Design tips for urban gardeners

LIVING in a town or city may often seem like a huge barrier for novice gardeners, with reduced space and lots of concrete and shady corners. But it is possible to turn your urban space into a grower’s paradise .

“Everybody living in an inner city has a different space, a different size and a different criteria for what they want to get from their garden, and I think it can overwhelm people who have a smaller outside space,” says designer Conal McGuire.

“They may think, ‘There’s nothing I can do’, when in fact there’s lots that you can do to benefit the environment and yourself.”

McGuire offers the following design tips to budding gardeners, who don’t know where to start with their urban plot...

USE ALL YOUR SPACE

“If you’ve a small garden or yard, use all vertical space, go vertical, go horizontal. Don’t be afraid of planting big plants, which can really give an impression of a much bigger space,” he advises.

McGuire has built narrow grow frames which could be used to support climbing plants or other varieties, depending on how high you want to go.

BLUR THE EDGES AND BORDERS

“Big plants blur the edges. If, for instance, you plant a tree in a container and put it in the corner of the yard, instead of seeing that corner as a definition of the area around it, you blur the border of your outside space and create an illusion of depth,” explains McGuire.

Suitable trees for containers include ornamentals such as magnolias, colourful-leaved acers or figs, trees which offer dappled light, aren’t too obstructive and provide seasonal interest flowers, he suggests.

ATTRACT WILDLIFE

This is possible in all urban gardens, McGuire says - even if you just have some shelving on your outside wall where you place pollinator-friendly plants in pots to attract bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects.

In a larger city garden, try planting at least some of your boundary with native hedging, even if it’s just the back rear wall or the front garden boundary.

“If you put in a native hedge and the neighbour copies you, that can have a huge impact on the environment,” he says.

Native hedges will also attract local wildlife, while the area you have dug will help provide sustainable urban drainage.

GO FOR COMPANION PLANTING

If you are growing vegetables, think about companion planting - so put peas with parsnips, parsley with carrots, interplanting with marigolds and even some garlic, which can act as a natural deterrent to whitefly and negates the need for any spray.

“Even in a small space, you can have a great mix of planting. It could be fruit and veg, depending on your positioning, but could also feature wildlife habitats, like bug houses or bee hotels.”