It’s one thing to decorate a small home, quite another to keep its yard fashionable yet uncluttered.
For ideas on the best ways to keep the yard of your condo, row house, or small home looking its best, we turned to the expertise of Michael McWilliams, one of the owners of the Baltimore-based landscape firm Maxalea Inc.
When people move from a large home/yard to a row house/condo what are some of the biggest mistakes they make?
In most cases, they are thinking they can have the same type of plantings they may have had before. They generally try to put too much or too many different types of woody plants and then try to put color in there at the same time.
Why is it important to plan a small yard?
I love small spaces. … I can put a lot of things in there and create basically an outdoor room, especially if it is a town house. I will start from the bottom — the heartscape (whatever the terrace material is) — and work my way up.
What are some of the basics of maintaining a small yard?
In most cases a small setting is going to have more delicate types of plants, so if they are annuals and perennials you want to water probably weekly [or daily during the summer months]. … Deadheading and pruning should be done monthly.
What are some of the space issues to consider?
The biggest issue is asking, “Are you going to entertain a lot of people in this area?” That gets me started, because then I know how big my heartscape has got to be. If they have a big family or entertain a lot, I might be thinking more of seating area as opposed to more plants.
What are the best plant options for small yards?
A lot of times, people will think because they have a small space they have to stay with small plant material. I like to work in as many seasons as I can. … I use a lot of little, tiny crocuses, many different types of unusual bulbs you wouldn’t put in a larger landscape because they would get lost.
How should you decide if you should hire a contractor or do the work yourself?
I think a lot of times people will say, “I don’t have the budget for that.” A lot of times you can save a lot of money [by using a contractor] … homeowners make a mistake by not realizing all the materials that have to go into that little space.
