How to make a small garden feel great. A bit of garden magic

If your garden is small... tiny even, you need to think BIG. Small can be both beautiful and better. Why? Because a small garden can be designed in a way that brings exactly what's wanted, without breaking the bank. It can also be micro-managed and maintained more easily, thus bringing the ultimate in satisfaction. Here's how to do it...

F‍irstly, remember that modern day living often means small. Diminutive rooms, smaller garden. There are more than 66 million people living in the UK, so it makes sense to pack as many houses into building plots as aesthetically possible - provided they have been designed sympathically.

The above photo is a show garden at one of the RHS shows. These are mainly pretty small spaces. You can do a HUGE amount with just a tiny area if you bring garden design into play. But of course, modern homes and gardens can present a range of predictable problems: lack of privacy; lack of space, boring design; little or no storage possibility; seemingly few planting opportunities; fiddly shapes to negotiate when mowing; and more. But one person's problem can represent a challenge for others and these little spaces present a great opportunity if you are creative, inventive and imaginative.

‍ 

Who could resist sitting in the small space above? The cosy table for two, with the adjacent Wisteria and sheltering hedge beyond has a wonderful view of interesting planting.

Where to start with a garden design

So, if you have a small garden which is boring and you are prepared to make a little investment, you could consider introducing some sort of height or change in levels. Moving from one level to another increases the feeling of space and lends the feeling of three dimensional shapes. You could incorporate steps up or down to the main garden from the patio, or at least install some planters in order to give height and enable planting on a different level.

T‍he best place to start is by making a plan, or a bird's eye view, of your garden space. Most houses have a Land Registry plan included as part of the purchase documents. If not, you can buy a copy very cheaply.

You'll need to scale up your plan in order to make it larger, taking care to maintain the correct proportions. You also need to physically measure your garden to check you've got it right.

Have fun fitting in the features that you want to include in your garden

Once you have drawn up your outline, pencil in the features that you want to include. You might want a seating area, a clothes-drying space, a small pond, a lawn, play area, planting space and possibly a vegetable growing bed. Maybe some raised beds. You'll be surprised how much you can fit in once you play around with the space. Every square centimetre counts in a small garden, and this makes it even more fun. You can have space-saving features such as a built-in seat rather than free-standing. Then there are those fences.

Clothe fences in climbing plants

Vertical planting is the way to go in small gardens. There will always be a boundary which can be planted with an array of interesting climbers. Don't pick just one: even a small garden can accommodate dozens of climbing plants. These can be carefully chosen to flower at different times so that you gain the maximum benefit throughout the year. ‍

A garden mirror, cleverly inserted onto a fence and surrounded by climbers can reflect some light back into the garden and make it look larger. It also creates the illusion that there's a doorway or space beyond. Tricks and intrigue: you have the chance to work some garden magic!

‍

Shapes, structure, and subtle tweaks

‍

You really don't want to be able to see everything at a glance. Even in a tiny space, it's possible to create an incentive to explore. Try to eliminate the rectangular lawn, edged with a thin strip of planting. It's dull and boring and offers no reason to want to walk around the garden. Instead, a circular or oval lawn tends to draw you around it. Where the beds are necessarily wider because the square corners of the garden are more distant, inserting stepping stones to a perceived destination will make the space seem exciting. Maybe a bench; perhaps a statue; a bird table or even a water feature. But make sure the surrounding planting obscures part of it because this will really make you want to go there. ‍

If you decide to do away with the lawn altogether, make sure you give sense and direction to an outdoorspace so that the eye can comfortably roam around the garden. This means you will need a circulation route, maybe a path through planting to a seating and dining area. Avoid too many types of hard materials as it creates a haphazard atmosphere. Consider demarcation between the patio next to the house and the start of the garden. A raised planter or at least some tall planting achieves this rather well. ‍

Seven climbers that will clothe your fences in joy

Number one on the list has to be Clematis. There are more than 200 different Clematis from which to choose. Selection is tricky! Consider the flowering time, the ultimate height, the direction in which it will face, the dryness of the site and whether you want it to be evergreen or deciduous. You'll have no problem choosing several.

The star jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides, is invaluable for a sunny fence. It's an elegant, evergreen climber that bears white, star-shaped, richly scented flowers throughout summer. What's more, the glossy foliage turns a pleasing coppery bronze in autumn, an unusual feature for an evergreen.

Foliage with a curious 'wow' factor is Actinidia kolomikta. This is a type of kiwi, grown for its foliage which looks as if it has been splashed with paint. Some, but not all, of its green leaves are edged or seemingly 'dipped' in creamy-white or pink. The random splashes appear on slightly older foliage, so be patient after planting!

Passiflora, the passion flower, is a climber to which it is worth allocating some fence-room. It likes sunshine and now comes in different colours including the normal blue, plus rosy red and even white. It produces fruit that are edible but best left on the vine as an ornamental attraction.

Parthenocissus henryana is a Chinese Virginia creeper that is more suitable for small gardens than its larger Virginia creeper cousin. It's still capable of growing to 10 metres high, however, so it's a good idea to keep it in check. With lovely autumn colour and the capability of growing in shade, this is a highly versatile and rather beautiful plant.

Campsis radicans, the trumpet vine. This is self-clinging, once it gets going, and it produces the most appealing trumpet-shaped orange flowers in late summer. Give it a sunny wall and allow it to climb up to at least four metres. You won't regret planting this beauty.

If you have a sunny, sheltered site, consider planting Abutilon 'Kentish Belle'. This is a charming shrub which can be grown as a climber, reaching heights of up to 2.5 metres in time. It is semi-evergreen and produces bell-shaped orange and red flowers during summer and into autumn. Be aware that it might need protection during very low temperatures.