by Sharon Jenson

Created on: February 18, 2009   Last Updated: March 01, 2009

Being single and living in a townhouse didn't stop me from creating cozy outdoor living spaces both on a budget and with little gardening experience. My backyard is your standard small, fenced in square. Half is a slap of concrete ideal for my patio furniture and the other half is small pebbles that keep dirt from getting muddy when the space is just too small for grass.

FRONT YARD FIRST

My front entry looks like all the other townhouses and needed the most creative assistance. Both the front and backyard were loosely sketch out on graph paper so that I could plan where and what to plant. Sunlight being important, I realized that the front yard had plenty and the backyard was only partially sunny. Keeping this in mind helps to ensure proper placement and growth of your favorite choices. Once I had everything sketched out on paper, I then looked through gardening magazines for ideas. I chose plants that would thrive in my climate area and offer at least partial green leafy shades and shape varieties. I looked for interesting, easy to grow and what would thrive well in potted plants of various sizes. These are great for small spaces and the more diverse your pots are, the more interesting your garden becomes.

My front yard was filled with a long shrub that took up space on one side of my walkway and was most unattractive. I was surprised at how easy these shrubs came up once I started digging and pulling. I then cleaned up the dirt, added rich soil and fertilizer, and divided it into two sections. The first half, which was closest to my front door, was definitely an area on which I wanted a small bench to sit. Measuring two stumps of equal height from a spruce tree, I found a board about three feet wide and just long enough to place on top of the stumps. I then drilled the board into the stumps and I had an instant bench that was both natural looking and served its purpose.

For my next project, I purchased four square concrete stepping stones and placed them on top of the rich soil I had treated. After carefully following the instructions, I spread grass seed between the cement stepping stones in the hopes that grass would grow between them. With a little time and frequent watering, this worked perfectly. The bench fit nicely on the cement squares and is now a warm and inviting area close to my front door.

Along the same side of the grass and cement stones, I began to build an area for a trio of three unique pots, all differing in height and size. I filled the pots

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