In times of limited resources — and limited space — the need to have a garden that is functional, productive, fun and full of surprise is every bit as important in a small space as in the quarter-acre lot of old. You could even say that a small space can be the best place to make a very big statement.
The basics
Gardening in small spaces is all about getting the bones right. Understand your location, the limitations, the potential, the products available, the maintenance required and how all this fits in with your own personal wish list. That said, there are, of course, some fundamental rules that apply to all gardens big and small.
A small space often means there will be higher demands on you and how much TLC you are required to give it. Plan it right and it won’t be hard work and then you will be the envy of all your neighbours, with comments about your lovely green thumb and amazing horticultural knowledge.
Think big
Small gardens often have big impact, and a design rule — for inside or out — is that an oversized object in a small space can actually make it feel bigger as it twists your sense of the space. So for those who aren’t really gardeners but want a nice front entry, I would suggest plonking a great big, bold, brazen, brightly coloured pot right at the front door. People will think you are amazing and only you will know it really wasn’t any effort at all.
In fact, wherever you use pots in small gardens, always choose planters with visual appeal. Sometimes, the visual impact can come from grouping like with like, such as several different designs all in terracotta, or three identical pots with the same or closely related plants such as dwarf citrus.
Something to eat
Now, for those who actually want a garden, there are a few more steps to the process. The most popular type of garden design at the moment is one that will produce some edible food, and small spaces can produce an amazing quantity of food to harvest. It can all be done organically and with great sensitivity to the environment.
Plants in a small container garden will only give out what you put in. Start with a good-quality potting mix, mulch and compost and don’t skimp on things such as a regular liquid fertiliser (worm wee is great) and quality manures. It can all be done organically and products such as water crystals that hold moisture around the root zone of your much-loved plants will make the job so much easier.
Well-drained
Container gardens of any sort need good drainage. Pots have to be up on feet and able to drain away easily. If they don’t, the water can cause all sorts of root rot problems and increase problems with pests and diseases. The end result is your potting mix will go off more quickly. You’ll know if you don’t have pots draining correctly because they have a habit of smelling putrid in the process.
Good mixes
Potting mixes of all kinds rely on water passing through to keep them moist and all lose some of their goodness over time. The use of water crystals and liquid fertilisers or fish emulsions will keep things happier and healthier for longer, but ultimately all potting mix needs to be replaced. One of the most common problems with a potted plant is the potting mix is simply too old. Invest in a good-quality one from the start and you make the job much easier. As a rule of thumb, replace your potting mix every three years.
Chaos works
Small gardens, containers, planters and pots are notorious for a higher rate of pests and diseases. For production gardens, there’s nothing quite like the benefits of companion planting and here’s one place you will really reap the benefits. Plant companions such as roses with parsley, lavender with sage, onions and garlic with basil, strawberries on well-mulched beds and the occasional legume thrown in for a bit of extra nitrogen in the soil.
A productive garden should be planted so it’s full to overflowing with a whole variety of things in the one space for you to graze on. This is no place for neat rows of perfect lettuce; you need chaos and a wild sense of nature to be spilling out from every corner. This style of planting will also help in limiting pests and diseases and give you a sense of your own patch of paradise in the process.
Upper echelons
Planning a garden on a balcony is one of the more common requests for landscape designers and it does require some considered thought before jumping straight into it. Thinking ahead will give you a better result and save money and time.
A balcony garden isn’t just limited by space but is often also at the mercy of more extreme weather than most gardens, from stronger wind gusts and turbulence to baking sun or freezing cold and shade that limits what, where and when you can grow whatever it is you want to plant.
Planning a balcony garden really starts with one primary consideration: aspect. Typically, there are four sides to a building and if you face north you will have good sun for most of the day; facing east means you get lovely, warm morning sun; west means you cop the full heat of the afternoon sun; and south means you are in almost total shade. Add to that shadowing from other buildings, especially in built-up areas, and you see how important it is to work out just how much sun you have to deal with.
For those who want to grow a cropping garden on a balcony, it’s all about sunlight: if you don’t have good sun you just don’t have the right space to grow fruit and veg. Sorry. High winds can also be a problem for a cropping garden, even when you have the sunlight you need.
Layering of plantings is the secret. Use tougher plants such as a bay tree as a buffer from the harsher elements and to break the wind. Bay makes a great hedge, too, as does guava and lillypilly; all can be used in a topiary form or as a loose screen.
To the wall
Vertical gardens of all sorts are slowly gaining popularity and are found in small gardens and on balconies alike. The concept is really simple: provide a framework against a wall, no matter how big, and grow a vine (something like passionfruit) up it. Among the vines, include some drip-irrigated pots of culinary herbs or ornamentals. The effect is a cascading wall of greenery and flowers.
This can be done in contemporary gardens and also very traditional ones. I’ve seen it done with bromeliads in a shady garden and with silver-grey mosses and shiny succulents in myriad colours in hot gardens. The combinations work because the plants are architectural and planted in contrasting foliage, colours and forms.
