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Design tips for small gardens

Design tips for small gardens, informative blog by Katie Rushworth

During my time as a professional gardener, I’ve had the privilege of visiting a huge range of gardens to offer design insight. Whether it’s a sprawling country garden or a modest yard space, my favourite gardens to work on are the ones that truly reflect their owners.

Having a smaller garden or even a yard doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy beautiful, personal garden design. I’m often asked to share my design tips for smaller gardens and even balconies, so I thought I’d pull together some thoughts in this article!Small garden design tips from Katie Rushworth

In need of some ideas for your garden space? Perhaps a virtual Zoom garden consultation with me would help get that inspiration flowing! Book your Zoom garden consultation here.

Make it functional

Even the tiniest yard or balcony is an important piece of outdoor space for your home. Having a space that’s yours for you to get some fresh air and natural light has lots of benefits. So, starting with the basics – make your outdoor space functional. It doesn’t have to be a full-on makeover! At the very least, plonking a couple of garden chairs outside gives you a space to enjoy the air and read a book. If there’s a space that gets sunshine, could you pop some pots there for growing herbs or plants? Is there space for a small bistro table to enjoy an alfresco meal?

Link the indoors and outdoors

Your garden should feel like an extension of your home. With a couple of design tips and tricks you can create a really welcoming and attractive space – no matter the size.

Colour scheme

You make decisions about how to decorate the inside of your home, so why not the outside too? By choosing elements of your home design in your garden or balcony design you can create a really nice flow between indoors and out. This could be by choosing accessories like candle holders, textiles and ornaments that tie in with your colour scheme, or of course by painting or staining furniture and surfaces. If you choose to paint your fence or external masonry, lighter shades and pastels will help to keep it feeling spacious. A grey or dark wood stain will make any greenery in front of it really pop!

Create privacyCreating privacy using screens for small gardens by Katie Rushworth

Just like inside your home, we benefit from a bit of privacy in our outdoor space. If you have a balcony with glass fencing or a garden with a low fence, adding ornamental or bamboo panelling looks wonderful and also gives you a bit of extra privacy. If you’re feeling fancy, you could even create a living panel of climbing plants! Screening can also be used to this effect to section off areas of your garden, for example creating a hidden seating space in a peaceful corner.

Lighting

Just as you may like to get the mood inside your home just right with lamps and candles, you can bring cosiness, life and warmth to your small outdoor space with lighting. It doesn’t need to be a fussy electrical project – there are lots of solar-powered, LED lights available. These can be easily attached to fences and walls or staked into the soil of beds or pots. Invest in a couple of coloured glass candle holders or metal lanterns, or repurpose some kitchen jars as candle holders for cosy evenings outdoors.

Use height – reach for the sky!

If you’re short on floor space, don’t be disheartened! There’s no need to skimp on your planting scheme. By bringing your planting upwards you can make the most of your space and add colour and interest. Climbing plants like clematis and roses look beautiful winding up a wall-mounted trellis and will draw the eye upwards, towards the sky.

You can also find excellent garden shelving units like plant theatres and living walls, pre-made and ready for you to plant out your chosen greenery or simply place potted plants on. These can be freestanding or wall-mounted, and they’re a great way to bring life and dimension to your space. If you’re handy, you could even create your own garden shelving. There are some excellent tutorials out there on creating your own living wall planter out of those design stalwarts – pallets!

Planting in containers

Having a gorgeous garden with plenty of plant life, colours and texture isn’t the privilege of those with a big, sweeping plot! In fact, you don’t even need flowerbeds.Container planting for small gardens by Katie Rushworth

A tiled balcony or paved yard can be transformed by bold container planting. Choose a mix of colourful flowering and structured leafy plants of different heights to add interest. You can even experiment with plant stands for height, and unique planters like repurposed household containers. Don’t be shy!

You can even grow produce, regardless of how much space you have. Lots of fruit, vegetables and herbs will grow happily in containers – read my beginner’s guide to growing veg here.

Remember, sometimes the best things really do come in small packages! Katie x

 

Katie's expertise is transforming clients' gardens with their video calls and garden visits...

