7 ways to make your garden feel bigger…
…and make the most out of a smaller space
It obviously isn’t possible to make a smaller garden bigger, but it is possible to give the impression of more space.
Smaller gardens can be tricky and the temptation can be to go small and try and squeeze in as much as possible. More often than not this is counterproductive and can instead highlight a limited space.
Lots of my clients have small city gardens and they often assume there’s not much they can do with their space. But there’s loads you can do to maximise space and give the illusion of more.
You just need to follow a few key principles:
1. Keep it simple
Don’t overcomplicate your garden layout and clutter up a smaller space with lots of ideas. Think about how you would like to use your garden and what you would like to include. And then prioritise and pick your top 1 or 2 if you can.
2. Zone your garden
Creating separate spaces and zoning creates the illusion of more space. The trick here to prevent the eye taking in the whole garden at a glance. The key to zoning and differentiating between areas is using different textures, colours, materials and planting. Using materials like different types and colours of paving, gravel and lawn to define your spaces creates interest and breaks up the garden. Zoning using planting is a really clever trick to draw your eye through a garden, offering glimpses through the space and adding more depth.
3. Think big
Keeping features small because the garden is small can be counter intuitive. Small pots, plants and pavers can emphasise that space is tight, making the garden feel busier and smaller.
This goes for borders too. Even in the smallest of spaces, narrow strips of planting don’t work. Ever! They prevent you from being able to layer your planting and include planting of different height, emphasising the limitations of your space. Think big, even if your garden isn’t.
4. Adding height
Growing up and adding climbers to walls, fences and obelisks, planting trees and adding arches and pergolas will give your garden height, privacy and structure, giving an illusion of more space by drawing your eye upwards.
Bringing height into your garden with a tree or trees will make your space feel bigger and more balanced. It’ll also bring the wildlife flocking, literally! Every garden needs a tree!
5. Blur your boundaries
Greening your boundaries by growing climbers up walls and fences and adding hedging is another trick to gives the illusion of more space as you can’t see where your garden ends and the view beyond starts.
6. Borrowing a view
If you’re lucky enough to have a lovely rural or urban viewpoint beyond your garden or your neighbours has a lovely tree or shrub, incorporate this into your own garden. Creating a viewpoint beyond your own garden and borrowing the view, is another way of creating the illusion of more space.
6. Keep your planting simple
Avoid making your garden too busy by keeping to a simple colour palette and limiting your plant choices. Go for repeat planting and in drifts if you can and make sure you’ve got all-year-round interest with plenty of texture, structure and architectural foliage.
7. Make the most of every bit of space!
Using window boxes and containers to fill spaces in your garden will create a welcoming lush green space and means you can bring more planting in. Limit the number of colours and different sizes of pots if you can as this feels more harmonious and relaxing. Again, go big if you can - one really large pot makes more of a statement and has more presence than a lot of small pots.
Some of the most beautiful gardens have been the smallest. Proving that size definitely isn’t everything and you can do amazing things with the tiniest of spaces.
If this post and checklist has inspired you, and you’re ready to get an expert perspective on your garden, check out our garden design services. You could be thinking of transforming your entire outside space or even just part of your garden. If you’re not sure where to start, I can help.
Katie Townsend Garden Design is a small design studio in Edinburgh.
Working on a broad range of projects from courtyard gardens to small city gardens, and larger spaces, we cover Edinburgh, Glasgow and East and West Lothian. We also offer virtual design services throughout the UK.