6 Best Landscape Design Ideas for Townhouses in Alexandria Virginia

Townhomes are a common living option in Alexandria, VA. But you might be wondering how to landscape a townhouse so that you can truly maximize both the space, the beauty, and the overall value.

We work with a lot of townhouses in these areas and have many small townhouse landscaping ideas. While every project is unique and we treat it like a blank slate, there’s always an opportunity to learn and expand on ideas from other projects.

Jump to Section

• How to Landscape a Townhouse
• How to Landscape the Front of a Townhouse?
• What Are the Best Landscaping Ideas for Townhomes?
• Choose an Alexandria, VA Pro for Your Townhouse Landscaping Ideas

This is one of the benefits of working with an experienced landscape designer who has completed a lot of this kind of work.

In this article, we will share some of our best landscape ideas for townhouses.

When deciding how to landscape a townhouse, there are opportunities for both the front and backyards, depending on what your goals are. Since curb appeal is really important in Alexandria, VA, a lot of homeowners start with their front yard to ensure that they’re maximizing property value. But the backyard is equally important, as this is an area where you’ll spend time relaxing and enjoying time outside.

We will dive into ideas for both front yard and backyard landscaping for a townhouse.

With both the front and the back, it will be important to maximize space, as space is obviously limited. You’ll want to make strategic choices that help you get the most out of the area without overdoing it. We have plenty of ideas to make this work.

While it might seem as though landscaping a townhouse is easier than landscaping a large property, that’s not really the case. In fact, we would argue it can actually be more difficult and definitely comes with unique challenges.

Not every landscaping company even services Alexandria, VA, and that’s because of those unique challenges.

Alexandria, VA, is a truly gorgeous area. But the very nature of Alexandria’s layout can make it a complex area for landscapers to service. The streets are tight and the properties are small.

Most landscapers in the Northern Virginia area have massive equipment and trucks with trailers that are too big to fit on these streets or even in the actual clients’ yards. Many of these companies are set up to work on rolling estates, and Northern Virginia surely has many of those, too.

But when you’re talking about landscaping for a townhouse, you want to make sure you’re working with a company that’s equipped to handle that with compact equipment and familiarity with working in tight spaces.

That will help ensure you have the best experience and also get the best results.

How to Landscape the Front of a Townhouse?

In the front yard, the focus should be on curb appeal. You want your townhouse to have a wow factor and to stand out from all the others. This is particularly important in a row of townhouses, where everything looks identical.

Some important considerations for front yard townhome landscaping include maintaining year-round appeal, selecting landscaping that complements the home's architectural style, and possibly incorporating a focal point.

We’ll share some of our best landscape ideas for townhomes next.

What Are the Best Landscaping Ideas for Townhomes?

As you get started thinking about how to landscape your townhouse, here are some of our favorite ideas and considerations.

#1: Go Big, But Don’t Go Overboard

With townhouse landscaping, you want to make choices that are highly visible, but you also don’t want to go too crazy. To achieve this, we often recommend going big with color. Incorporating a lot of bright colors into the landscaping is a really easy way to achieve the wow factor. Bold color in plant beds will help your property stand out in a good way.

Of course, another common way to achieve color incorporation is through container gardens.

These make an excellent choice for townhomes, where space for a plant bed might be limited. We’re getting a lot more interest in container garden creations these days in which we rotate out seasonal color throughout the year.

While plants and flowers are one of the best townhome landscaping ideas, particularly for front yards, this is also an area where people can go overboard. The biggest problem that we see is when the maturity size is not considered. You must think about how big a plant will be when it reaches maturity.

There are so many tree and shrub varieties to choose from that you want to be sure that you’re choosing one that’s not going to outgrow the space you have it in. An enormous shrub, for instance, could easily dominate an entire landscape or encroach upon windows or the front landing. In the backyard, an oversized shrub might grow into your patio or deck space if you choose something too big.

If there’s a certain plant that you particularly like, and it’s on the large side, you might want to see if there is a dwarf variety. For instance, some hydrangeas come in dwarf varieties, which might be better-suited to your townhouse landscaping than a full-size one.

#2: Consider Tiered Landscaping

One of the big problems that we see when talking about landscaping for a townhouse is that the property is sloped. A small, sloped property might feel as though there is nothing you can do in the landscaping department. But this couldn’t be further from the truth!

In fact, we love working on sloped properties because it creates a unique opportunity to be creative.

