Small is beautiful
However small your space, you can style it to suit your lifestyle and your needs. It is just another room and by thinking of it this way, it will make the job of turning it into a much-loved and used space so much easier.
Don’t let it just be the spare box room that ends up being a place to store unwanted items - transform it into a place to be enjoyed and loved.
Maximising space
This small garden is very contemporary and it even includes a rill water feature, with in-built seating (this saves space by doing away with free-standing furniture that might have to be covered or kept indoors during the winter months). The walls and floor are simple having clean lines and, bearing in mind that the space here is no bigger than 5x4m (17x13ft), there is still room for a good sized swathe of planting, although it is becoming the norm these days to use plants as pure decoration rather than the main focus, particularly in a small space.
Low maintenance drama
Here is a roof garden in Central London that includes the use of artificial lawn, which works very well in a small space and is, of course, extremely low maintenance as are the bespoke hardwood screens. Trees in containers and discreet lighting add a sense of drama.
Garden on a budget
A small garden on a small budget. Hardwood fence panels are expensive but by using softwood planks, a similar contemporary look can be achieved for a fraction of the cost. Depending on the situation and the final styling of the space, this form of fencing can look contemporary or rustic. Artificial lawn is used here to save the need to house a lawn mower in such a small space.
Formal but quirky
The brief for this London-based front garden was for something quirky, so when we saw these cloud-pruned trees they had to be included. A neat formal look was also requested, which was achieved by edging the small borders with Buxus sempervirens. Orange was the chosen accent colour for the flowers (Tulipa ‘Ballerina’ and Crocosmia ‘Emily McKenzie’) to echo the boldness of the single, centre-staged planter.
- If you prefer your garden to be dominated by plants, then be bold and don’t be afraid to use large specimens in a small space for added drama.
- A great space saving idea, and one that was all the rage at last year's flower shows, is for vertical planting - that is using the walls as places to grow plants.
- Whatever your needs, you can be sure there is a huge wealth of inspiring examples to be seen at RHS shows, in magazines and books and the internet generally.