How to make the most out of my small garden?

Just because you aren’t blessed with a large garden, doesn’t mean you can’t make the most out of it. After all, smaller gardens require less maintenance and work, meaning that the smallest changes can make all the difference. In this guide, we will offer some changes you can make to get the most out of your small garden this summer. With a little creativity, it's amazing what you can do with a small space.

Bistro Set

Having a small garden space shouldn’t stop you from having somewhere nice to sit outside. A bistro table and chairs set will typically consist of two chairs and a table, often foldable or stackable, and always easy to store.

Plants

Nice plants for small gardens can make all the difference to restricted spaces, so it’s worth thinking carefully about what plants you choose. Good plants for small gardens will provide eye-catching form, fragrance, or bright colours. Below we have listed some of the ideal plants for small gardens:

• Rosa
• Acer palmatum
• Aster x frikartii
• Brunnera macrophylla
• Erysimum
• Penstemon

Window boxes and hanging plants

Hanging plants save lots of space in small gardens and look great too. Attach some hooks to a fence or exterior in your garden and use this to hang smaller plants until they’re too big. Window boxes are another way to add plants to a small garden. This is also a good place to grow herbs.

Hanging chairs

Hanging chairs aren’t usually as large as outdoor sofas, so these are a great way of adding a comfortable chair to your garden, without worrying about it taking up too much space. If you want to update your garden quickly and easily then adding an egg chair (or any piece of hanging furniture) can transform it into a modern, relaxed place to lounge.

Add decking

Decking can transform a small garden because wood gives a rustic and naturally attractive appearance that enables it to give your home some aesthetic value. Decking is also very easy to install which means it quickly and easily transforms a small garden. Decking suits all garden spaces, small or large.

Change the flooring

By choosing different mediums for the flooring across zones can suggest changes in space without having to physically divide the space with borders or planting. This can make the garden look bigger than it is.

Paint

It is beneficial, in small gardens, to camouflage the walls as much as possible. You can do this by painting any exposed walls in green exterior paint which helps blend in and further the sense of the surrounding greenery.

Mini greenhouses

A mini greenhouse generally takes up less than about 10 square feet (1 sq. m.) of ground or floor space which makes them perfect for smaller spaces. Mini greenhouses are good additions to gardens, and they are especially effective at seed starting and plant cloning.

Low walls that double as seating

Seating walls are hardscape structures that generally go around the landscape and usually cut off the landscape from the grass. Seating walls means that there is plenty of space for people to come over, and you don’t have to find chairs. This is ideal if you don’t have the space for lots of chairs in your garden.

Add heating

An easy and budget-friendly way to heat your garden is with an electric patio heater. For smaller gardens, you should look for one that doesn’t take up too much room in your garden. You can choose from several types of electric outdoor heaters such as floor, tabletop, and wall-mounted units to tall, freestanding models. An outdoor heater will enhance your outside space and allow you to enjoy it whenever you please.

These are just some of the ways you can make the most out of your small garden. Take inspiration from your friend’s gardens or from some garden magazines. Just because you have a small garden, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get creative and make it as nice as you want before summer. Remember, for those bigger projects you do, check to see if you need to obtain planning permission before you start the work.