I live in London, which means like many people my garden is quite small. But you can really make the most of your small garden by making a few design changes. Small gardens can actually be a blessing. Not only do they require less maintenance time, you can create a really beautiful space crammed with plants and colour for relatively little work and money.
Unlike larger gardens, it’s much easier to create those gorgeous enclosed areas that feel hidden and allow you to be surrounded by plants and nature. If you are a new gardener, it can also feel easier to make the most of your small garden as it’s far less intimidating to get stuck in.
Make The Most of you Small Garden
The first thing to do is to assess your space. Where does the sun hit and at what time of the day? Are you overlooked? Do you want to find a place for a shed?
A lot of people will tell you to wait at least one year after moving into a property before changing the garden. This will give any perennial plants a chance to grow so you can see what’s already there. it will also give you an idea of where the sun might hit at different times of the day and give you a chance to figure out how you would like to use the garden.
Time to Plan
Having a plan is vital! Draw out your ideal garden on a piece of paper or use Pinterest to get a mood board of ideas together. The main things to think about is how you want to use your garden and how you want to feel in your garden.
If you want to grow your own food, you’ll need to dedicate space for raised beds and a sunny position is best. If you’d prefer to sit in the sun with a glass of wine being surrounded by flowers, then of course a dedicated seating area is vital.
How do you want to feel in your garden? Productive? Relaxed? Calm? Energised? Answering this question will determine the kind of planting you undertake. A relaxing garden might be full of scented flowers, climbers and dappled shade whereas a productive one will be structures and ordered with raised beds and very purposeful planting.
A Seating Area
A seating area is pretty important, no matter what kind of garden you want to create. In a smaller garden, it can be fun to create hidden seating areas in between lots of luscious planting. hidden corners will make your smaller garden more exciting and enticing to go out into. If you are overlooked, creating a seating area that is hidden away is always a good idea.
I used pallets to make a large garden sofa and surrounded it with beautiful planting to create a cosy and hidden corner to sit in. I planted a prunus tree next to it which gives great dappled shade and privacy from the neighbours.
Grass or no Grass?
I have young children still who love to have a paddling pool out in the summer months and run around on the lawn. So for me, a lawned area was important. However, it’s not ideal in my smaller garden. It means there is a lot of ’empty’ space and makes it hard to create planting around it that will give the garden privacy.
Sometimes you’ve got to think practically. If I didn’t have kids (or when they decide they no longer need the garden space), I’ll replace the lawn area with raised beds so I can grow my own food here.
I’d also like to use the garden all year round. Currently, the grass gets pretty muddy over the autumn winter months and so it’s hard to go out there. Gravel would be ideal as it will allow the rain water to drain away and provide a useable pathway for the whole year!
Planting
You definitely need to think about planting in order to make the most of your small garden. Just because your garden is small, doesn’t mean your plants need to be. Prunus, acer and cherry trees are all perfect varieties for a smaller garden. They grow large enough to be able to manage and to not overtake your entire space!
Shrubs, Perennials and climbers are great additions to any small garden (any garden at all actually!). These get bigger every year, but at a slower pace so you’ll have a chance to move them if you put them in the wrong place. Climbers make the most of vertical spaces, giving you even more growing space!
Hope these tips help you to make the most of your small garden!
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