Limited outdoor space doesn’t mean you can’t design your dream garden – in fact, a few clever small garden ideas can totally transform a petite space.
Whether you’re thinking about how to plan a small garden from scratch or you’re looking for small patio ideas to spruce up your space, there’s plenty of room for creativity. You’ll just need a few planting and landscaping tips up your sleeve.
Small garden planting ideas
1. Make the most of pots
One of the main reasons we love small garden ideas is that they help us maximise our growing space – even when there’s more patio than fertile ground.
Pots and containers are one of the easiest garden ideas out there. They’re perfect for filling small corners and making paved spaces work harder.
The Ideal Home Best Garden 2024 winner’s Surrey garden is multi-zoned, but it perfectly demonstrates how pots can be used to make the most of a smaller paved garden. Terracotta pots are planted up with flowering shrubs like hebes, fuchsias and hydrangeas, which provide colour from summer through to autumn.
Terracotta pots like the Lucca Terracotta Pot from Crocus are perfect for a rustic, Mediterranean garden scheme. There are countless upcycled planter ideas for the garden if you’re on a budget, too.
2. Level up with flower beds
Experimenting with a few flower bed ideas can transform the look and feel of a small garden.
Raised and tiered beds (like this Outsunny 3-Tier Raised Garden Bed from B&Q) are brilliant for adding height to patios and other parts of a small garden that aren’t fit for planting. For texture, plant them up with flowers and ornamental grasses that thrive in containers.
In the image above, the wooden raised flower bed acts as a garden screen beside a small seating area, doubling up as a privacy feature and a clever garden layout idea.
3. Make a feature of trailing plants
Planting up some hanging baskets with the best trailing plants is one of our favourite small garden ideas. They can create a striking focal point in a small space, especially with two baskets flanking a back door or several dotted along a garden fence.
In designer Lucy Tiffney’s garden, purple and white geraniums spill out of two hanging baskets which frame the shed door, adding floral charm to the colourful garden scheme.
The beauty of trailing plants is that they can be planted in spaces you might not previously have considered filling, too, like nooks and crevices in stone walls, or even window boxes for added charm. Lobelia ‘Trailing Mixed’, available at Crocus, is perfect for hanging baskets.
4. Use climbing plants
Trailing plants are one way to make the most of space above the ground in a small garden, but climbing plants can take planting to another level (literally!).
Nicola and Garin’s Hampshire garden, which is inspired by cottage garden schemes, features a wisteria-covered wall. It provides a beautiful backdrop for the outdoor dining area in a smaller section of their garden.
‘I love eating outside, and the area in front of the old brick-built garage was redundant space,’ Nicola says. ‘I arranged some pots around the edges, and trained a wisteria over the wall to cover the bricks. Planting around the old brick walls softens the space and makes the dining area feel extra special when we eat outdoors.’
You can follow Nicola at @thesmithinterior.
5. Create a living wall
Living walls showcase foliage rooted into a wall-mounted planter for a vertical planting effect. They’re increasingly making their way into residential gardens, and can include a range of herbaceous perennials, grasses, small shrubs, herbs and even fruit and vegetables.
Try including scented plants like aromatic herbs for fragrance, and seasonal flowers and bulbs for year-round interest. If you’re unsure, it’s worth talking to your local garden nursery about the plants that will suit the aspect and microclimate of your wall.
You can pick up a Living Wall Vertical Planting Set from Waitrose Garden to help you get started.
6. Plant a potted orchard
Even if you’ve got a gravel garden or another small garden area that isn’t suitable for planting, it can provide the perfect base for your very own potted mini orchard. Surprisingly, trees can be brilliant candidates for container garden ideas, and you can grow pretty much any fruit you like, from apples and pears to plums and cherries.
In this lush multi-use garden in Cambridge, an espaliered apple tree is trained along the wires on one end of a pergola (pictured above). It’s a brilliant way to grow fruit in a small garden, on pre-existing structures.
