Naomi Slade starts her new column on how to get big results in small gardens
My new ‘postage stamp’ sized plot just has to deliver big results!
hen you’re moving house, there’s always a wish list. Location, size and off-street parking are all important. But there’s usually a compromise and when I returned home to Bristol last summer, it was always likely the right location would mean a small garden.
Ending up with a postage stamp, therefore, wasn’t a surprise as such, and I was confident that whatever I ended up with, I could work with it. Which is fortunate, really!
My new plot measures just 5.5m by 10m (18ft by 33ft) and it’s a challenging little space – north facing, sloping downhill and overlooked by neighbours. The soil is heavy clay, malnourished and badly treated, and part of the garden is even covered in AstroTurf – which I detest. There’s nowhere to store anything and nowhere to hide, so every aspect needs to become both good looking and hard working.
But there are compensations. It’s a highly manageable size and full-height double doors mean the connection between house and garden is excellent. Raised beds contain a couple of small fruit trees and a large rose, so there’s something to work with. And that’s just as well because I want what everyone else wants – places to sit and room to potter, fresh fruit and salad, flowers for cutting, abundant wildlife and opportunities for experimentation. It may be tiny, but I want my garden filled with glorious botanical magnificence.
This’ll take time, however, and while I get the measure of things, pots are the ultimate versatile solution. Evergreens are essential and my potted box balls, the Escallonia
laevis ‘Gold Brian’ and a bold Trachycarpus fortunei are looking good alongside a nicely angular flowering cherry ‘Kojo-no-mai’ and numerous tubs of bulbs.
Spring house marketing often results in relocation in high summer – the worst time to move plants – so preparation pays. I took cuttings early and lifted plants to divide them into three at the right time of year, returning one to the garden, potting one up to come with me and giving the last to a gardening friend as an insurance.
Doing this means, when moving day finally arrives, you have got happy plants with undamaged roots. When planted out they should romp away, and your new garden will grow brighter, sooner.