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Transition Zones

Side yards and Entryways by Tim Thoelecke, Jr., APLD, ASLA

Transitions zones connect individual areas together. They move the eye from one place to the next and hold the whole picture together. Just as one paragraph segues into another, a well-designed landscape flows.

In the residential landscape, typical transition areas are side yards and entryways. Any area that connects other areas may have transitional qualities to it. Quite often this connection also creates motion, as its goal is to move or direct one from one space to the next. The connection may be made via any of a number of generally accepted design techniques such as repetition, focal points, screening, or framing.

Side Yards

A focal point visible from more than one angle can draw the eye, and the body, into the space. The focal point can be a bench, a sculpture, an ornamental specimen, a gazebo, or anything that fits the scale and character of the site. Furthermore, in a larger side yard, there is often a view from the house that can capitalize on the same focal point. In colder climates, often the view from inside is what is most important because that is where people spend eight months of the year. Another benefit to a side yard focal point on some properties is one of screening. When applied, screening can be used in situations where you cannot really "block" a bad view. The designer can redirect the view downward by giving the eye something else to look at.

Consequently, many narrow side yards are not attractive or functional, and don't present a lot of obvious design opportunities. These are most certainly not areas that deserve a lot of maintenance time. In addition, turf often doesn't do well, and is impractical to maintain. Why not remove the turf and create an interesting garden path of gravel, stepping stones and lush, low-maintenance plantings? Often this type of treatment can also make a narrow area seem bigger. Small spaces in general can be made to feel larger by obscuring the boundaries. Why not use the same technique for a narrow side yard?

Side yards are often a design challenge because of limited space and, from a client's standpoint, are not a priority. From a business standpoint it is often difficult to convince a client to devote many budget dollars toward the side yard. These challenges, however, do not diminish the importance of the necessity of creating transitions in these areas. The opportunity to create a good transition should not be missed. It can substantially improve the overall design.

To the left shows a five foot wide side yard, a nondescript, utilitarian sidewalk wedged between this Evanston, IL house and the alley. The photograph to the right shows how this area was transformed into a garden of perennials including daylilies (Hemerocallis), feather reed grass (Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster'), purple cone flower (Echinacea 'Magnus') and Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia). The paving, a tumbled concrete product, is laid with an irregular border allowing planting pockets. This space serves as the only access from the house to the back yard, so there is greater emphasis here than might be placed in other side yards.

Another common design challenge with side yards is the "builder's walk." That, of course, is the concrete sidewalk builders typically place around the side of the house to the back. The walk is usually an afterthought and installed without much consideration. The typical "builder's walk" is too narrow and too close to the house. The result is a walk that is uncomfortable to walk on and doesn't allow enough space to plant between walk and building. This walk is usually accompanied by a strip of impractical turf that slopes at an angle unsuitable for anything but keeping the basement dry: A good functional purpose, but not attractive. The new walk should be wider and farther from the structure, and ideally constructed of a material repeated in front and/or back to create a link. A narrow strip of turf ought to be eliminated altogether. In making such changes, the designer needs to keep in mind access for maintenance equipment.

Although the "builder's walk" is a reasonably common design challenge, a situation I faced, (see photograph on pages 52) consisted of an unattractive, concrete sidewalk between an alley and the house which was transformed into a garden. Not only does it become a pleasant way to access front from back and back from front, but in this case it also serves another function. Since access to the back yard is by way of the side door of the house, this formerly utilitarian area becomes an important part of the garden. Other design links in this same garden include a custom perimeter fence which is repeated as an air conditioner compressor enclosure and as a wall trellis. The paving, a tumbled concrete product, is used in the front entry as well as for the patio spaces, thus creating a level of consistency throughout the garden.

Since paving is often a significant part of the landscape budget, it is frequently a challenge to justify the cost of paving a side yard. If this is the case, creative alternatives can do the trick. If paving is primarily stone, perhaps stepping stones of the same type can be used for the side yard path. Or perhaps crushed stone similar to the stone used for paving is available. If brick is the primary paving material, maybe it can be used as an edging for a gravel or mulch path. Or even turf with a brick or stone edge could work, but this introduces more maintenance issues.

On another site, (see photograph above), the narrow side yard is used primarily by the owner, and does not receive high traffic. The view from inside the house is very important. Also as an important transitional area into a very "gardeny" landscape and the only truly sunny area in a very shady lot, it was important to make good use of it. Also, for a client who really enjoys color, it was important to make as much use as possible of this warm, sunny microclimate. In addition, because of its proximity to windows it had to have a long season of interest. It is evident that what could be considered an inconsequential section of the garden becomes very important when all things are considered.