To keep trees at a manageable size, you’ll need to choose fruit trees that are suitable for small gardens, like those grafted on dwarf rootstocks, or go for an espalier-trained fruit tree. This mini fruit tree collection from Thompson & Morgan is a great place to start.
7. Create a mini herb garden
You don’t need a dedicated vegetable patch to experiment with herb garden ideas.
These culinary favourites are perfect for small garden ideas, and they can be grown almost anywhere. Upcycle a pallet and mount your shelved herb planter on the wall like the one above, or repurpose a coffee table to create a bijou planting area.
As well as saving space by using the area beneath the planter for extra storage, you’ll save your back a lot of strain from bending over veg beds.
8. Grow your own veg in containers or raised beds
Not all crops need to be grown in a vegetable patch, and if you’re wondering how to start a small vegetable garden, there are plenty of ways you can do that using containers.
Tomatoes, radishes and lettuce are all brilliant vegetables for pots, and crops like runner beans and peas are great for making use of vertical growing space. You can even learn how to grow tomatoes in hanging baskets.
You could also dedicate a section of your garden to raised vegetable beds like the ones in the Cambridge multi-use garden shown above, which really makes the most of tall, vertically-grown vegetables.
Small garden screening ideas
9. Zone with trellises
For those looking to split their garden into distinct zones, garden trellis dividers can come in really handy. They’re a brilliant small garden idea because they utilise vertical space and draw the eye upward, and are a go-to choice for those looking for patio privacy ideas. Pine trellis panels like this one from B&Q are ideal.
Along the trellis, grow fast-growing climbing plants for privacy, like jasmine and honeysuckle. They’ll provide decoration and fragrance while they’re flowering, too.
In the image above, the lower part of the trellis doubles up as storage holes for outdoor dinnerware in the summer.
10. Add character with freestanding screens
If you’re looking for a divider that you can move around easily, a freestanding screen is the way to go. It’s the perfect choice for rental gardens, where permanent fixtures aren’t permitted, or those that prefer the flexibility to change up their garden zones throughout the year.
Plus, there’s a huge variety of designs, sizes and materials available. A floral or leaf-patterned panel can add an interesting backdrop to an outdoor space, and some freestanding screens even come with planters attached for extra growing space (like this Outsunny Metal Garden Bed with Trellis from Amazon).
11. Try layered planting
Layered planting is so effective – it can add depth and dimension to a small garden.
This usually means planting low-growing evergreen shrubs like hebes and heathers at the front of a garden border, followed by medium-sized flowering plants like salvias in the middle.
At the back of the border, compact, upright trees complete the display and provide privacy, too. An ornamental dwarf acer like Acer palmatum ‘Wilson’s Pink Dwarf’ from Crocus showcases beautiful salmon-pink hues in the spring.
12. Keep fence panels short
If you don’t want your small garden to feel closed in, choose your garden fence ideas wisely.
Shorter fencing panels can make a huge difference to the way your outdoor space looks and feels. They’ll allow more light reach your garden, too, so they’re a brilliant small garden idea for extra petite spaces.
This can be a particularly great option for gardens that aren’t overlooked by neighbouring properties or passersby – but if you are overlooked, you can fake the look by installing slatted fencing closer to the top to add height and retain the light, like this Forest Garden Diamond Lattice Fence Top from Wickes.
Small garden decking ideas
13. Carve out a corner for a floating deck
If you’ve got a free corner, consider building a floating deck to add height and interest to your garden. It’s one of the best garden decking ideas for small spaces which need a focal point.
That’s not all, though – you’re looking for small garden storage ideas, the area beneath a floating deck provides ample hiding space for garden equipment and cushions. It’s another great way to make use of vertical space in a small garden.
14. Build in seating
If you’re short on space in a small garden with decking, you can integrate storage into your garden seating area.
Built-in benches, for example, provide room to sit and inside storage space, killing two birds with one stone. It’s a practical solution that works well on garden decking. Corner seating will free up even more space.
