Garden Design Ideas for Small Spaces

Sometimes it just takes a little inspiration to make some simple but creative changes to your space.

There are many scenarios where garden space is minimal including rental properties; apartments and units with balconies; villas and townhouses with small courtyards; retirement homes; caravan parks; community garden allotments and many suburban blocks.

“Your space may be limited, but don’t let this limit your imagination to what you can achieve!”

With some thoughtful plant selection and design ideas you can create a beautiful and functional space.

Space Saving Solutions for Small Gardens

Stacks of Space

Stacking is a technique for maximising vertical space and simply means creating layers or tiers on which to grow. Here are some examples.

This nifty hanging shoe pocket storage system has been turned into an edible planter. The ultimate in efficient stacking with no wasted space! Left: view from below Right: view of lettuce, basil & strawberries from above. Yum!

Kimberly McKinnis has made clever use of space here with her container garden.

Make the most of a tiny courtyard by stacking plants in groups from the largest at the back to the smallest at the front. Repetition of pot colour also brings unity to this space and positioning pots in one corner still allows room for a chair, table and pathway.

Narrow Niches

If all you have is a window ledge, slimline balcony or walkway these areas can still be planted out with suitable containers or plants. Better still, add some lattice on an adjoining wall for climbing plants.

Another great example of how much edible abundance is possible in a narrow shallow planter. Perfect for a balcony or pathway.

If you haven’t got a window ledge wide enough for pots, add some brackets with a planter. Try herbs outside a kitchen window so they are within easy reach.

You can brighten even the most rustic garden shed with a flower box and some screws. Does your garage or carport present new opportunities?

Step it Up

Steps, terraces and ladders are crying out to be utilised as practical growing spaces and are a simple solution for many people. Steps are engineered to be structurally strong so can take heavier weights such as fruit trees in pots, feature plants and large containers.

Another clever idea: This unusual planter selection takes advantage of railings up steps as hanging space.

“A little garden in which to walk, and immensity in which to dream. At one’s feet that which can be cultivated and plucked; over head that which one can study and meditate upon: some flowers on earth, and all the stars in the sky.” – Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

In the Bag …

Need more sun? On the move as a renter? No room for a raised no-dig garden bed and need an alternative?  Portable natural fabric bags are one of the easiest solutions for lots of issues. Not only do they look good and come in a variety of colours, but with handles they are easily moved around to suit your situation. They are also very economical and last well.

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They are an ingenious way of growing edible crops that need depth like carrots and potatoes and are also perfect for dwarf fruit trees which will happily live in them for years.

As they are easily removed, if your plant outgrows its bag, simply loosen it and slide your plant out and transplant into a larger bag. Put the plant back inside the next size up and back fill with fresh compost or potting mix!

Grow bags also make the perfect gift for children who are starting a garden, those moving into a retirement home and perhaps have to give up their larger garden or apartment dwellers who have no access to soil.

Succession Plant to Maximise Space

In my garden I only have one raised tank garden so space is at a premium. When I planted it out about 3 months ago, I chose a variety of edible plants that would mature at different times. This allowed me to take advantage of space around the edges for fast growing ‘cut and come again’ lettuces (ready in 3-4 weeks) & flowers, while the zucchini (that loves lots of personal space) was filling up the internal area (about one square metre).

Around the edge on the left are a variety of capsicums with lettuces at the far end and lettuce seedlings & calendula on the right with shallots, chives & bulb onions near the worm farm in the middle. In the large middle spaces you can see the two zucchinis filling out.

The lettuces were harvested by the time the zucchini reached the edges of the bed so I’d had weeks of food before its leaves started to shade out the edges and it started to flower and produce. The flowers (alyssum & calendula) also attracted pollinators so by the time the zucchini and capsicums were flowering, they had lots of helpful visitors to set fruit!

Another space saving strategy I use is to ‘snuggle up’ skinny guys from the onion family. In this micro garden you can see a variety of chives, shallots and bulb onions all harvested from a tiny space. I’m constantly amazed by what can be grown in one small box!

Clever Plant Choices

If you don’t have the space for large plants or those that take up a lot of ‘personal space’, there are still some great alternatives.

Have your own urban orchard! Select dwarf fruit tree varieties that can be grown in pots.

• Try dwarf, semi-dwarf or miniature varieties of vegetables and herbs e.g. Dwarf bush beans that produce high yields instead of climbing varieties; Dwarf blue curled kale, Coles early dwarf broad beans, Fino Verde or Spicy Globe basil are just a few but there are loads to choose from. See resources below.

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Herb gardens can double as your backyard pharmacy in many cases as well as adding fragrance, colour, texture and flowers.

• Try gardening on your benchtop.

Start an indoor garden (many edibles are shade tolerant or can be grown on a sunny windowsill).

• Choose plants with an upright form rather than spreading habits that take up less room.

Long thin edibles include the onion family (chives, shallots & leeks); aloe vera; bulbs; rosemary & celery.

• Try ‘cut and come again’ salad greens and lettuces that only require minimal space but produce a high yield harvest.

Hanging baskets allow you to grow up and down depending on what plant species you choose and are an attractive, space saving solution.

• Plant a table top garden that you can use as an edible centrepiece.

A slimline planter or a single pot in the middle of your outdoor table is decorative and functional.

• Garden on your nature strip to increase your yard space!

“Be tough! Don’t waste time, space or money on plants unless they perform a specific role and provide you with high value. Make EVERY plant count!”

To save space and money, I suggest:

1. Instead of short lived annuals, consider perennials that last at least 2 or more years; and
2. Choose plants that perform multiple functions so you can use them in many ways.

An example is Lemongrass which can be used as a border plant, cut for fragrant mulch, medicinal herb teas, as a culinary herb in the kitchen and is easily propagated to make new plants you can grow, swap or sell.

Or if you have a fruit tree in a pot and want to mulch it, consider planting an edible living ground cover such as oregano or thyme.

Low maintenance herbs like thyme provide you with fresh flavour for the kitchen and fragrant flowers that attract beneficial pollinating insects straight to your tree!

The Plant This Plant Selector can help you choose plants to suit your garden.

Learn how to Use Containers in Small Garden Spaces in this video – it has some handy design tips and planting ideas.

Dwarf and Miniature Edibles – here are  a few suppliers (or search for “dwarf” varieties in your area).

• Daleys Fruit – fruit trees
• Rangeview Seeds – Search for “dwarf”
• Harvest Wizard

What are your favourite mini plant varieties to grow?  Please take a moment to share your ideas, successes and challenges with other readers here.

Related Articles:  Clever Design Ideas and Inspirational Small Garden Ideas.

DIY Project:  Make your own Garden Gift Basket

With Christmas around the corner, if you’ve got a little extra produce or plants in your garden, why not add to a basket and give as a gift? Some simple ideas are fragrant herb cuttings, a packet of seeds or a plant you’ve propagated. Recycle a pot or container and add your own personal touch. This is a gift basket I made recently for a friend:

Other suggestions you can use are shredded paper, recycled gift wrap that doesn’t matter if it gets scrunched or pine cones – whatever you have handy!

Step 2: Choose a variety of different colours and gradually add the larger vegies to the basket.