When to think inside the box

Townhouse gardens present unique challenges that require specific design responses. For all intents and purposes, the typical townhouse garden site is a rectangular box with an open top.

Walls or fences commonly enclose the “box” on three sides while the house itself forms the fourth side.

This creates a space that is inward and self-focused. Views and contact with the surrounding environment are limited as is the size.

Moreover, townhouse gardens often lack privacy. Although it is enclosed with solid walls or fences, nearby neighbours can often see into the garden space from upper-storey windows.

Hence designing a townhouse garden is like no other residential project. It almost feels like designing an interior space, only with a different palette of materials.

Sub-spaces

A townhouse garden site is best divided into sub-spaces to increase interest. This is necessary to break the monotony created by the existing simplicity of the box-like space. There are many ways you can achieve this.

You can start by organising the site for different outdoor uses. Functions such as entertaining, sitting, eating and reading that can fit within the garden area should each be given their own space.

Such spaces should then be defined by use of plant materials, walls/fences, or even low earth mounds. Whichever method you choose, make sure it’s as subtle as possible.

On the ground, different pavement materials can be employed to give each space its own character and identity. Grade changes between individual spaces also help to subtly separate spaces.

Collectively, these techniques create multiple subspaces within the perimeter garden walls, just as furniture, room dividers, house plants, rugs, and so on do in interior rooms.

Perception of size

Because they are typically quite small, every effort should be made to increase the perceived size of the townhouse garden. One way to achieve this is through the use of forced perspective.

This is done by progressively converging the edges of spaces as they extend farther away from the house. This will give a greater sense of depth and distance to the spaces as viewed from inside or near the house. A similar approach is to make the spaces located near the house comparatively large while making other spaces progressively smaller, farther away from the house.

Material colours and textures can also be used to increase the perceived size by contrasting materials that are coarse-textured and/or bright-coloured near the house with materials that are fine-textured and/or light-hued at the back-end of the garden area.

Overhead planes

Overhead planes should be strategically located throughout a townhouse garden in coordination with the other elements of the design. This is critical especially where privacy is an issue and the garden can be viewed from nearby houses.

A tree canopy, pergola, canvas awning, or other covering should be located over frequently used spaces in a townhouse garden to screen upper-storey views and provide a ceiling. They also create shade and make the outdoor rooms more comfortable to use during hot afternoons.

Perimeter walls

The existing walls or fences that surround a townhouse garden should be utilised for various purposes. Like interior walls, these vertical planes should be taken advantage of to enhance the quality of the different garden spaces.

You can hang plants in shelves or hooks or plant climbers to grow over the walls. These approaches have the additional benefit of softening the extensive wall and making them less obtrusive. You can also add wall mounted sculptures or even water cascades to their aesthetic appeal.

—The writer is a landscape architect