15. Go for curved edges
The best decking ideas for a small garden are those that make the space feel bigger rather than smaller – and the decking edging ideas you choose will make a huge difference.
Curved edges can soften a garden and create a more seamless flow with the rest of the landscaping, as opposed to straight lines and sharp corners, which can sometimes make a small garden feel boxed in.
Small garden landscaping ideas
16. Zone with rockeries
If you’re a fan of alpine planting, rockeries are a brilliant way to zone an outdoor living area in a small garden.
They’re an easy way to add structure to softer landscaping elements of a small garden, too. If you’ve got a lot of grass, for example, the limits of the space feel more exaggerated – and a rockery can break that space up and distract the eye from those limits.
Try interplanting with grasses and other structural perennial plants like yucca, and perhaps use gravel as a base like the garden above, to add even more interest.
17. Go minimal with edging
There are plenty of garden edging ideas to choose from, but less is more if you’re looking for small garden ideas.
Minimal edging styles are better suited to petite outdoor spaces, enhancing and defining the garden without taking up a lot of space. The short brick wall in the garden shown above is subtle yet frames the planting behind it.
Minimal edging like this Flexible Garden Edging from B&Q is simple, affordable and easy to lay, and it won’t take up valuable space in a small garden.
18. Create illusion with curved and diagonal paving
Many small garden ideas are centred around clever landscaping techniques to create the illusion of a larger space. If you’re on the hunt for garden path or paving ideas, consider mixing up the laying pattern.
Curved and diagonal paving can soften a garden and make it feel bigger. It’s perfect for a small garden seating area, like the one in the image above.
Whether you’re using paving stones, tiles or decking, laying them on the diagonal can add width and depth to a small garden, too.
19. Use light colours
The colours you paint your garden in can completely transform the look and feel of the space – and light colours can create the illusion of a larger garden.
Playing around with different garden paint ideas is a fun way to set a brand-new colour scheme for your garden, but light colours (think whites, creams and pastels) reflect light and make the space seem a lot bigger than it really is.
20. Add new levels
Add interest to small garden ideas by creating different levels. You could even create a raised or sunken terrace, with the lawn sitting at a different height to a decked seating area, for example.
The steps shown in the image above are a great corrective solution for sloping gardens, and provide extra spots for plant pots and planters, too.
Small front garden ideas
21. Lay tiles for a smart look
There’s nothing to say your front garden has to have a lawn – in fact, when you have a really small front garden, it can often make sense to tile it instead.
This way, you can add interest with pattern and colour, and give your garden a hard-standing base on which to put planters or furniture. Make sure the tiles you choose are designed to be used outside, not only so they can withstand the elements, but also so they won’t get too slippery when it’s raining.
Here, the black in the geometric tile design has been picked out for the fence and curb colour, creating a stylish and considered finished look.
22. Encourage climbers
If you have limited space for greenery, look to the front of your house for planting options. From trailing ivy to fragranced florals, vines and climbing plants that thrive on neglect are perfect for framing your windows or doorway, like in the image above. They can also help disguise any ugly masonry or siding.
Trellis is ideal for varieties like wisteria or climbing roses, which you can tie to the framework to support them. You’ll need to take into account how much sun the front of your property gets (although some climbing plants are perfect for shady spots), and whether they can be planted in a pot – and then there’s just some annual pruning involved to stop them covering your roof or windows.
23. Give it a cottage garden vibe
Take inspiration from country cottage garden ideas, which often don’t have a vast amount of space but make the most of what they do have with planting that fills all areas. Go for an informal mix of bulbs, annuals and perennials, rather than more manicured borders, and experiment with plants and flowers at different heights.
The idea here is to cover your small garden with planting varieties that bring you joy and cover your ground space, detracting from the garden’s small footprint and drawing attention to the greenery and flowers instead.
24. Keep it open with a low-level fence
When you don’t have a large front garden, it can sometimes feel as though the area is boxed in – especially if you have a large fence, wall or gate blocking your view out. That’s why putting in a low-level fence can make a garden feel more open.
