When purchasing a house, the garden is usually something that you either love or forget about. Some people just ignore it and only use it when it’s summer, and others tend to it all year round to grow plants, vegetables or even attract birds. There are many different uses for a garden, but your interest towards it can change over time.
That’s why many people are now stuck with small gardens. They once assumed that they wouldn’t have much use for a garden, but now they’re stuck with small backyards, unable to do anything creative with it and feeling a little regretful that they didn’t think more about the garden when purchasing a home.
Getting a larger garden? It’s harder than you think
The easiest way to get a bigger garden is to simply purchase a new home. There aren’t many chances to expand your garden unless you have a lot of unclaimed land behind your home, and the only way to really get a large one is to move into a different home. However, that’s not exactly practical considering all the other factors involved with moving. Of course, if you have no real commitments to your current home and you can find another nearby house which is similar in price but with a larger garden, then you could always do a home swap.
The other method is to quite literally demolish a part of your home so that there’s more garden space. Again, this isn’t a practical solution and it might be best to look at other ways to make use of your garden instead. There are plenty of garden improvements you can perform to either give the illusion of more space or at least make more use of the space you have. These don’t involve physically expanding your garden but do involve smart little tricks to make your garden look a little bigger than it really is.
So in the rest of this article, we’ll be teaching you a couple of ways to make the most of your garden so you don’t regret purchasing your current home and learn to live with less space in your garden.
Growing up walls
There are now plenty of ways to grow things up walls instead of just having them planted in your soil. For instance, you can now grow your plants on wall-hanging pouches that work just like any pot, but save plenty of space, are inexpensive and can easily be placed in direct contact with the sun. You can also grow climbing vines and different plants that grow upwards and crawl across your home for a unique look. You can also make use of your fences if they’re large enough, and grow all types of climbing vines that give your garden a wonderful aesthetic. There are plenty of ways to plant things even with a small garden–it just takes a little more thinking.
Pick your plants carefully
With less space to plant, it’s important that you utilize a unique combination of plants and colour in order to achieve a nicer effect. It makes more sense to mix and match different seasonal plants because, with a smaller garden, you don’t have as much work to do. You plant fewer things and you have to place them in strategic locations, so you can afford to mix and match whatever you grow. By planting your chosen flowers in smart locations, you highlight their beauty and show them off in different ways. Once you grow accustomed to mixing and matching different types of plants, you’ll find that you can easily make a small garden look absolutely stunning.
Utilize a greenhouse
If you don’t have much space to plan things, then having a greenhouse in your garden can give you a controlled environment to help you grow whatever you want, whenever you want. Greenhouses are surprisingly flexible and can freely be fitted in a variety of configurations. They’re great for relaxing inside if the temperature is right, and you can easily fit multiple shelves worth of plants in small or large pots. An advanced greenhouse even has automatic climate control, giving you even more power over how you use it.
Making use of lights
Lighting is another factor that you can utilize in a small garden. Even if you don’t use your garden much, lights can add a unique touch that lights up your small space. We’d recommend putting lights into the floor and beaming them upwards, especially if you have plants growing up the walls. Another good way to utilize lighting is to use light strips that go across your fence to create a border. Alternatively, having lights planted into the soil is another fantastic way to mix lights and use them in your garden.
Use prettier pots
Garden pots are typically used to plant your flowers, and that’s fine. However, the cheaper ones are quite small, boring and ultimately very dull. Instead of using these boring planters, why not turn those planters into features? There are some beautiful designs that you can get which are tall and unique, and there are even some planters which look amazing when hung from your walls or fences. There are a countless number of unique pots that you can use to strengthen your garden design, and we feel it’s important to mix these into your garden decor for a much nicer look.
Summary
Small gardens will never grow up to be large gardens unless you can physically expand the area. As such, your only options are to move into a different home and focus more on getting a larger garden, or to live with what you currently have. It’s not exactly the most practical thing to go out and purchase a new home or trade your existing one, which is why we’d recommend that you consider these space-utilizing options first before you invest in another property. Hopefully, this article has helped you realize your small garden’s true potential and has kickstarted your creativity.