How to Design a Corner Lot of a Lawn
Some property owners are content with a lush carpet of lawn covering every square inch of the lot. While not visually interesting or biologically diverse, it's a viable landscaping option. At the property line, where a corner section of lawn forms, various utility boxes, poles or unpleasant views to adjacent properties may arise. Adding visual interest to a corner lot of the lawn can block ugly views as well as frame pleasant ones, such as to a nearby lake or distant mountain range. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Look out from various windows from your house to the corner lot of the lawn. Other vantage points, such as from the front door or driveway, also provide insight as to what the corner lot looks like. Note any ugly or pleasant views you wish to hide or accentuate from your vantage points when looking toward the lawn's corner.
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Create a triangular landscape bed in the corner of the lawn by laying garden hose down as a temporary line. Your property lines serve as the two perpendicular edges to the bed, but the third side, which faces the house, may be straight or curvilinear to create the planting bed.
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Remove turf grass from within the designated landscape bed with a shovel or sod cutter. Dispose of the unwanted turf in a compost pile. Once cleared, the bed may also be tilled or dug with a shovel to break up the soil or incorporate any organic soil amendments, such as compost or manure.
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Visit a plant nursery to obtain plants for the newly created corner landscape bed. Take a rough sketch of the bed, along with dimensions, to the nursery to help you determine which plants mature to an appropriate size and how many plants are needed to fill the bed. Knowledgeable nursery staff can answer questions and guide you to plants that you may find attractive or best suited to your site or budget.
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Plant trees, shrubs or perennials in the planting bed based on availability and aesthetic qualities you found at a local nursery. Use trees to provide shade or a windbreak, shrubs to block or frame views at the back of the landscape bed, and perennials or other annual flowers in the foreground to see from the house.
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Lay a 3- to 4-inch layer of organic mulch over the soil after planting all the plants in the bed. The mulch conserves soil moisture and prevents weed competition for the newly planted plants, as well as creates a unified, finished look to the soil when the project is complete.
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Place ornamental features in the landscape bed to embellish the landscape bed now in the corner of the property. A birdbath, concrete statue, split-rail fence section, metallic orb or a boulder all work well to create a focal point in the bed. Ornamentation is optional, and you may move items as needed to create a pleasant landscape bed composition.
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Tips & Warnings
Use only plants that are winter hardy for your region's climate and well-suited to the property's soil conditions. The county cooperative extension service or local plant nursery can recommend plant materials that suit your landscape conditions and meet your aesthetic needs.
Rounded, gently curving bed edges make lawn mowing easier. A corner landscape bed with an amoeba or kidney shape — instead of a perfect corner triangle — looks more naturalistic and is easier to roll the mower around.
In the United States, call 811 before digging on your property for landscape projects. Under the "call before you dig" program, utility companies visit the site to mark any underground wires, cables or pipes. This prevents you from accidentally causing expensive and disruptive utility damage.
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