Garden Designers Roundtable: Four Ways to Make a Small Garden Feel Like a Big One

 

 

This month’s Garden Designers Roundtable topic is our own home gardens. I thought about going with my favorite lazy-day post option and showing a montage of images – like a Wordless Wednesday but delivered on a Tuesday. Instead, I’m using my pint-sized garden to share some of the solutions to a question that comes up over and over again with my clients: how do you make a small garden seem larger?

I fondly refer to my tiny back yard as my 50 Foot Garden, since it’s not much wider than that. At a mere 20 feet deep, achieving a look that’s cozy rather than closed-in is a challenge. Here are four strategies I’ve used in my own little retreat that are easily translated into just about any space in need of a spacious feel.

 

Use every square inch

In our book Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces, my co-author Rebecca Sweet and I dedicated a large section to the over-looked opportunity of gardening in side yards. Yes, the narrow space and odd sun-shade patterns can be a challenge, but side yards give you the chance to create a space strictly to be gazed on – a rare occurrence in a small garden, where many features must do double or even triple duty.

 

 

Include a road less traveled

You know that famous infomercial line: But wait - there’s more!  Well, that’s what your pathways should be saying to visitors in your garden.

 When I’m designing a back yard garden, I never stop the path flush with the edges of the house. Doing so not only reinforces the typically boxy shape of a backyard, but it tells visitors that they’ve seen all there is to see. In a small space, it is particularly important to give the impression the garden continues around the next corner. The fact that that intriguing path leads to nowhere more exciting than compost and extra gardening supplies is my little secret. (And now it’s yours, too.)

 

 

 

Have a few tricks up your sleeve

 

You may be familiar with the design strategy of adding a mirror to a wall to create the illusion of a window to another part of the garden. If you’ve never considered this idea because you scornfully think no one will be fooled, I’m here to tell you that EVERYONE is fooled. I purchased a set of porthole-shaped mirrors at Target for $15.00 a few years back, and despite the obvious fact that nothing exists on the other side but a tiny strip of green and the street, almost everyone walks down the path and tries to look through them. As a side note, use caution when adding mirrors to gardens, and avoid placing them in such a way that might confuse birds.

 

Bury your treasure (or at least tuck it away)

What can be disappointing about a small garden is the sensation that in one quick glance, a visitor has already seen everything there is to see. That’s why I like to tuck in a few surprises that require a more thoughtful and leisurely stroll through the garden. Containers, particularly those tucked discretely in the back of a bed where they aren’t immediately on display work well.

But don’t stop there. My three ceramic starfish have been known to pack up and visit spots all around my garden, delighting the patient guests who take the time to admire not just the flowers and foliage, but the unexpected treasures hidden throughout.

For those of who would have preferred a Wordless Wednesday tour of my garden, here's a one minute Animoto video for your viewing pleasure.

 

To see what other Roundtable members have to say on the topic, check out these posts:

Rebecca Sweet : Gossip In The Garden : Los Altos, CA

Pam Penick : Digging : Austin, TX

Mary Gallagher Gray : Black Walnut Dispatch : Washington, D.C.

Jocelyn Chilvers : The Art Garden : Denver, CO

Deborah Silver : Dirt Simple : Detroit, MI

Debbie Roberts : A Garden of Possibilities : Stamford, CT

Christina Salwitz : Personal Garden Coach : Renton, WA

Andrew Keys : Garden Smackdown : Boston, MA

Rochelle Greayer: Studio G: Boston, MA

Comments

[Mary Gray]

Thank you for these excellent tips -- I especially like your suggestions for paths and mirrors, and the idea of having "hidden treasures" in a garden. As much as I love a clean, modern design, my preference for a garden that can be "explored" will always win out.

[Desert Dweller / David C.]

With a small garden past and present, I've used some of your tricks. Indirect paths and hidden elements do help...I think my latter include unusual rocks I picked up on nearby hikes! But the purple wall and the mirrors...I like that the most...hmmm.

[Jocelyn/the art garden]

Susan, you've got a great set of design tips here! I'm a big fan of the pathways model - the idea of "more to explore" psychologically enlarges ANY garden. Thanks!

[rebecca sweet]

Love the video, Susan - especially the exhausted squirrel. I've been to your garden several times and can honestly say it's the most beautiful 50 Foot Garden I've ever seen!

[Robert Webber]

Yep, so much can be achieved in a small space and you've given us some of your tricks to do that for free. How generous is that. Love it!
Best
R

[Andrew Keys]

Yes yes yes re: "bury your treasure"! I'm a BIG believer of tucking little vignettes into any little spot that might otherwise seem ho hum. I find myself doing that a lot in the spaces left over behind larger foundation-type shrubs and such where a path meets a doorway or gate, because when you stand back and look at the door/gate, you get the front-facing vignette, but you see the "secret" vignettes when you're AT the door and look left or right.

Anywho, love the side yard thing too! Lots of lessons to learn for urban gardeners there.

[Deborah Silver]

Susan, any small garden space intrigues me. In close quarters, all of the breathing is a musical score which appeals to me. Your garden has rhythm. Percussion. Base. The unexpected. And your voice, directing. So beautiful! Thanks for posting about it such thoughtful detail. Deborah

[Debbie]

Susan, You've shared some great tips. I love the idea of the starfish, what a wonderful surprise for the observant visitor.

[Christina Salwitz]

I love these ideas Susan. I am taking every one of them for my new little box of a back yard garden!

[Pam/Digging]

You're like a magician with tricks up her sleeve in this post, Susan. Great tips for making the most of a small garden. I especially like the path advice and the fool-the-eye mirror-windows.

[Paul Orange]

Thanks for your tips on making your garden seem bigger - It's difficult when you have a smaller space to get everything you want in there and including the necessities too - such as a lawnmower, washing line, table and chairs, it soon starts to look cluttered!

[Aaron]

Thanks for an excellent overview and some great ideas. One of the things that definitely adds interest to a garden of any size is water, whether that be a pond, fountain or other water feature. The gentle sound of water coming from a hidden spot in your garden would be wonderful.

[Kathy Lovitt]

Wonderful photos, I wish my tiny space looked like these great photos. I did feature Stepables on my blog, I love anything rather then lawn that will take foot traffic. I have a corner by my front garden that I am going to use some of your tricks. Kathy
http://atinycottageongrand.blogspot.com

[Landscape Design Ideas]

Love tip number 4. Tucking away "treasure". A small garden does give one the feeling you've seen everything in one sweep. Partly covering a statement piece is a pleasant surprise when discovered.

[Shirley Bovshow,"EdenMaker"]

Beautiful details and that magenta wall is to die for! Happy to see you enjoying your design talent at home.
Shirley

[The Enduring Gardener]

Some nice garden design tips here - love the 'hideen treasure'.

[plumbing]

Thanks for this excellent tips. Many of us wanted to have a garden but we don't know what to do because we have a limited space.

[SEO Reseller]

Really good blogs are not "running the streets", but here I found today what I have been looking for. Cheers!

[Landscape Architect Sydney]

Everyone wants to make an attractive garden in small place. You have provided great ways to make small garden which is very useful for me. Thanks for sharing these nice ways.