One of the ways that we achieve this is with tiered landscaping or “terraces.”

Terraces create a 'step-down' feel with multiple levels. This is often a great solution for a front yard where you want to avoid runoff into your driveway or walkways, but you’re not really using the space to hang out. It can be an excellent solution for a sloped front yard of a townhome.

But it can also create a lot of visual interest in a yard that would otherwise look just like every other one on your street. Tiered landscaping provides the opportunity to use some retaining walls. Using stone or pavers can really maximize the appeal of your front yard.

#3: Prioritize Privacy

One of the big requests that we get when talking about landscape ideas for townhouses is how to create more privacy. When you’re outside, you don’t want to feel right on top of the people on either side of you. There are some great ways that landscaping can achieve this goal.

This is of particular importance in the backyard, where you probably want to be able to relax and unwind.

One way to achieve more privacy in a backyard is with strategically placed plants. Generally speaking, plants that grow tall, dense, or wide tend to make good privacy plants. You want to think about plants that can be thoughtfully placed to block out views (both neighbors’ views of you, and your opinions of them!).

We also commonly use colonnades to create privacy screening for townhomes. This structure can completely block a view from one side of your property. It’s like a stand-alone wall for your backyard.

These can easily be dressed up to be an attractive addition. You could have climbing vines growing on your colonnade to create an even more screening effect. We’ve also worked on landscape designs in which we’ve incorporated strategic plant material in front of a colonnade. There are a lot of different ways to get the results (and privacy) you desire.

#4: Add a Focal Point

On a smaller property, a focal point can be particularly important. A specimen plant (like a small ornamental tree or flowering shrub) is one example of a focal point. A decorative container garden can also be a focal point.

Of course, a focal point doesn’t have to be a plant. Some homeowners like the idea of a boulder or rock garden as a focal point, which will also be low maintenance. A small water feature, like a bubbling urn, can also be a focal point for a townhome landscape.

Focal points are always important in landscaping, but particularly stand out on a smaller property. They can add visual interest and depth to a townhome landscape.

You do have to be careful not to go overboard with a focal point. It should be appropriately sized for your property. Just like we talked about earlier with choosing the right-sized plant material, you don’t want a focal point that is too big for your space. It can defeat the purpose and make it look crowded and even smaller than it is.

#5: Incorporate Hardscaping

Hardscaping is another important addition to a townhome landscape. It is your hardscape areas that make your property more usable and therefore more enjoyable. You’ll spend more time outside if you add a small patio to your townhome backyard.

You might also consider upgrading builder’s grade walkways and driveways to a higher-end material that sets your townhouse apart from the rest.

But you must also be careful not to overdo hardscaping.

One of the common gripes we hear in regard to townhouse landscaping is that overdone hardscape areas make the yard look like a parking lot. When you’re not dealing with a tremendous amount of space, to begin with, you want to be sure that you’re keeping some greenery in your backyard to soften things up.

The way to do that is with the right ratio of hardscaping to landscaping. Patios, steps, and walkways are important when it comes to giving you more functional spaces but you want to be sure that you’re leaving enough “softscaped” areas around the patio to keep it aesthetically appealing and enjoyable.

#6: Hide the Bins!

Another project that we’re increasingly getting asked to do more often is bin enclosures for the garbage and recycling bins. We also call these “screening” elements. On a small property, a trash bin can really stand out like a sore thumb, and people want something to tuck it away in.

This might be more doable on an end property, but it’s something to consider. The same goes for AC units or other items that you might want to “hide” from view. Screening these items prevents them from being an eyesore.

Choose an Alexandria, VA Pro for Your Townhouse Landscaping Ideas

At the end of the day, it’s important to work with a landscape designer who is comfortable, confident, and experienced working with townhome landscaping.

It may sound simple, but it can present unique challenges. You also want to make sure that you’re working with a landscaper who will bring creative ideas to the table. After all, the whole point is to separate your landscape from every other property on the block!

At Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape, we have loved transforming hundreds of small spaces in the Alexandria, VA area over the past 20+ years. We meet every landscape challenge (regardless of size) with the same enthusiasm.

By handing your townhouse landscaping ideas over to a landscape designer who can run with them (while also adding some of their own ideas and expertise to the mix), you’ll be able to feel confident that your landscape will come together in a creative way that you’ll truly enjoy.

If you’d like some guidance when it comes to your townhouse landscaping ideas, request a consultation, get your customized plan, and relax while we transform your space.