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Small Space Gardening
You don’t need a huge yard to grow a great garden. To make the most of a small space, consider all the elements of good design, but on a smaller and more intimate scale.
You can grow beautiful flowers or delicious fresh vegetables and herbs. You just do it on a smaller scale. In a small garden, the gardener can pay attention to detail. You can stay on top of maintenance, and still have the time to sit and enjoy your small garden.
When creating a small garden, remember that garden design is personal and there really is no wrong or right. Here are some general guidelines for a small garden site and how to make the most of the space you have.
- Let the sun shine in. Select a site that gets plenty of sunlight. There are some plants and vegetables that will thrive in a shady area, but most of them need several hours a day of direct sunlight. Without this main ingredient, your plants will not bloom as well and your vegetable harvest will be greatly reduced.
- Go with the flow: For a good rhythm or transition, plant size and scale is important. You want to keep larger plants and vegetables in the back and smaller, lower growing plants in front. This adds depth to your garden and makes it appear larger than it really is. The goal is to keep the eye moving and direct it where you want it to look. Gradual changes in height and color seem to flow and prevent abrupt starts and stops.
- Harmonize and Unify: When planning a small garden, consider the colors, shapes and textures you want to use. In smaller spaces, you may prefer a limited color scheme. When you use too many colors, it can overwhelm the eye. Instead, create a focal point utilizing similar colors, plant features or themes. Theme gardens such as hummingbird or butterfly gardens, white gardens or cottage gardens are becoming increasingly popular.
- Order/Balance/Proportion: This is the basic structure of the garden. Order can be achieved through proportion, through repetition of plants or colors or through balancing bold or bright features with a comparable amount of delicate or subtle features.
Generally, the major elements of Landscape Design are Form, Texture, Color and Scale. Each aspect can be analyzed for all of the materials and properties of the space to be considered:
Before the preparation of the Design, each of these elements should be addressed, in detail, in order to achieve the ultimate use and enjoyment of the space.
FORM
Before we determine the shape of the area, we must determine the use of the area. Is it for entertaining groups of people or for a quiet retreat for one or two? Do you need a place to sit? Does the space need to be formal or informal? Natural or manicured? The answers to these questions will help you to design the walkways, seating areas, plantings and form of the area.
Before we determine the shape of the area, we must determine the use of the area. Is it for entertaining groups of people or for a quiet retreat for one or two? Do you need a place to sit? Does the space need to be formal or informal? Natural or manicured? The answers to these questions will help you to design the walkways, seating areas, plantings and form of the area.
The whole package is only the sum of its parts. Each part plays a role. The following elements of the plan also need to be determined:
- Plantings: Upright, columnar, rounded, spreading
- Stone: Flat, rounded, boulders, stacked or vertical
- Statuary: Ornate or natural
- Water: Waterfalls, ponds, fountains or birdbaths
- Pathways: Concrete, pavers, brick, stepping stones, pea gravel or mulch.
- Fencing: Need an enclosure or privacy
- Gazebo, arbor, or trellis ?
TEXTURE
This is the area that has the greatest effect on the overall feeling of the space. By the simple selection of the size and texture of the leaves of plants, you can create the effect of making the space seem larger or smaller. If you place plants with large, coarse textured leaves at the beginning of a space and diminish the size and texture of the leaves as you travel through the area, it tends to add depth to the area. The opposite textural selection will make the area seem more intimate and cozy. The same holds true for the selection of other elements of the design, from paving to statuary, to stone and garden art.
This is the area that has the greatest effect on the overall feeling of the space. By the simple selection of the size and texture of the leaves of plants, you can create the effect of making the space seem larger or smaller. If you place plants with large, coarse textured leaves at the beginning of a space and diminish the size and texture of the leaves as you travel through the area, it tends to add depth to the area. The opposite textural selection will make the area seem more intimate and cozy. The same holds true for the selection of other elements of the design, from paving to statuary, to stone and garden art.
COLOR
Leaves, flowers, bark, stems, berries. There are many aspects of plants that can bring color to the landscape. From variegated leaves to the myriad of shades of green that various trees, shrubs and groundcovers can exhibit. Evergreen and deciduous plants can provide year-round interest to the landscape. Add to that the multitudes of flowers that these plants can offer, not to mention the flowers of annuals and perennials, the options can be very confusing. Whether a single color of flowers is selected, or a patchwork quilt of hues and shades, year-round colors are available for sun and shade sites. The use of colored stone, paving, statuary, furniture and other hardscape features can either contrast or complement the plantings used in the design and provide constant excitement and interest. Repetition of the same color or groups of colors throughout the setting can tie together several small areas within the site.
Leaves, flowers, bark, stems, berries. There are many aspects of plants that can bring color to the landscape. From variegated leaves to the myriad of shades of green that various trees, shrubs and groundcovers can exhibit. Evergreen and deciduous plants can provide year-round interest to the landscape. Add to that the multitudes of flowers that these plants can offer, not to mention the flowers of annuals and perennials, the options can be very confusing. Whether a single color of flowers is selected, or a patchwork quilt of hues and shades, year-round colors are available for sun and shade sites. The use of colored stone, paving, statuary, furniture and other hardscape features can either contrast or complement the plantings used in the design and provide constant excitement and interest. Repetition of the same color or groups of colors throughout the setting can tie together several small areas within the site.
SCALE
Keeping the individual elements of the plan in the correct size and physical relationship will add continuity to the entire design. The orderly progression of all elements and their spaces will create a 'human' scale to the total space. Scale is greatly influenced by the selection of plantings that will maintain themselves within the space without major pruning. Mother Nature wins in a pruning battle to keep a plant small or within a space that is too small. The use of plants that keep a 'natural' shape will not only keep the maintenance to a minimum, it will develop a sense of consistency to the area. The use of large pots or urns will allow small and natural plants to achieve the aspect of height without the mass of a tall plant. As with texture, the use of large scale materials in the beginning of a space that graduate to smaller materials to the back of the space create an illusion of a greater space.
Keeping the individual elements of the plan in the correct size and physical relationship will add continuity to the entire design. The orderly progression of all elements and their spaces will create a 'human' scale to the total space. Scale is greatly influenced by the selection of plantings that will maintain themselves within the space without major pruning. Mother Nature wins in a pruning battle to keep a plant small or within a space that is too small. The use of plants that keep a 'natural' shape will not only keep the maintenance to a minimum, it will develop a sense of consistency to the area. The use of large pots or urns will allow small and natural plants to achieve the aspect of height without the mass of a tall plant. As with texture, the use of large scale materials in the beginning of a space that graduate to smaller materials to the back of the space create an illusion of a greater space.
Along with these basic elements of landscape design, there are other features that can extend the use and enjoyment of even the smallest of spaces. When you add the use of nighttime lighting to the mix, a completely new and exciting space is revealed. A rather unique addition to create the illusion of greater space is adding a mirror, or multiple mirrors to reflect another view to the space. Mirrors can be angled to give another vantage point to the area, by providing a view from the back of an area that would be otherwise inaccessible. Mirrors can also provide light to an otherwise dark area.
Material Suggestions
- Coarse texture: Leatherleaf mahonias, Fatsia Japonica, Aspidistras and others
- Medium texture: Holly ferns, Encore azaleas, Indian hawthorns, Hostas and others
- Fine Texture: Sprengeri ferns, Autumn ferns, Gumpo azaleas, Liriope, Mondo grass and others
- Colors: Whatever is in bloom, or variegated plants used above
- Hardscapes: Small statues, wall plaques, gazing globes, mossy boulders, large and small colored pots, self-contained fountain.