Fences with open elements between the slats, like picket fences, are good choices. Contrasting the vibrant hollyhock blooms against a white picket fence, as demonstrated in the image above, is a brilliant way to accent plain-painted structures.
Budget small garden ideas
25. Build slimline furniture
Some of the best budget garden ideas involve DIY. You can take a pallet and transform it into a slimline sofa, for example, cut to the size that suits your small garden. Throw a blanket and some cushions on it like the ones shown above, and you’ll have yourself some shabby chic garden seating.
You may already have some pallets knocking around, but if not, try Gumtree, Marketplace and Freecycle to see if anyone has some to give away. It’s also worth asking local businesses, too.
There are plenty of other pallet furniture ideas you can play around with, too.
26. Sow your own flowers
There’s nothing more satisfying than sowing your own flower seeds and watching them grow. Plus, you’ll see returns on these budget small garden ideas if you start a cut flower garden for home-grown bouquets.
Small flowering varieties like nasturtiums and dwarf sweet peas are perfect for sowing in tiny spaces.
Lucy Tiffney filled her new garden beds with the freshly-sown nasturtiums shown above, which provided a vibrant pop of colour when in bloom.
‘I love nasturtiums, so we’ve planted plenty of those, which give little bursts of orange and yellow,’ Lucy said.
27. Make your own private bar
Having a garden bar area can transform a small garden into an entertaining zone, and the clever example shown above is made from just a couple of pallets, some screws and some chains and hinges.
Cut the top section from the pallet to use as the flip-down section and attach using two strong hinges and lengths of chain. Finish with a piece of wood to act as your serving board.
28. Cheat more space with a mirror
A well-placed garden mirror idea can do wonders to enhance any outdoor space.
Mirrors make small gardens look bigger by tricking the eye into thinking it goes on and on. Create your own by using an old gate or some painted trellis mounted onto a piece of mirrored board. Then, hang it on the wall or prop it up by a shed.
29. Upcycle old tins and jars as planters
Just about any vessel can be used to plant up flowers, herbs and succulents (especially for small garden ideas), so think outside the box.
Tin cans, glass jars, jugs, tea cups and even old kitchen pots and pans can all be used in the garden. They just need a couple of drainage holes punched in the bottom, and glass jars should be lined with gravel or small stones (you can fill with moss to hide them).
Arrange your planted vessels in trios around your petite outside space and watch them grow into an oasis.
Small garden wildlife ideas
30. Install a compact container pond
Garden pond ideas don’t just apply to larger gardens – there are plenty of ways to introduce water to a small space to help cater to wildlife, and you can start with a simple pot.
Even if you have a paved courtyard garden, a container pond will provide all the benefits of a pond without the disruption or space demands of a larger design.
Any watertight container can be transformed into a pond. Simply fill with rainwater and add your plants, immersed in pond baskets. You can then create slopes in your pond by sinking rocks and old bricks.
Adding a solar fountain like this one from Amazon can turn your container pond into a great budget zen garden idea, too.
31. Create a bespoke mini pond
Where space is really tight, bespoke designs may be a better fit than preformed or container ponds. Creating your own pond, using a pond liner, lets you create the perfect shape for your space. This means you can incorporate a mini pond into even the smallest of gardens.
In designer Lucy Tiffney’s garden, her husband, Tiff, built their pond over a couple of months, collecting lots of donations of plants and stones from neighbours before edging it in pebbles.
‘It’s better to use rainwater than tap water, so we’ve got around forty-seven collecting containers dotted around the garden!’ they said.
32. Plant a small tree for wildlife
A tree might seem like a bizarre idea for a small space, but there are plenty of dwarf and smaller-sized varieties – whether you’re looking for the best fruit tree for a small garden, as previously mentioned, or the best trees to grow in pots for ornamental purposes.
Malus ‘Evereste’ from Crocus is a great choice for small urban gardens.
