Reimagine a Narrow Front Yard with Diagonal Design

Turning a Driveway-Dominated Space into a Garden Oasis

On a slender 37½-foot-wide lot in Los Osos, California, a driveway once swallowed the front yard, leaving only a tiny "glorified doormat" of a garden behind a fence. Landscape architect Jeffrey Gordon Smith and designer Kevin O'Donnell removed the fence, reclaimed driveway space, and laid out the new garden on a 45° angle. The diagonal layout created room for a patio with a striking concrete fire pit as its centerpiece.

Smart Solutions for Privacy and Style

Solution 1: Elevate the Fire Pit A custom L-shaped concrete fire pit, topped with recycled blue glass mulch, becomes a sculptural "fire jewel" when lit, hiding gas burners while adding theater.

Solution 2: Soften Hardscape with Plants A grid of square concrete pavers is planted with elfin thyme, blue-eyed grass, lemon thyme, and sea pink—"purposeful accidents" that break up the geometry. Mexican weeping bamboo screens the seating area for enclosure.

Solution 3: Borrow from the Driveway Porous Turf Cells allow grass to grow where cars park, visually connecting driveway and patio. The angled concrete driveway appears as an extension of the paver grid.

The result? A low-maintenance garden for living, not labor. "There's not an ounce of adrenaline in it," says owner Rick Sparks.