There was a small garden in the front yard of Sara's house.

[alpacinou]

How can I describe the area I've circled? Can I refer to it as 'a small garden' in the front yard?



Does this work? How can I make it better?

There was a small garden with a few young trees in the front yard of Sara's house. The garden was on a raised platform and on its ledges, there were vases.

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't think we have a specific term for it in BrE. I'd describe it as a small enclosed area with trees and plants.

 

[PeterCW]

"Yard" is an American usage. In BrE we call it a garden even if it is paved over. The planted area would be a "flowerbed" or "shrubbery".

 

[Tarheel]

I think you could point out that it's to one side of the driveway.

 

[SoothingDave]

I wouldn't call it a yard if there's no grass.

 

[emsr2d2]

I wouldn't call it a yard if there's no grass.

That's a big BrE/AmE difference then. In the UK, it's a garden if it has grass and a yard if it's all concrete.

With regard to the original question and PeterCW's response, I probably would have called it a flowerbed if I'd been able to see any flowers!

 

[SoothingDave]

There are other uses, like a "shipyard" where it doesn't involve grass, but I would say in common use that a yard is grass.