Gardening is considered one of the most soothing and healthy ways to amplify your living space. Flowers and greenery brighten up and add depth to your surroundings regardless of how big or small your space is. If you have a compact backyard or a tiny balcony in your apartment, you can transform any space with just a little bit of creativity and some professional help. With this article, you will find tips and tricks to convert your space into a heavenly retreat. If you’re looking for small garden ideas, you landed in the right place!
1. Find Your Garden’s Purpose
Before getting into small garden ideas, you need to know what you’re using your garden for. Beauty and functionality don’t have to be confined to large spaces. You can convert even the smallest spaces into grand, relaxing corners of your home. When deciding what to include in your small garden, you should think of the space’s use.
The number of people you wish to accommodate will impact the design layout. It could range from having a seating corner for two to maximizing your space with different sections for a fun outdoor informal hangout. There are plenty of products and portable furniture pieces that you can get to make your space stand out.
If you love to entertain your friends and family, you should get foldable bistro tables or extended patio tables. They can help accommodate a large group of people. Adding pops of color with vibrant and patterned cushions will add more character to your small garden. Instead of using individual chairs for seating, opt for benches and wooden seating planks.
This saves room and maximizes the number of people you can accommodate. Instead of going for a traditional fire pit, you can try adding a gas fire table. It will not only take up less space but will add a sleek touch to your outdoor mini garden.
When growing different varieties of flowers, herbs, and vegetables, keep in mind that you require a dedicated spot. With limited space, it’s necessary to decide which of these products are worth growing. You can include a tiny patch in the corner of your garden. Here, you can grow expensive flowers and food crops that are hard to find.
2. Maximizing Planting Space
One of the best small garden ideas is to maximize your planting space. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a huge yard where you can grow bushes of pretty flowers. You can come up with innovative ways of planting, such as incorporating a container garden.
Instead of going for large, round planters and containers, opt for rectangular planters. They can sit close to the boundary wall or the edge of your garden. Design experts recommend getting one large container as opposed to tiny planters for convenience and a greater impact. Getting pots with wheels or adding planters in a wheelbarrow can help you create different sections in your garden.
They can act as dividers, and it’s easy to move the plants around depending on where the sun is. If you feel like you don’t have enough floor space for planters, you can always build a hanging garden. You do this by attaching baskets and planters to the walls instead of keeping them on the floor.
Maximizing space can allow your garden to have an optical illusion of having a bigger space than you already do. Instead of adding multiple sofa sets and seating arrangements, go for one focal piece to be the central attraction of your small garden.
If you wish to add water features to your garden and don’t have the space for a waterfall or pond, you can always go for a simple wall fountain with recirculating water. The possibilities of turning your compact garden into a luxurious space are endless. Let’s take a look at different ideas and concepts which you can add to beautify your garden.
3. Portable Containers
A container garden is a new emerging concept, popular among designers and landscapers working with limited capacity. Adding plantation and flowers to small-sized portable containers is one of the easiest small garden ideas you can use to beautify your garden or patio. These containers can be carried around from one place to another to give you a garden wherever you want.
If you want to personalize these containers, you can always purchase (or use old ones) new buckets and paint them. You can go for neutral tones or get really funky with bright colors and patterns. Place these portable containers wherever you like or hang them over the fence; it’s totally up to you!
4. Pallet Designs
Using pallets for your garden is a great way to maximize on your space. You also don’t compromise on the beauty of flowers. You can either buy inexpensive pallet racks and boxes or watch a couple of tutorials on the internet. Then, you can build the structure yourself. If you don’t want to make boxes or shelves using pallets, you can make a wall garden instead.
If you’re into the Boho aesthetic, adding wooden pallets to your garden will suit your vibe. You can also paint the wooden pallets a deeper color for a more modern touch. Pallet racks and shelves are great small garden ideas that you can use to grow your herb garden or cut flowers.
5. Hanging Tin Cans
Make use of your boundary walls or windowsills to plant flowers and herbs. This helps you add greenery to your limited space. Similar to hanging pallets, you can refurbish and up-cycle old cans and give them a new look.
You can place these tin cans wherever you want, such as fences, boundary walls, patios, backyards, etc. All you have to do is designate a corner for the hanging tins. One of the best small garden ideas is to attach holders to the walls or windowsill and keep tin planters inside the holders.
6. Modern Furniture and Seating Small Garden Ideas
Investing in trendy, functional outdoor furniture will completely revamp the look of your outdoor space. If you think that your garden doesn’t have enough space for furniture, think again! Depending on the dimensions of your garden, you can easily get furniture pieces that will complement the overall aesthetic and functionality of your garden.
Adding a small hammock or a swinging chair will save room. This section can become a nice little reading nook for a lazy afternoon.
