Small Garden Design Tips and Advice

When beginning to plan their garden layouts many gardeners fail to take all the features of the space into account. These can be surrounding structures, retaining walls, height limitations, and how steeply the garden plot is pitched.

By taking your time in the planning stages and working as many of these challenges into the design as possible instead of fighting against them, in the end you will have a garden that fits naturally into the space allotted.

Here are just a couple of basic tips to think about in the planning process:

Too many times an existing concrete wall stays that way and detracts terribly from the beauty of the garden it surrounds.

See that blank wall as a canvas for your artistic impulses! Brighten it up with color stain or use it to hang eclectic pieces from. Working with an existing wall will bring additional interest and color to your design.

If there is space available on top of your intrusive wall consider positioning planters with vines and letting them cascade down the face of the wall. While this method can quickly lead to an overabundance of vines, when done in moderation, with flowering vines like the Purple Passion Flower Vine which produces stunning white and purple flowers and large foliage.

Create some height accents in your small garden design simply by stacking stepping stones. These are available at any big box home improvement store and can be as inexpensive at $1.30 each.

When stacked 18 to 24 inches high and topped with a planter filled with something colorful, these small towers will add another dimension to an otherwise flat, single level design.

The same effect can be achieved by using wrought iron plant stands which can often be found in yard sales and thrift stores for next to nothing.

Regardless of how much space you do, or don’t, have to create your small garden design, be sure to consider all your options in your design.