33. Plant a small wildflower patch
If you have space on the ground – perhaps a small lawn or compact garden border – you can plant wildflower seeds to cater to bees and butterflies. They look beautiful when they’re in bloom, too, just like they do in the photo of Lucy Tiffney’s garden above.
‘I’m not much of a gardener, and I don’t pretend to know much about it, but I love scattering a packet of wildflower seeds and seeing what comes up,’ says Lucy. ‘It’s exciting.’
34. Hang bird feeders from brackets
You don’t need a dedicated feeding station to feed the birds – with so many shapes, styles and sizes available, there’s a bird feeder to suit every space, making them perfect small wildlife garden ideas.
If you’re working with small garden ideas, it’s worth attaching a few brackets to the wall and hanging bird feeders on them. A wall, fence or even the side of a shed will do (it’s a brilliant way to make a shed bird-friendly) – all of which can be found in even the tiniest gardens.
You can buy pre-filled bird feeders from Amazon.
Small Japanese garden ideas
35. Create a small Japanese rock garden
Rocks are among the fundamental elements of large and small zen garden ideas, where they represent mountains. Even in a tiny space, you can dedicate an area to a small Japanese rock garden.
It’s also worth incorporating some plants if you have the space. Moss softens a garden landscape, while pine trees add height and structure. Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’, available from £15.99 at Crocus, is also a good choice.
36. Plant dwarf trees
Among the best trees for small gardens are a few Japanese garden stalwarts, so you don’t have to skip these features just because you’re tight on space.
Dwarf Japanese maples or azaleas are great at introducing colour to a small garden without taking up a lot of room. If you’re looking for a cherry blossom tree for a small garden, though, you’ll need to choose the variety wisely. Dwarf types like ‘Weeping Yoshino’ are ideal.
37. Introduce a small water feature
Water features ideas are perfect for small Japanese garden ideas, and the range of sizes and styles available means there’s an option for every space.
Water features often symbolise the continuous flow of time in Japanese gardens. You can also add features like statues and lanterns (away from the water, of course) around the water feature.
FAQs
What are the most common small garden mistakes?
There’s plenty of room for creativity with small garden ideas, but of course, the smaller your garden, the bigger the room for mistakes – mistakes that show.
In fact, small garden mistakes can make a small garden look even tinier than it really is. – and that’s exactly the opposite of what we’re trying to achieve.
To help ensure you don’t fall for any garden design mistakes when planning a small garden, we’ve rounded up a list of small garden mistakes and the best ways to avoid them.
- Overcrowding the space – It can be easy to get carried away when planning a small garden layout. Choose minimal pieces that add to the space rather than overwhelm it. Less is more if you want a small garden to look bigger.
- Failing to use vertical space – There are so many ways to make spaces above the ground work harder for a small garden. You can go bold with a living wall, keep it simple with hanging baskets, or grow climbing plants that draw the eye upwards.
- Not creating zones – Forgetting about zones is one of the biggest small garden mistakes you can make. Try to create distinct zones using a mixture of textures and landscaping materials. Factoring in paving, decking and vertical structures like pergolas, for example, can make a small garden feel zoned without detracting from its size.
- Choosing the wrong colours – Darker colours can make a small garden feel more closed in. It’s important to choose fence colours that make a small garden feel bigger, like light shades of grey, blue and white, which reflect light.
- Not considering future growth – Many plants grow significantly over time and fill up a garden, which is why it’s important to choose them wisely. For safe measure, it’s best to choose dwarf trees and compact plant varieties for a small garden.
- Choosing large pieces of furniture – Poorly chosen garden furniture ideas can overwhelm a small garden and make it look cluttered. It’s best to choose lighter options, like a bistro set, to find the perfect balance between space and functionality.
- Forgetting about multifunctional furniture – If you’re short on space, the best garden furniture will be multifunctional. Wave goodbye to those single-use pieces and make way for storage benches and other multi-use designs.
Put these small garden ideas to use, and you’ll have all the benefits of a larger garden in a tiny space. Productive, beautiful and practical – those are the keywords!
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