Tackling a Tricky Back Yard in North Portland-Corner Lots can be Extra Tough
Every once in a while I meet a client who reminds me why I love designing landscapes. This client lives on a corner lot in North Portland (zip 97217), and while her house is full of charm, the back yard? Let’s just say it had seen better days.
She wanted what so many of my clients want: a back yard that feels like an oasis. A place to dine outdoors, lounge with a book, and enjoy relaxing outside without it demanding hours of upkeep. Like many busy homeowners, she travels often, and yard work isn’t exactly her family’s favorite weekend hobby. The catch? Her existing yard had been through years of benign neglect. The weeds had the upper hand, the layout didn’t work, and the old fiercely sturdy aluminum patio cover—though practical—made the yard feel even more long and narrow than it already was. And because it is a corner lot, there is a lot of yard.
Here’s part 2 of 2 for the BEFORE on this project, and it will help you understand the process and this yard’s particular landscape design challenges.
Breaking Up the Long, Skinny Back Yard
The yard itself was a design challenge: 100 feet long and only 13 feet wide at the widest point. A bowling lane, essentially! The solution was to break it into distinct “rooms” so the eye — and the person using the yard — wouldn’t feel like a tiny organic-shaped person in one endless and cold rectangle.
- Dining area under the new pergola, with privacy plantings tall enough to go just past where your eyes rest while dining, talking with friends, or walking in the back yard. Parts of the back yard will still have some glare from next door but we can hope they will re-paint the house. It is still the color the builder painted it.
- Lounger nook framed with ferns and flowering Japanese anemones behind, and native shrubs along the fence line… perfect for relaxing.
- Circular pollinator patio at the east end, with a crushed rock base, native plants like lupine, checker mallow, and even an ornamental fragrant daphne shrub to scent summer evenings.
By turning one long strip into welcoming pockets of space, my client gained variety, intimacy, and the sense of a true backyard retreat.
The Side Yards: Bonus Spaces
Often overlooked, side yards can add tremendous value when designed well. On one side of this home, we carved out a cozy two-person sitting area, softened with pollinator plants and a small plum tree. It also neatly houses firewood storage and garbage cans — functional but no longer an eyesore.
The opposite side yard became a low-water dry garden with native shrubs and cedar chip mulch to keep weeds at bay. Even here, we tucked in another small sitting spot, proving that every corner of a yard can be both useful and beautiful. The sit spot also eliminates more planting area and the surface is also my favorite playground cedar chip.
Low Maintenance, High Enjoyment
My client didn’t want to spend her weekends pulling weeds or trimming fussy plants, so the design leaned heavily on native shrubs like huckleberry, ocean spray, and Pacific wax myrtle. Wide paths and simple plantings mean less fuss, more enjoyment.
The Takeaway
Back yards like this are among the most challenging: narrow, overlooked, and overshadowed by the practical (but unattractive) structures left behind by previous owners. But with a clear design, a phased approach, and some creative thinking, even the toughest yard spaces can transform into something welcoming, restful, and uniquely suited to the homeowner. Getting started is less daunting and doable with a landscape design from an experienced designer. The only regret I want my clients to have is that they could not have started this journey sooner.
And the best part? My client now has the backyard oasis design she wanted and a designer to help her as she moves into the installation phase.
Get Started
To get started planning your own Portland backyard oasis, contact me, Carol Lindsay, at Landscape Design in a Day!