There are also vertical gardening systems you can buy in modules to create edible vertical gardens, or food walls. These may be either soil-based or use hydroponic growing methods without soil.
Flat out
Espalier gardens are another type of vertical garden and very traditional in form. They can also be found in funkier, contemporary gardens but the principles remain the same: a highly structured layout to the planting, which is clipped and shaped into geometric grids and patterns flat against a wall or fence.
Fruiting trees have for long been grown in this way and the technique was actually invented to maximise sunlight penetration for best cropping production. Nowadays, it’s mostly done out of interest and to add detail to a garden, though it is very practical for space saving. I find that growing vines in this way instantly makes them tidier and easier to control. The overall result is more impressive.
Using espaliering, a narrow space as little as 150mm wide can be used to grow and train all type of plants. This allows you to create that all-important sense of space and depth in a garden. So if you are staring out at a blank wall from the kitchen window, you are also looking at the perfect space to espalier. It’s so much better to look out onto green leaves, flowers and fruits than cold brick and render.
Don’t forget to choose your plant wisely as walls can reflect a lot of heat. The best performers are camellias (for shaded areas), star jasmine, passionfruit, olives, citrus and other fruiting trees such as apples, nectarines and plums. Grown as much for their form as their colours, these are worthy of a place in any garden.
Hang-ups
Hanging gardens are popular but, in my opinion, one of the hardest forms to get right. The principle of using what is otherwise a space not available for plants is a great one, and the success you have or don’t have always comes down to six things:
1. The pot you chose has to provide some sort of water reservoir as these plants dry out quicker than most. Preferably in lighter colours to reflect heat as well.
2. Position is critical. You are suspending a plant in mid-air and exposing it to all the elements. If you can provide a buffer from the wind, your plants will love you for it.
3. Watering is also critical. Those that have automated drip irrigation do much better. No one remembers to water everything every day without fault.
4. Good-quality potting mix is absolutely essential — and for picture perfect pots you have to go for regular fertilising.
5. The plants you choose will ultimately determine your success. The plants themselves don’t have to be completely hardy specimens — they just have to be the right plant for the right place. Get good advice.
6. Mulching the soil surface is another essential. Some people still don’t believe in mulch and I don’t know why, because it makes so much difference to every gardener I know.
Here’s to herbs
I have found that culinary herbs of all varieties are some of the most resilient and reliable plants you can have in any garden and even more so in a potted one. Good choices are chives, sage, tarragon, parsley, rosemary, artichoke, lemon balm, oregano, marjoram and lemongrass — the list is endless and the results always seem to be the same.
Herbs love the potted garden, the small space, the crack in the paving and really do well in the most difficult situations and the harshest environments. If you want a great, happy and healthy garden, start with herbs, get your training wheels going and move on to the more ambitious perfect tomato plant or flowering shrubs later on.
Leafy greens such as rocket, cress and oak leaf lettuce also grow well in pots, especially if they’re in dappled sunlight rather than full sun all day, which is too harsh and will make them tough and bitter. Pot a cherry tomato or two alongside them and you have a constant supply of the basics for all your salads.
No sun?
Those who are sun-challenged have an altogether different set of plants to consider. Small shady areas do limit your planting choices, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have a great garden. Fruiting and cropping plants will be less achievable, but a garden with contrasting silvery metallic and variegated foliage against lush green leaves and bright bold flowers is very possible and always in style.
Shady gardens are about creating layers, using plants that contrast against one another and bounce the light right back at you. Plant wisely and you can have a little bit ofEden, even in the darkest corners. My top choices for a shady small garden would include the following:
1. Plectranthus sp. Not a pretty name but a very pretty plant, it comes in a variety of colours and forms, but all are tough-as-nails groundcovers that will get pretty little flowers on them for most of the year. The silver forms are great for adding light in the darkest of corners.
2. Bromeliad sp. Again, these come in almost every colour you can think of and the great architectural forms mean you can make a real statement. Look out for the really giant ones of up to a metre across. These have real visual impact.
3. Camellias are timeless. Who doesn’t love a camellia in flower? Crisp, white forms in shady gardens lift the whole mood and make the garden feel serene.
4. Yellow clivias are still very new and not cheap to buy, but in a small garden you have the luxury of being able to spend that little bit more to make the garden sing. All clivias are great, but the yellow ones are in a class of their own.
5. English box is a timeless plant and goes a long way to giving the garden some structure. Rather than have a hedge, try using a collection of clipped balls or a mounding form in the Japanese clouding style to make the garden more contemporary. It can handle dry soils and heavy shade and loves a regular clip.
So, as you can see, small spaces can be big places and the opportunities to make the most of them rest solely with your imagination. Understand the aspect you have, the limitations on where and how you can garden and make the garden work within them. Always use good-quality organic products to make your job a whole lot easier and remember the golden rule: Right plant. Right place.