Entryways

Like side yards, entryways are a very important transition zone, perhaps even more important than side yards. Front yards are certainly worth a bit more attention and worthy of allocating more budget dollars. The entry consists of a number of different zones. There is the view from the street, and the entire approach to the front door. There is also the area in the immediate vicinity of the front door. Both are transition zones. One is from the inside to the outside of the house; the other is a link from the public part of the landscape to the more private areas near the house.

An interesting characteristic of entryways is that they have both public and private qualities. How those two zones (public and private) meet is critical to the success of the design. The area immediately adjacent to the front door, is more intimate. Ideally this area functions as an outdoor foyer. It brings a bit of the inside out and a little of the outside in. This sort of transition can be accomplished a number of ways. A large stoop or landing outside the entrance can serve as a resting spot, a comfortable place to wait after ringing the doorbell. Or it can be a place to greet or say goodbye to guests. In some instances, indoor paving materials can be repeated outside, or vice versa. This opportunity is more common in new construction situations where the landscape is being designed along with the house.

In new construction, as well as in landscape renovation situations, often a landing, or even a patio, in the front is appropriate. On one specific project, a large Tudor home on a wooded, two-acre property in the established Chicago suburb of Winnetka, IL, the driveway is a significant distance from the corridor. A visitor really wasn't sure where to park, let alone where to go to find the front door. Not only was it missing an indication of some sort that says, "hey, the front door is over here," but it also needed some sort of transition from home to garden. The scale of the home and of the property dictated a terrace of some size. A stone terrace (approximately 350 square feet), edged in brick was the solution. The stone matches an existing patio on the property, and the brick matches an existing (as well as a newly designed) walk. With both materials represented, more continuity was added to the overall landscape. The terrace is adorned with two benches and some formal planters. One of the benches acts as a focal point at the end of an axis from the driveway, thus directing a visitor toward the front door. The terrace serves as a semi-enclosed private area near the door. The bench, as focal point from the drive, draws one into the private area from the more public driveway. Thus, the bench acts as a transition tool. As a side note, although not intended in the design phase, the owners actually sit out on this terrace rather than on the previously existing deck that remains in back.

Similarly, a bench accomplishes much of the same in a more limited space. A bench provides a resting area under a covered porch, and there is enough of a separation between the intimate, more private area near the door and the rest of the yard.

As an outdoor foyer even on a smaller scale, entryways are best if they are not plastered onto the front of the house like a decoration. In creating both the public area's or the area that a homeowner presents to guests or passersby, as well as the more private areas that make the transition to the house, a sense of enclosure is desirable. Think of it as "designing a space" rather than "decorating the door". The enclosure can be immediately adjacent to the door area, or somewhere farther out, or both, but the feeling of entering the house should begin somewhere prior to crossing the threshold.

In the all-too-common situation where the front door is approachable only by walking around a corner (usually the garage which projects out toward the street), there is not always a perfect solution. Often the size of the space is limited, and the door itself is too close to the wall. If there is sufficient room, some of the techniques discussed for side yards can be implemented. Namely, adding a focal point to get a visitor to go around the corner can help. Something as simple as an urn or large flower pot can do the trick. Also, a bench or sculpture can be used.

Or the reverse of a focal point can draw one around the corner. The reverse would be something that acts as a "fulcrum", something for a walk to curve around. Quite often a homeowner will ask for a curved walk. A well-meaning designer or contractor will consequently provide it. The thing that frequently gets overlooked is that a curved path or walk needs to curve around something. If a walk or path curves around something, it not only has a context, a reason for being there, but it also becomes inviting, and, in the right place will draw a visitor around the corner to the front door.

Likewise, on a larger site where there is some distance between where a guest parks his car and where one enters the house, the designer can, and should, create a series of transitions. A straight path, with formal plantings on either side creates a quick pace. A winding path with resting spots along the way, will slow the pace. Each segment of a winding path culminates in a focal point or "fulcrum" to point a visitor toward the next segment.

The unique features of each particular site is often what dictates how the design will be created. There is no correct way or textbook approach to creating proper transitions. Assessing the circumstances of each individual site will help determine the outcome of the design. It is important to recognize the value of side yards and entryways because they can help determine the success of the project. For residential properties, the right transition zones hold it all together.