Achieve Big Things With Small Gardens

In 2018 research suggested that the average home in Britain has shrunk by 20% since the 1970's.  So it goes without saying that any space, inside or out is more precious than ever, fuelling interest in the whole ‘small gardens’ concept.

This is good news for those of us with limited space as gardening experts and garden designers focus their attention on small gardens. We have all seen features in home and garden publications that demonstrate innovative ideas to really make the most of your small garden.

How To Make The Most Of Small Gardens

Here are seven tips to help you make the most of a small garden:

1. Use height to your advantage – focus attention on drawing the eye upwards just as you would when trying to create a sense of space in a small room in the house.  The garden has literally ‘no ceiling’ so you can feature a selection of striking tall plants growing in beds or in mounted baskets, window boxes or wall mangers. Read our blog on the best climbing plants for fencing here. 
2. Add colour with plants – the colour of plants and garden features will influence perceptions of the outdoor space.  Brighter colours can help lighten up and enhance the size of an outside space.
3. Keep out – smaller gardens can suffer from a lack of privacy as a result of close proximity to neighbours or potentially from surrounding overpowering buildings.  Inject some privacy into your garden by adding an elegant Trellis Topper Panel to a Tongue & Groove fence, creating instant additional height and a dash of designer style.  Alternatively think about installing a Pergola which when covered with trailing clematis or honeysuckle can provide a private sanctuary within the garden. Read how pergolas can transform your garden and ideas on how to incorporate them here.
4. Create rooms – designers have long discussed the virtues of creating ‘rooms’ within the garden by designing in zones which have different uses e.g. the entertainment zone, the play zone, the private zone.  Even though you are working with a small space, try and design in specific areas using arches / screens / planting etc. so that it is not possible to take in the whole garden view immediately. Find out more on adding a green screen.
5. Clear that clutter – the smaller the space, the more important it is to reduce any unnecessary clutter so a dedicated storage area can be really useful.  Choose garden furniture which can be folded up and put away when not in use – this will also help keep the furniture in good working condition for longer. Keep your bins orgainsed by adding a wheelie bin store. Find out some more information on adding some here.
6. Optical illusion – A small bathroom will look bigger if you use large tiles to unify the walls and the floor resulting in a less claustrophobic effect. Apply the same rule to the garden by selecting hard landscaping on a larger scale and making it blend with any boundaries, pots, planters, furniture and floor tiles.

What creative strategies do you use in your garden to help maximise your available space? Share your thoughts on small gardens on our Facebook page or tweet us @jacksonsfencing #smallgardens!