Landscaping Ideas for a Small, Square House

Hidden Cottage

• Use landscaping to give your house the feeling of a hidden cottage for a romantic, storybook setting. Start by creating a winding path that leads to the front door. On the edges of the path, plant a variety of flowering shrubs and bushes; include several tall shrubs to create the sense of an overgrown garden path. If your yard is small, you can use shrubs to create a border around the yard for the same hidden feeling. At the front of the house, plant trees that partially obscure the lines of the house and give it the feeling of being tucked away in a grove.

Low Border

• If you want to de-emphasize the size of your small house, choose landscaping that does not compete for height or width. Create a small border that goes around the base of the house, selecting plants that will not grow higher than 1 or 2 feet tall. Use brightly colored flowering plants to add a spot of color and texture to the sides of the house. By choosing a low border, you can make a small house look bigger in comparison, and the color will create visual interest.

Soften Edges

• With a small, square house, the lack of architectural detail can create a bland shape. Soften the edges of your house by using plants with organic, unstructured growing patterns. Look for flowering bushes or plants that fall in different directions, like ferns. Plant your landscaping greens all the way around the house, using plants with different heights and widths. In doing so, you will create a curving line around the bottom of the house that will eliminate some of the stark design feeling.

Contemporary

• If you are looking for a modern landscaping look, use the lines of your house for a modern design. Clean up the bottom edge of your home by putting in a low brick planter filled with sod or landscaping rocks to create clean lines; if you have the time for maintenance, you can also use a low square hedge. Design your yard using lines and angles to set off the square shape of the house. Mow the lawn in a linear pattern, for example, and use square flagstones set in a straight walkway of landscaping pebbles. If you want to create a patio, build a rectangular space out of low wood planks, or make a grid of square stones.