Haven help us
City slickers and flat dwellers don’t have the luxury of rolling lawns and space for big orchards... but a small garden can be perfectly formed
We’re increasingly living in cities where space is at a premium, so it’s no surprise there has been a boom in compact urban gardens.
Creating an urban oasis in a small space is an art in itself – but the results can be simply superb.
Some of the most creative garden design is taking place in the tightest spaces imaginable.
This year, the challenge for students from horticultural colleges competing in the Young Gardeners of the Year competition at the Ascot Spring Garden Show is to create a spectacular urban garden.
The aim is to inspire people by showing just how much can be accomplished in a small space.
So this is the perfect time for me to share some of my best tips on how to take advantage of small spaces and create beautiful gardens.
The gardens of terraced houses, flats and townhouses are often underestimated. But over the years I have seen a few clever tactics that can turn the tiniest space into a green haven.
We can’t change the physical dimensions of our garden space, but we can change our perception of it – and that affects everything. First off, you may be short on horizontal space, but chances are you have some vertical areas you could use with a little creative application.
Walls, garages, fences – all good canvasses to be utilised. We do it inside our homes with pictures, mirrors, shelves and cupboards, so why not do the same in the garden?
Climbing plants can be trained up the walls. Then, hanging baskets, window boxes and wall mangers can all adorn your high spaces and brighten the whole garden.
There are also tons of ideas online (try Pinterest) using wooden pallets and other unusual objects to create vertical planters and living walls.
All of these things draw the eye upward, making the garden feel larger.
Another way to make your garden feel larger is actually quite counterintuitive – compartmentalising it.
It may seem like dividing what little space you have would make it smaller – but creating hidden areas can in fact make it feel larger because you can’t see everything in one go. An arch will create separate areas in a small garden without being overwhelming.
If you have any paving, you can take advantage of a common optical illusion by laying the slabs or tiles at a diagonal to the house, instead of with the flat edge towards you. The way our brains follow the lines of tiles laid in a diamond formation makes us feel the space is longer than it is.
When it comes to colour schemes for paint, plants and paving, don’t go dark. Choose bright colours that reflect lots of light and lift the whole garden. Golden or sandy colours are great, and bright foliage on shrubs and trees will all help to make the garden feel brighter and bigger.
As a general rule, hot colours are more intimate, while cool purples and blues recede the field of vision, making a small space feel larger.
Again, it may seem odd, but adding trees to a small space can help. They
Adding dimensions like sound and scent can provide depth
give you good height, drawing the eye up again, and they also provide privacy if you are overlooked.
You can easily find some lovely canopy trees like acer palmatum that will give a leafy roof without taking up much space on the ground. You can make even more space by clearing the lower stems away too.
Be wise with furniture. Buy chairs and a table that can be folded up and put away to reduce cluttering when not in use.
Furniture is important to make the garden a usable space, but there’s no point having a large dining set taking up all the room.
Use container plants for more flexibility. Having flowers, shrubs and small trees in pots means you can move them around and rearrange your garden easily, and adapt it if needed as certain plants grow or die and are replaced. This allows you to take best advantage of your space at all times.
Adding other dimensions to your garden can also give it depth beyond what the space provides.
Sound, movement and scent can all be taken advantage of to make your small garden a dynamic one.
Water features, weather vanes and wind chimes can create sound and movement.
Planting for fragrance creates a wonderful, inviting and soothing atmosphere that draws you outside. Roses, night-scented phlox or daphne are all good options.
Many small gardens lack privacy because of overlooking windows, and that can make them really uninviting places to spend time and relax.
You can create privacy using trees and structures. Arches and pergolas look beautiful and, if you cover them with climbers, they can provide wonderful and cosy little nooks.
Just be wary of large, fast-growing species like wisteria and virginia creeper, which can quickly take over.
Try honeysuckle, jasmine or climbing rose, which can bring gorgeous fragrance too.
So don’t give up on your little garden. With a little investment it can become an urban oasis that will be the envy of all of your friends and neighbours.
Be inspired by the students’ incredible gardens – get tickets to the Ascot Spring Garden Show (April 13-15) at ascot.co.uk/ spring-garden-show-friday.