What do you see when you look out of your window and over your garden? If you think it’s too small to do much with so you just have a patch of grass and a couple of flowerbeds, it might be time to think again – having any kind of outdoor space is a bonus, and the fact is that no matter how big or small it might be, you can always do something fun with it. With that in mind, here are some ideas for how you can really make the most of a small garden; read through them and you’ll quickly see that there’s plenty you can do and the results are sure to be stunning. 

Try Vertical Gardening

If space is limited in your back garden, it’s reasonable to think that you have to stick to the confines of your fencing and you can’t do much at all. However, where is space unlimited? Vertically. If you look up, it just keeps going, and although you can’t really – practically – have a garden that reaches too high up into the sky, you can certainly use some vertical space to grow a lot more than you would if you stuck to the area of ground you have outside your back door. 

There are a number of different ways you can do vertical gardening, including using all the walls and fences you have to give yourself more growing space. You can hang planters, add pots at different levels, install trellises, or put in tiered shelves so you can grow a wide range of different plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables. One option that can work well for all kinds of reasons is to build a greenhouse; you’ll have a practical space to grow things in and plenty of shelving so you can grow a lot more than you would using the same footprint outside. Plus, having a greenhouse means you’ll have a place to store some tools, pots, soil, and so on, so it’s great for keeping things tidy as well. 

Choose Space-Efficient Plants 

There are countless types of plants in the world, and although they’re not all going to thrive in your particular garden’s climate, there will still be a good choice for you, no matter what overall look you’re going for or what plants you like the most. 

Of couse, something that’s vital to remember when you’re choosing the right plants is that you’ll want to choose the ones that take up the least space. Opting for compact varieties that won’t take up too much room means that you won’t overcrowd your garden and it won’t look too full (which can make any space look smaller than it really is). Plus, you’ll give the plants more chance to survive since overcrowding can kill them off due to lack of nutrients and water. Some of the best plants to pick are any kind of dwarf variety, bush tomatoes, small herbs like thyme and chives, as well as anything that can serve a dual purpose. That means ornamental plants that attract pollinators, or flowers that look lovely and that you can eat, for example. 

Create Zones 

If the idea of dividing your garden up into different zones makes it sound as though you’re actually making things smaller, don’t worry – this idea really does work when it comes to making the most of any space you have, even if it’s not very much. 

The idea behind creating zones is that you can divide your garden up into areas for seating, dining, gardening, and relaxation, for example. You can use borders, pathways, or perhaps different flooring materials to designate each zone and separate it clearly, and you’ll make your small garden flow a lot better and feel a lot more user-friendly. Everyone will know where to go and how to use the space, and overall it will look much better and a lot more organised. 

Use Container Gardening 

We have mentioned pots and other containers earlier in this post, in relation to vertical gardening, but you can use them in other ways and still get the effect of making the most of your outside space, even if there’s not a lot of it. Containers really are a gardener’s best friend in a lot of ways, and that’s especially true if there’s not a lot of space and you want to make your garden look great (and potentially be practical as well). 

Containers allow you to grow things pretty much anywhere you want to, even if you’ve only got a balcony to do it from. You can have containers on a small patio, little corners of a back garden, and more, and as long as you pick and choose carefully when it comes to the container itself (as well as the plants you put in it), the final look will be a great one. The best thing to do is to make sure you choose containers of varying sizes and even shapes and colours to add some visual interest to the garden – you can get quite creative here and use old items like buckets, wooden crates, and tin cans if you want to because when it’s all put together it will give a great picture of fun and colour. The only thing you’ll need to watch out for when it comes to picking items that weren’t originally designed to be growing containers is that you’ll need to make sure there’s adequate drainage otherwise your plants might get waterlogged and die. 

Don’t Forget Your Furniture

Although you’ll probably focus on the plants and flowers you want in your small garden first, don’t forget that you’re going to want some furniture as well – at least a chair or two, and perhaps much more than that. After all, having furniture in your garden means you can use it much more and that’s a good way to make the most of any kind of outside space. The key is to find compact furniture that, ideally, doesn’t take up a lot of space or that can be stored away any time you’re not using it. 

Some examples of the type of furniture you can find include foldable chairs, stackable stools, collapsible tables, and plenty of other space-saving options. It’s best to pick lightweight materials like rattan or aluminium for furniture because they’ll be easier to move around when you want to clear some space.