The point is: if your garden is big enough to sit in, has room for a few plants, and ensures a lovely view from inside the house, then why complain? Tiny gardens, after all, mean much less maintenance than bigger ones, regardless of whether you have a professional gardener in charge or are DIYing that outdoor space all by yourself!
Let’s see the best small garden ideas to make your perfectly sized garden look fresh and fabulous all year long…
1. Small garden ideas: The vital rules
How do you get the most out of your small garden? By following these golden tips:
1. Always focus on the view from inside your house first. Our climate, after all, means that we enjoy our gardens by looking out at them most of the time, especially from a comfy sofa in the living room – that is the vista you should be focusing on.
2. In doubt about shapes? Stick to straight lines for your small garden, as they’re easier to get right. It might seem as if curves will bring softness to a garden, but honestly, outside spaces soften up very quickly and the best designs contrast the softness of the planting against the cleanness and crispness of the edges.
3. Remember the ‘rule of three’ applies to most things in the garden. Thus, use a maximum of three types of flooring materials. For example: grass, tiling and gravel. This will give a simple coherence and consistency to your. This rule also applies to your garden’s colours – for painting the fences, planting plants, for accessories, furniture, etc. Keep your palette simple and that tiny outdoor space is going to be so much softer on the eye!
4. Keep privacy in mind. It’s difficult to find a smaller garden that's not overlooked in some way, but with a carefully placed shrub or a line of trellis added to the top of a fence, it's possible to minimise the problem. Also consider where you put your seating area; perhaps there’s a corner of the garden that's out of sight from the neighbours?
5. Focus on your furniture (for most people, gardens are mainly about sitting). Do you want to sit up at a table and make an outside dining room? Do you prefer to lounge around on sofas and make your garden into an outdoor living room? Also consider what time of day which spaces in your garden gets sun.
2. Small garden ideas: Picking your plants
When it comes to small garden ideas we prefer ‘lush, but limited’ for the plants. Have large clusters of a limited variety of plants – it will look amazing and will also help with the maintenance.
And if your garden can be seen from inside your home, give priority to winter planting to get a top-notch view all throughout the colder months. Remember this saying: “If you can get the garden looking good in December, then May and June will take care of themselves.”
1. Keep winter in mind to get your small garden’s structure right all year long. Opt for box bushes or other sturdy, evergreen planting to punctuate the garden and give it shape in winter.
2. Don’t underestimate the ‘wow’ factor. Search for eye-catching plants which perform over a long period. We’re really fond of lavender, as it’s a real winner in summer; and when cut back in autumn, it’s bound to look pretty good in winter as well.
3. Winter bulbs (crocus and tulips) will ensure visual aesthetics through the winter. Opt for bright colours so that they will stand out nicely against the background.
3. Small garden ideas: Affordable updates with the seasons
1. Think of your garden as an indoor room – just on the outside. Bring in bunches of cut flowers, change the cushions and seating’s colours, opt for layered lighting to up the functionality factor, etc.
2. Start painting! Tackle the fence, a wall, or that little bench in the corner for some instant freshness in your small garden. Try lighter/neutral colours to bounce the light around and make the garden look cleaner and bigger.
3. Always remember a simple clean and tidy up. It’s astonishing how much clutter can accumulate in gardens, especially smaller ones. And it's especially important to clean up through the winter. Keeping the paving neat and tidy will make the whole space feel much more open and inviting.
4. Small garden ideas: Mistakes to sidestep
1. Don’t overcomplicate your delicate little garden space. Putting in many different materials, lots of areas and loads of different types of plants will just lead to a chaotic look.
2. Be careful about choosing the same paving inside and out. It might sound like a good idea for consistency, but in reality the paving outside will weather much more and will change colour.
3. Watch out for drainage channels and covers around the house – they can be real eyesores. A simple idea is to get the cover lowered by a couple of centimetres and cover it over with gravel.
4. One of the most common mistakes is mistaking plants for weeds. Hence, another reason to stick to a limited range of planting. With fewer types of plants, you'll get to know each type very quickly and spot an unwelcome weed at a moment’s notice!
Got any other small garden ideas to add to our list? Sound off in our comments section...
News Source