height change.
In this single-level garden in London, UK, by the eye is drawn up to steel beams draped in climbing roses, a dynamic contrast to the smooth surface of raked gravel below.
Sage Ecological Landscapes
4. Suggest a stream
Dry stream beds are made from a combination of raised berms (raised mounds or strips of soil, or mixtures of sand and gravel topped with soil) and sunken areas lined with rocks and gravel. They create the illusion of a stream running through a garden while adding dynamic level changes within the space – even if no such stream exists.
In this garden by Sage Ecological Landscapes, located in San Luis Obispo, USA, the designers suggest the presence of water with a dry stream bed that can be traversed via a small bridge.
Annie Elliott Design
5. Create curves
Winding pathways combined with layered plantings of varying heights can create the illusion of land rising and falling, as shown in this level garden by Annie Elliott Design in Washington DC, USA.
You can emphasise this trick of the eye even further by adding low berms in the planting beds and a few vertical elements – it will make a garden that started out as flat feel much more dynamic.
Be inspired by more lovely garden paths
OUTHOUSE design
6. Invest in built-in planters
In a tight city space where there’s no room for berms, sunken patios or winding pathways, built-in planters may be your best bet for instant level changing.
When design-build firm Outhouse Design was asked to reimagine this patio in Sydney, NSW, the space – measuring 3.5 x six metres with three-metre-high walls – felt like a concrete box.
OUTHOUSE design
The addition of large built-in beds creates height variation for plants and an anchoring point for a space-saving bench. The plants themselves – dwarf magnolia trees on one side and climbing vines on the other – help draw the eye upwards, while a timber-panelled wall adds depth.
Living Designs By Linda
7. Add berms
Building berms can be an effective way to add subtle level changes to a flat flowerbed. For the planting in this garden in San Diego, USA, landscape designer Linda Bresler created low berms before planting, ranging from 30 to 45 centimetres in height, to add modest height changes.
As well as adding interest to flat gardens, Bresler says she uses berms to create an ideal growing environment for low-water and drought-tolerant plants. “Succulents don’t want wet feet, as they can rot,” she says. Planting them on a slight mound of soil allows for proper drainage.
“Plus, smaller succulents are better showcased on a slight slope, where you can admire their beauty more thoroughly,” she says.
Before Photo
Living Designs By Linda
In this ‘before’ photo, you can see the berms Bresler created for the succulents. After planting them, she usually tops the soil with finely ground mulch, small stones or pea gravel. “This tends to discourage weeds and keeps some moisture for the plants in a hot, dry environment,” she says.
The shallow roots of the succulents hold the soil of the berm in place, but, over time, Bresler says, the berm will soften and slightly flatten out.
Again, adding berms or otherwise changing the topography of your landscape can affect drainage on your property, so hiring an experienced landscape professional to map out berms and redirect drainage into a swale, if needed, can prevent unwanted drainage issues down the line.
8. Play with landforms
If you’re willing to experiment more with your landscape, consider introducing landforms in shapes of your choosing. These can be created on a relatively grand scale, such as this raised, curved lawn edged with steel by in Houston, USA, or in smaller configurations.
London Garden Designer
In this whimsical London garden, Sara Jane Rothwell of London Garden Designer used soil left over from the garden renovation, plus topsoil and sand, to create grassy mounds beneath a small grove of trees at the back of the garden – an ideal play space for little ones or relaxation spot for adults.
Your turn
Which design solutions have you used to bring features and drama to a flat garden? Tell us in the Comments, like this story, save the images for inspiration and join the conversation.
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Want more on outdoor spaces? We have your next read covered with these 8 Common Landscaping Challenges and How Experts Solved Them
