Space-saving ideas for small gardens
As spring rolls around again, it's time to consider how to make the most of your small garden. If you're entertaining in a small garden, as many of us will be this year, simple, elegant garden furniture works best. When it comes to planting, we love the simplicity of a container garden in some cheerful plant pots, but there's a strong argument for using big, impressive plants to trick the eye into seeing the garden as bigger than it is. Our garden editor Clare Foster shares her top tips, from a clever use of mirrors to making the most of vertical space.
Andrew Montgomery1/9Narrow Belgian bricks are all the rage in urban gardens, used by designers to create sleek, minimalist landscaping. In this London garden, Jinny Blom laid a Belgian brick terrace in slate grey, which she surrounded with lush planting. Belgian company Vandersanden has a UK sales office, offering bricks and clay pavers for the garden in a range of shades from terracotta to grey-black.
2/9Make use of vertical space by growing climbers up walls or fences. The best all-round climber for a shady city garden is Trachelospermum jasminoides, the winter jasmine, which thrives almost anywhere. Plant it in the ground or in a pot, and train it up wires or a trellis. Available from Crocus.
3/9Designed by David Irwin for Case in weather-resistant teak, this ‘Tanso Garden Bench’, £675, and the matching ‘Garden Armchair’, £420, are inspired by the simplicity of Japanese furniture. Find them at Heal's.
4/9Hanging a mirror on a garden wall is a time-honoured device to increase the feeling of space by bringing more light into the area. Most of the outdoor mirrors you come across are Gothic-style arches, but Graham & Green’s ‘Fulbrook Window Mirror’ offers a more geometric look. With a powder-coated black steel frame, it is available in two options: ‘Square’ (90cm square) and ‘Small’ (100 x 70cm); both £125.
5/9Instead of bricks or stone, consider using a striking patchwork of Moroccan-style patterned cement tiles to transform a sheltered courtyard or small covered terrace. These beautiful vintage-look tiles from Emery & Cie come in various quirky designs and can be used in single colours or patterns, or as a randomly chosen mix, as seen here. From €91.15 a square metre.
6/9Trick the eye by growing large plants, which will make the space appear bigger. Choose ones with bold foliage, such as Fatsia japonica, or two or three large topiary specimens to create focal points. If you have the room, plant a single tree, such as a crab apple or a multi-stemmed Amelanchier lamarckii, available from Barcham.
7/9Do not let a lack of space deter you from gardening – this ‘Tall Cedar Cold Frame’ from Woodpecker Joinery is like a mini greenhouse, with plenty of space for seedlings and tender plants. Measuring a compact 182 x 182 x 61cm, it costs £1,175.
8/9The ‘Sohan Foldable Garden Table’ from La Redoute has an acacia wood top with a metal frame in eucalyptus green. At 1.75 metres long, it has room to seat six and costs £499. Matching benches are available for £180.
9/9Grow plants in different-sized pots that you can move round the garden to create changing displays. To bring a slice of the country to the city, plant them up with meadow-like flowers, such as geums, salvias, poppies and grasses, and place them in dry willow pot covers by basket maker Jenny Crisp; £20-£50 each.
