Estate Landscaping
Backyard Idea

The backyard design that I created for this large estate landscaping project is my favorite part of the entire design. It has the most character and usability than any other part of the landscape. More on this design below...

This tutorial is part two of the Large Estate Landscaping Idea landscaping lesson.

Generally, the backyard is the most used, personal, and private area of a property. So usability and privacy are my first concerns. However, a seven foot stucco wall was already constructed around this backyard landscaping so the privacy issue is taken care of.

The first thing I wanted to accomplish with this estate backyard was to use up the space in a classy way without making it just a large expanse of lawn.

I knew I wanted to create a garden patio sitting area at the very opposite side of the back door patio, but didn't want to have a walkway to it that went right through the center of the lawn. It just didn't feel right in my minds eye. So we came up with the garden walkway that goes around the side. And even though it is a little more distance to travel from the home back door, it forces visitors to view more of the garden.

This not only helped create the shape and character of the landscaping, but also helped create a bedding border.

The element we used is stamped concrete. It helped add a whole new characteristic and texture that was unique from the rest of the estate landscaping plans. Coming into this backyard has a feel all its own. Another reason we used stamped concrete was the economical factor. It is much cheaper than using tile or brick pavers and much classier than using just plain concrete.

The rest of the shape of this backyard doesn't necessarily have any usability at all. It's just to look cool, have some character, and to create a matching balance for the yard and lawn area. It would have looked very wrong to just have lawn extend to the fence border. Sometimes, regardless of elements, you just gotta think in terms of what flows, looks cool, and is balanced.

O.K., now the area in the top right with the red step stones in a semi-circle pattern is more of a space user and focal point than a usable area. While it does have a sitting bench at the center of the step stones under the small tree, it was not intended to be the main sitting area of the backyard. The main sitting and gathering area is the stamped concrete area.

Once again, I won't spend a lot of time on the planting ideas of this design. It is mostly generic. However, the larger dark plants are Mondale Pine. I used these throughout this entire estate as they are a very fast growing medium sized element that helps create privacy and boundary definition. In the first section of this lesson at Large Estate Landscaping Idea, I pointed out that I used multi-trunk Red Oaks as the larger planting element to keep the home from looking so obtrusive.

Return To Large Estate Landscaping Lesson
Go To Part 3 - The Pool Area

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