If you have a small garden, you might be wondering how you can make the most of your limited outdoor space. Despite a lack of surface area, there are still plenty of simple ways that you can maximise your space to create the illusion of a bigger garden.
These ten simple garden design ideas provide you with easy tips and tricks on how to make the most of your restricted space. Whether you want to enjoy dining in the sunshine or relaxing in the shade provided by a sleek modern awning, we will give plenty of ideas to give you some garden design inspiration.
1. Combine seating and storage
Space is quite literally limited in a smaller garden, therefore it is best to choose multifunctional furniture that serves multiple purposes. Say hello to seating areas that also combine as storage space!
Save space in your garden by building seating that can double up as storage space, or build seating into your design. You could use a corner bench or put seating up against a boundary to save space on a table in the middle of your patio.
2. Add hanging baskets
If you want to add flowers and plants to your garden but find yourself with limited space, then adding a hanging basket is the perfect solution. It’s an inexpensive and great way to inject colour and vibrancy into your garden.
Hanging baskets come in a variety of colours, shapes, and sizes, so you are bound to find one that fits in with your outdoor aesthetic. They take up no ground space, making them a simple solution to embrace smaller spaces.
Top Tip: We recommend plants such as begonias, calibrachoa, lobelia, bacopa, and pelargoniums for a long season of colour.
3. Ditch the lawn
This one might be controversial, but you could consider getting rid of your lawn. Maintaining a lawn, whether that’s large or small, can become a chore and require a lot of effort.
Invest in a paved area or a modern pergola instead. You can still decorate and design to your taste, and you won’t have to allocate precious shed space to a lawnmower. Just because you have a garden doesn’t mean that you have to have a lawn. There are plenty of alternatives such as a low-maintenance decking.
4. Utilise climbing plants
Climbing plants are a great way to liven up dull walls, fences, or supports, especially when planting space is limited. If you haven’t got the space to grow outwards, then grow upwards instead! Plants that can grow up a trellis are perfect for this, such as hydrangeas.
Climbers are also a fantastic resource for wildlife. Their flowers can support bees and butterflies, and they provide sheltered habitats for all manner of creatures, especially birds.
5. Layer your bedding plants
If your garden has beds and borders, then you can utilise these by layering plants. This method involves staggering plants of decreasing height with a variety of differently coloured flowers to keep your beds bold and vibrant for longer.
Start by planting your tallest flowers at the back and then work forwards in height order. Having a beautiful and wild display of bedding plants is the perfect way to inject some colour into your garden without taking up too much space.
6. Add lighting
You might not think it, but adding lighting to a small area is a simple way to enhance and add interest to any outdoor space. Solar lights are inexpensive and environmentally friendly, and require minimal effort to install – all you need to do is stick them into the ground.
Fairy lights or lanterns are another easy, cheap option, and add a touch of magic and sparkle to any outdoor area. Or, if you fancy ultimate illumination, a retractable pergola with built-in LED lighting is perfect for sophisticated evenings outdoors.
Top Tip: When choosing outdoor lights, pick ones with more of a yellow light than a bright white light, as this is less harmful to wildlife.
7. Save space with potted plants
Plants in pots are a quick and easy way to add splashes of colour without losing big areas of your garden to beds and borders. Pots are easy to pick up and move around and out of the way if you do need some extra space.
You could also grow herbs in your pots. You don’t need a whole greenhouse to be able to grow things such as chives, mint, parsley or tarragon. They take up little to no room and are a great way to incorporate fresh herbs into your cooking.
8. Add a mirror
Mirrors are a great way to create the illusion of depth and make your garden feel larger. Not only do they make your garden look bigger, but they also add a decorative statement.
A glass roof veranda also gives the illusion of a bigger space due to the transparency of its structure. Having access to wider visual aspects is a really simple and easy way to transform your garden from small to large.
9. Use multi-level planters and shelving
As we previously mentioned, utilising vertical growing space is a simple way to embrace the size of your garden. You could create a vertical vegetable garden, or stagger your planters with different coloured bedding plants and perennials.
If you’ve got a strong wall or fence, you can add shelves to display plants and flowers or use them as extra storage space. Displaying things on a wall means that you can utilise the ground space that you do have.
10. Add a veranda or awning
If you want to provide shelter to your outdoor area, then why not invest in one of our modern awnings? Adding an awning or glass veranda can provide your outdoor area with a smaller, secluded area, perfect for breaking up your garden and creating different sections.
The Markilux MX3 awning is perfectly sleek and simply folds away to seamlessly blend into the outdoor of your home – you won’t even notice it’s there.
Let Open Space Concepts transform your garden from simple to sunning
If these simple garden design ideas have caught your attention, the team at Open Space Concepts can make your garden dreams a reality.
At Open Space Concepts, we specialise in the design and installation of bespoke outdoor living structures, perfect for creating a stylish and comfortable space to relax and dine in. Each of our structures is custom-made, which means that there are options available for even the smallest of gardens.
If you would like to make an enquiry, then simply get in touch via our online contact form and we’ll ensure that we get back to you as soon as possible!