7. Planter Benches
When it comes to small garden ideas, you should remember not to clutter your space with furniture and big planters. Doing so will cramp your surroundings and make them unappealing. Instead, a smart alternative would be to get a two-in-one planter bench. Such benches have space to sit, and it comes with cavities on the side where you can grow plants. It’s functional, and it enhances the appeal of your garden.
8. Utilize Your Step-Stairs
If your patio or backyard comes with stairs and raised steps, you can use this space for added greenery. If the steps are already occupying space in your garden or patio, you can transform your garden and make it more beautiful with a few planters, flower beds, and foliage.
9. Adding Mirrors for Extended Space
One of the best small garden ideas is to use mirrors to add space. If you have a tiny space and want it to seem bigger than it is, installing a big wall mirror can give the illusion of extended space. If you want to add a bit of character to the mirror, you can create a custom design using a trellis board and mounting your mirror on top of it.
This is an extremely inexpensive alternative to installing an outdoor mirror. You can also place a table by the mirror so you can see the rest of the garden wherever you’re seated.
10. Creating a Corner for the Kids
If you have a raised section in your backyard or patio, you can utilize this space as a playing corner for the children. You can add anything you want here, which will keep the kids occupied. A fun example of small garden ideas could be a blackboard wall where the kids can scribble and doodle whatever they like. You can also choose to install a sandpit for the kids to keep them indulged while you entertain your guests.
11. Add a Custom Bar
Want to include an entertainment section for your friends and family? A DIY bar will be a great addition to your outdoor garden. Instead of installing a big table that will most likely take up most space, you can attach a pull-down station to your garden wall. Using pallets, hooks, and chains, you can convert one section of your garden into a minibar.
One of the best small garden ideas is to use a pallet board as a countertop. Attach two strong hinges to the wall and bolt a sturdy chain on the sides of the pallet. Unhinge the tabletop whenever necessary and close it when not in use. If you want to add more features, you can attach an herb planter to the wall and use it for drinks and barbecues.
12. Brighten Your Space with Color
Interior designers are big on colors, and if you want to give your outdoor garden more depth, painting one section of the wall with a bright color will make your space more inviting. Not only is the colored wall going to give a pop of color, but it will also help your plants and flowers to be more prominent. The colorful background will create an illusion of more space and is an effective mood-booster.
13. Add Different Tiled Flooring
Whether you want to transform your balcony into an open-air garden or you want to change your grass lawn into a tiled space – flooring can make all the difference. You can also make your garden space look bigger by dividing the sections using different flooring. Using different mediums of flooring and funky tiles can make the space seem bigger than it actually is. No matter how small the space is, you can always make the most of it by trying out different flooring.
14. Keep Your Walls White and Furniture Colorful
A genius way of making the space seem bigger than it actually is, you can opt for painting your walls white for a more spacious effect. With white walls, you can reduce the attention that will be on the boundary wall, and it will help give your outdoor garden a roomier feel. You can combine the lighting properties of the white paint with colorful furniture and planters for added character.
It won’t just be visually appealing, but it can allow you and your guests to focus on your garden without the background looking so crowded. Incorporating colorful furniture will make the space look more special and personalized. You don’t necessarily need to stick to one color; using a combination of complementary hues will work brilliantly as well.
15. Focus on Lighting
No space is complete without the perfect lighting. One of the best small garden ideas is to give a dramatic effect to your outdoor garden by adding a canopy of string lights or lanterns. Using warm lighting will give a cozy effect to your space, and you can easily extend the use of your garden well into the night. You can give a theatrical effect to your outdoor space by adding ambiance lighting fixtures to your steps or to the foot of your boundary wall. This will brighten up the corners of your garden, giving it a nice, moody feel.
Small Garden Ideas Layout
After going through this article, you must now have a rough idea of just how much you can do with your space, no matter what size it is. If you wish to change the layout of your existing garden and add more features to your space, you must first have a look at what is currently working for your garden. If you already have planters and flowers, think of where you can relocate these fixtures to give a new look to your garden.
Try changing the position of your planters to where the sun falls the most. You must keep in mind that there needs to be shade where the table and seating arrangement is placed. If there is any negative space or underutilized corners, you can add fixtures to the wall or place patterned pots to give more depth. These small garden ideas will help you make the most of your space.
Setting up your garden is one task, but maintaining it is a whole different story. If you think you can’t spend much time maintaining the upkeep of your garden, ditch the lawn and flower beds and go for tiled flooring instead. Adding pops of color and different hues to your outdoor space will make it livelier and enhance the overall vibe of your garden.
If you are undecided about what types of plants will go best with your small garden, we recommend using shrubs and herbaceous perennials for color and adding foliage. Planting a combination of different flower bulbs that will bloom in various seasons will keep your garden interesting throughout the year. With these small garden ideas, you can easily convert your boring old garden into an exquisite space that will be admired by everyone who sees it.
