When it comes to landscaping, homeowners tend to focus on the front and backyard spaces. It’s easy to overlook the potential of side yard landscaping, but with a proper plan, this space can be just as impactful to your home as curb-facing areas or backyard entertaining spaces. Today, we’re looking at this often overlooked space to show you the potential it has to add style and value to your home. Keep reading for side yard landscaping tips and help your space reach its full potential!

Side Yard Landscaping Tips

There are tons of different tips for how to landscape the front of your house as well as guides to backyard makeover ideas, but what about the side yard? Too often this area is overlooked and accidentally neglected. Don’t miss out on major potential for your home! Coming up with side yard landscaping ideas can add value to your home and give your space a professional, polished look.

Some of our favorite side yard landscaping ideas to spruce up overlooked areas are:

• Build a fence to create more private space
• Go vertical with wall gardens
• Use hardscaping to create a beautiful pathway
• Add pops of color with bold landscaping
• Install a water feature for a dynamic look
• Mulching for a polished look

Build a Fence for More Privacy

Kicking off our list of side yard landscaping ideas to spruce up overlooked areas is the potential for creating more privacy for you to enjoy. Just because it’s a side yard doesn’t mean it has to be exposed to your neighbors or the street. Adding a nice fence or decorative wall makes effective landscape privacy ideas without sacrificing welcoming curb appeal. Furthermore, creating a more private space with your side yard landscaping ideas gives you the option of adding more usable elements like new patio installation ideas to create a cool spot for entertaining or relaxing solo!

Go Vertical With Side Yard Wall Gardens

Next up as we explore side yard landscaping ideas to spruce up overlooked areas is going vertical with wall gardens. Whether you’re looking for corner lot landscaping ideas for Upstate NY or need tips for how to landscape a small yard area, wall gardens are relatively low maintenance and provide a unique finished look. You can use decorative lattice or have a custom wall garden built to it whatever your aesthetic is.

Choosing plants that will thrive in your region makes tending to these side yard landscaping ideas even easier. Be mindful, however, of how much sun and shade your wall garden will get so your landscaping will look great all season long.

In addition to vertical wall gardens, you may also consider the opportunity to add levels to your side yard landscaping ideas with raised planter beds. Giving your landscaping a vertical boost, raised planter beds give your side yard a more dynamic look while simultaneously reducing the amount of lawn maintenance required to keep your space looking great. Raised planters or retaining walls can also be excellent landscaping ideas for yards with steep hills.

Using Hardscaping to Create Pathways

Continuing on with side yard landscaping ideas to spruce up overlooked areas, we’re looking at hardscaping to create pathways alongside your home. Creating pathways using pavers and natural stones gives your yard a beautiful, professional, and polished look that also limits the amount of yard you need to consistently work on. It’s ideal for homeowners looking for low maintenance lawn ideas but also adds functionality to your home, creating an easy path for you or guests to go from the front to the back without having to go through the house!

While laying pavers and stones could be a weekend warrior project, DIY landscape designs sometimes come with a bit of a letdown. Instead, the benefits of using landscape services in Upstate NY lets you get the exact design you want without having to sacrifice your time or risk your project not turning out right. After all, these side yard landscaping ideas may be visible to friends and neighbors, so you want it to look great!

Adding Pops of Color With Bold Landscaping

The side yard can be an overlooked area that becomes a sea of grass. Sometimes, however, you’ll face even more challenges if the area doesn’t get enough sunlight or water to sustain a lush lawn. This is a great opportunity where side yard landscaping ideas and landscaping ideas where grass won’t grow overlap! One of the best ways to adjust to a challenging side yard is by adding pops of color with bold landscaping.

Similar to considerations for how to make a backyard flower garden, beautiful plants and flowers make the perfect additions as side yard landscaping ideas, too. You need to consider different factors that will affect your side yard flower garden such as:

• How much sunlight will your landscaping get?
• How much space do you have to work with?
• Are there any trees to landscape around?

Professional landscaping services in Albany, Saratoga, Colonie, and the Capital Region will know the best plants for your garden to keep your side yard looking amazing all year long. Choosing a variety of plants and flowers that bloom at different periods will ensure these side yard landscaping ideas are constantly the envy of the neighborhood.

Side Yard Water Features

Some of our favorite side yard landscaping ideas to give your home a major wow factor are water feature installations! With a wide variety of different types of water feature designs to fit almost any space and budget, not only do water features add value to a home, but they’re adaptable to your personal aesthetic.

Outdoor fountains or even a small pond installation can transform your side yard from overlooked to chic and professional. With relatively little work for maintaining a water feature after installation, these side yard landscaping ideas will elevate the look of your home to the next level, for sure.

Bonus: NVS Waterscapes, a division of NVS Landscapes, is ready to build you the water feature installation of your dreams. Let our professionals show you how landscaping design can transform your backyard into your own private oasis!

Mulching Around Side Yard Landscaping Ideas

If you’re fighting against dying grass or simply wanting to find ways to spruce up your side yard landscaping ideas without a ton of upkeep, mulching is perfect. What is mulching, you wonder? Mulch is any material spread over cultivated soil. This includes organic materials such as grass trimmings, bark or wood chips, pine needles, straw, shredded leaves, and more. It can also include inorganic materials like rocks, stones, and pebbles.

Adding mulch to side yard landscaping ideas will help your yard look clean, polished, and professional. Remember to refresh your mulch as part of your annual spring yard cleanup checklist to easily keep it looking great year after year!

We hope this guide gave you a few new side yard landscaping ideas to spruce up overlooked areas of your lawn. Don’t let your side yard’s potential go to waste! Instead, use a landscape planner online to budget and plan out easy side yard landscaping ideas that will make a major impact. From added privacy to polished mulching, side yard landscaping can make your home the best looking one in the neighborhood.

Contact the NVS Landscapes team and one of our professional landscapers in the Capital Region will be in touch to bring your vision to life.

Looking for some more inspiration for your next landscaping project? Check out these guides for tips and information:

• 9 Landscaping Tips for New Homeowners 🏡
• Easy Landscaping Ideas If You’re in a Time Crunch
• How to Refresh Your Summer Landscaping
• Upstate NY Landscaping Ideas: A Roundup