Deciding the actual plants to deploy in a small garden is a personal preference. Assuming that part of the requirement from the garden is aesthetic, then some consideration should be given to how to achieve a good visual effect. There are some points worth being aware of, and while there may be less scope for some aspects than in a larger garden, some ideas still hold good:
- Gardens evolve. A great display in one year might not be the same next year.
- It is best to work on one area at a time. Even in a small garden, this will make it easier to ensure that each part of the garden is compatible with the others.
- Overfilling a garden is so much easier to do in a small garden. Shapes can be eyecatching but overdone could have the opposite effect to that intended.
- Too many areas of interest can be counterproductive and costly in terms of finance, time or both.
- While containers will make better use of space than beds, hiding containers with mature plants means it is not necessary to spend heavily on containers.
Enhancing a Small Garden
Dividing the garden into areas so that the whole garden is not seen instantly creates interest by stimulating curiosity. Dependent on the actual situation, having a different view or theme from each window of the house can also be a useful effect. Arbors and pergolas can be used to make use of space as well as dividing areas and breaking up any long, flat and possibly dull feel. They can also be used to hide a poor view. Similarly, hiding an area containing waste bins with a small fence then covering the fence with climbers, helps improve the overall effect.
Using the Longest Lines
In a small garden, accentuating the longest line available across the garden, i.e. the diagonal, or the longest line across an area of the garden, is a very useful technique. Diagonal paths, possibly curved or "broken" using stepping stone effects, can be useful for this. If one has the space and wishes to maintain a lawn in a small garden, creating a lawn lengthways along the diagonal creates larger bedding areas in all the corners.
Achieving Visual Effects
Dependent on the gardener's requirements, color can be used in different ways to lead the observer's eye, for example:
- Changing hues within the length of a border, if maintaining continuity of color,
- Another method is to create repetitive stages by spacing similar plants in sequence.
Other significant pointers include:
- Blurring any boundaries and softening the appearance of walls or any straight line with climbers, etc, is advisable.
- Levels such as small terraced or stepped areas, raised beds, etc, can also be used to stimulate interest.
- Hanging baskets and wall-mounted or overhead trellises "draw the eye up" as well as utilising available space.
- Allowing plants and shrubs to grow into the available space, rather than over-filling it, is much more effective and pleasing on the eye.
Making Use of Perspective
Converging lines create the illusion of greater depth by the use of perspective. Perspective can be used to good effect in a small garden, with a little skill, for example:
- Placing larger plants closer to the viewing point and smaller ones further away achieve the effect.
- Similarly, using brighter colors over shorter distances and pastel shades further away, enhances the illusion of distance.
- Scaling any divider such as a fence or trellis proportionally so that it doesn't look out of place, will contribute to the overall visual effect
Framing
Building on the use of perspective if opportunities present themselves can also include framing, by use of placing archways, topiary and other items, e.g.:
- Framing objects in the distance, e.g. a church spire.
- More artificial methods that still work if done well include framing an image such as a mural on a wall behind the framing feature.
- Using mirrors, if they can be placed to avoid the sun's glare
Whilst one would not expect to be able to use all the aspects available, some of the enjoyment of gardening is the opportunity to experiment. Depending on the garden in question, with a little judgement and doubtless some trial and error, these are just some ideas that help small gardens to appear more spacious and attractive.
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