Landscape architects Tom Berger and David Guthrie planned the garden to take maximum advantage of limited space.

The rear yard is only about 3,000 square feet, but packs in a multitude of ideas, from outdoor rooms for dining, sitting, and lawn play, to a retaining wall that functions as grill storage, wall fountain, planter, and space definer.

In a contemporary version of the sandbox, boulders and logs have been arranged to let a child's imagination take wing.

A wavy fence line is especially intriguing: Berger's idea is to negotiate with your neighbor over fence placement, borrowing a little space from each other.