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A successful small garden requires a big idea




You can let a large garden develop. And by 'large' I mean a garden more than 80 feet (25 m) long. All of the most successful small gardens I've seen lately have a strong idea behind them. In a small space, you can see everything at once, so it's important that everything looks good together.


This principle applies regardless of shape, although many small gardens are wider than they are long. See here for general tips on the Shallow Wide Garden.


Here are three successful small space garden ideas to inspire you.


A plant-lover's garden



After visiting Philip Ostenbring's garden (open once a year for NGS), I realized that a small outdoor space for unusual plants is a wonderful display area. There is no need to plant in a small space, in threes or in drifts, as the plants are very close to you. Each model looks great in a courtyard, terrace or patio garden. Whereas if you dot a variety of single plants around a large garden, everything can look out of place.


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"It's green for me," says Philip. He is the head gardener at Walmer Castle, where he creates a jungle-themed garden in the moat. As head of the Kent Division of Plant Heritage, he is interested in unusual plants. His small garden (about 35ftx15ft) bursts with attractive foliage and follows the theme of a forest.


Urban Forest Gardening



A 'plantman's garden', Philip also defines his garden theme as an 'urban forest'. This is a good look for a small garden because it's relatively easy to get the look of a forest with different layers. 'When you're in a jungle it's a very enclosed space,' says Philip. 'If you have a lot of space, you can create a tropical or exotic garden, but it doesn't have to feel like a jungle.'


Layers of plants start with a tree (see how to choose a tree for a small garden here). Then you plant large plants, small plants, ground cover plants and pots, clustered together like the photo below.


Derek Jarman Beach Garden



The plantation is owned by Guy Felton and his wife. As he is a retired architect there is a lot of interest in him. When they bought the house, the garden had a thin lawn bordered by two narrow beds. It is about 15 feet wide at its widest, but tapers to about 12 feet. And it is about 35 feet long.


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"There's no sense in mowing such a small lawn," he said. So they replaced them all with shingle, which makes the garden wider and lighter. Plants grow out of single. Faversham harbor is nearby and Guy was walking around the docks when he came across an old wooden boat rudder. It was about to be put in the fire, but the owner said the hand could hold it. It now stands halfway up the garden and 'splits the space', looking like a piece of garden sculpture.


Attractive courtyard garden



This is the small garden in this post. It's about 15 feet by 15 feet and belongs to my friend Amanda. He chose 'Exotic' as his theme and asked garden designer Paul Thompson-McArthur to make it work. (She says it was my idea, but I'm not sure...I think it came up while we were all talking.) Behind Amanda's kitchen is a long glass door that rolls back so her garden is all in view. Throughout the year. 'Exotic' has long-term interest because it is based on leaf patterns. In winter, the two benches look like garden sculpture, and there is also a unique piece by Tom Stockton.


Details that make all the difference…



In a small garden, everything can be seen, so Amanda wanted all the details to be perfect. She asked Paul to make it seem like the nails and wires could have been there forever. Another tip from Amanda is to keep the garden in mind when you do any work around the house. She had just renovated the kitchen and it would have been a great time to install an automatic irrigation system in the yard. 'But I did the garden after the house and by then the kitchen floor had been laid over the pipes and it wasn't really possible to pick it up again.'


An automatic irrigation system makes a lot of sense in any garden. It keeps your plants alive, minus But if you're a long distance away, it's a good use of water.


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