Having a small backyard? Don’t even worry about it! Why? Because we have your back and we’ll share the top tips for planning your small garden. The quarter-acre block days are far behind us for most city dwellers but outside space is as important as ever and yes you can make the most of a compact backyard! Here we have enlisted the top tips for planning a small garden space.
Martina Gemmola
1. Plan a Functional Layout
Maree Homer
You need to know what garden design style you would like because the most important thing to consider is to use your precious space. Would you want to look good visually, or to have also somewhere to sit and relax? We know you have also questions like – Is it for entertaining or will the children be in charge? Or maybe you need a bit of everything? So, when you decide you can ensure that the proposed design is the best fit for your space.
2. Consider the View
People spend the most of their times outdoors so you need to think about the views out the garden or yard. And here is the first mistake taken! People design the outdoors for the 5 per cent of time it’s actually used, rather than the 95 per cent of time when they are seeing it from the living area.
3. Think About Plantings
The peripheral plantings in a small area are those that create the feeling of greenery on the boundaries and yet they don’t take up a big footprint. You can choose plants such as narrow hedging plants like Syzygium Pinnacle, Gracilis Bamboo and upright deciduous trees like Pyrus Chanticleer. The Climbers are also a good way to add some lushness.
4. Plan Your Storage
The garden clutter can take over very soon when you don’t have much room, so it is very important to work out your storage options. We advice you to think about installing it under built-in seating structures, beneath built-in barbecues and along the sides of a house which is often ‘dead’ space.
5. Ground Covering
We recommend to have ground cover alternatives that don’t require the same maintenance level as the ones on bigger outdoor space. The dwarf mondo grass, dichondra, and creeping thyme are all good choices but there is also the option of synthetic turf especially when the space is designed for children.