My consultation with Katie was superb! Katie's focused and erudite knowledge really helped me transform my garden into something I would truly be proud to show off. Katie went into great depth and was very patient with my questions, guiding me through the process and enabling me to understand her thinking. I could not praise Katie enough, and would truly recommend her to anyone who is keen to breathe some new life into their garden!  

Shazia

I am absolutely delighted with Katie’s design service and feel that it was money very well spent. Katie came up with something that we would never have thought of but still feel is totally achievable. She completely fulfilled every point on the brief I had written and was so prompt with all of the follow-up information, including a helpful sketch and list of suitable planting. Katie has totally exceeded my expectations of what I thought could be achieved in a 30-minute call!

Claire

It was really great having a consultation with Katie. I really enjoyed it and she is so knowledgeable, advising me some ideas that are going to transform our garden. I'm so grateful. I've never known where to start and now I have a way forward. After I've finished my back garden I'm going to get a second consultation for the front. Thanks so much.

Anonymous

I would not hesitate to recommend Katie's Gardening Consultation via Zoom. Her knowledge of plants & garden design has helped enormously in my deciding what to do with the Garden.
Katie has given great advice & recommendations for making the garden perfect for us. 

Sandra

My zoom consult with Katie far exceeded my expectations!  She clearly took the time to assess my garden before our call and presented a brilliant plan for my garden as well as provided lots of tips for the planting.  I was even able to show her some additional problem areas in my garden during the consult and she offered practical advice that was really helpful and allowed me to envision what my garden can become with a little confidence and willingness to plant and design more boldly! I can’t say enough positive things about the consult. I highly recommend! 

Kyla in Southwest Idaho, USA

We were looking for some fresh ideas to rejuvenate an old garden. Katie has an easy-going and friendly approach which is underpinned by her extensive knowledge. She quickly aligned herself to our thought process and understood what we are trying to achieve. 
She made a number of innovative suggestions that challenged our preconceptions and we feel that we now have a plan to move forward.

N & P Cannon

Katie helped us see our dream garden where we couldn’t, taking time to understand our thoughts and favourite parts of the garden.
Katie was great fun to be around and has provided us with a beautiful plan for our garden which we will enjoy for a long time to come.

Anonymous

Without any exaggeration, the Katie Rushworth Garden Maker is the Best Investment I have ever made. My garden was stuck in the past and I had no idea how to transform it. I never dreamt in my wildest dreams, that I would be lucky enough for Katie Rushworth (personally) to work her magical garden design, with her professionalism and knowledge to transform my garden. She cuts no corners, you get far more than you could ever pay for, she works really hard to deliver the right garden for you and on top of all that she is a very nice person!

Roger in Stourbridge

Katie must be a mindreader because the scheme she created for us was just perfect; great variety, textures and all very much in the Japanese theme we had dreamed of. It was so helpful and also really enjoyable to be able to spend the day planting with her and learn lots of useful tips for maintenance and beyond. We can’t wait to watch it grow and change with the seasons.

Ruth in York

Working with Katie has been fantastic and worth every penny, she has helped me create two beautiful areas in my garden. It now looks fantastic!

Fiona in Holmfirth

Katie has been incredibly helpful as we set about transforming our front & back gardens, and we have learnt so much in a short space of time. We didn’t want someone to just do it all for us – we wanted to be hands-on but with some guidance & encouragement, and Katie’s mentoring has been perfect for that. She is very easy to work with, great fun – and she’s certainly done her share of digging & planting too!

Andrew & Susan in Baildon

Katie really knows her plants, where they are happiest. She understood our needs and wants and simply delivered. Great knowledge, great advice and taught this old dog a few new tricks giving me the confidence to take my own garden planning to the next level.

Tricia & Ian in East Hardwick

Katie Rushworth is a passionate and knowledgeable gardener whose enthusiasm is infectious. She has a great eye for design and is also good at explaining things. Oh, and she’s not at all afraid to get her hands dirty!

Alan Titchmarsh