4 Ways To Make The Most Of Your Tiny Garden
By Jess Commons
If you’ve got an outdoor space, no matter how small, then well done; you’re doing much better than most of us. City living or first house-buying often requires compromising on outdoor space, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a garden that feels bigger (and much fancier) than it really is.
Here are some ideas and products that will help take your backyard patch of grass to a wildly fancy space, which all your pals will be keen to BBQ in.
Mount a mirror
What? Mirrors don’t go outside, you cry in disbelief. But actually, yes they do. Make sure they’re not wood-framed though, unless you’re going to weatherproof that wood. Surprisingly enough, mirrors serve the same purpose outside as they do inside, and give the impression that your garden is bigger than it actually is.
Also, they look GREAT. If you don’t have a fence you can easily hang it from, then set it on the floor or a ledge and lean it. Preferably somewhere out of the wind…
Lovestruck Interiors Turquoise Painted Wooden Mirror, £80, available at Not On The High Street
Stack your plants
It’s every millennial’s dream to own a house overflowing with greenery, both inside and out. But taking up valuable floor space in your small garden with cumbersome plant pots is not a great idea.
Instead, stack them on shelves. Either affix some weatherproof floating shelves to a (very) sturdy fence or an outside wall, or invest in a bookcase-type thing that won’t mind living outside (this excludes your old IKEA Billy bookcase, 100%). Arrange those plants neatly using way less floor space than you would have done otherwise.
John Lewis 4-Step Outdoor Plant Ladder, £149, available at John Lewis
Hang things
Taking the floor space issue to task again, use any high-up hooks, tree branches and door frames to hang everything from outdoor lighting, lanterns and candles to yet more plants.
For plants, invest in some hanging planters or learn to make your own macramé version. Super cheap tealight candle lanterns do wonders for a blank wall (especially if you hang them all at different lengths) and, of course, there’s always festoon lighting — string from one side of the garden to the other and back again.
Festive Lights Extendable Festoon Lighting, from £39.99, available at Amazon
Be smart with furniture
One day you’ll have a lawn that has space for your wrought iron tables and chairs, a swimming pool and a tennis court. Until then, you’re going to have to compromise.
Folding chairs and tables are a great idea for those with little floor space. Extra points if you get a table that attaches to the wall.
If you can hang any of that furniture too, you’re doing much better than us. Cumbersome objects that don’t actually touch the floor create the illusion of much more floor space than there really is. Consider everything from hanging chairs to suspended BBQs.
Freeport Park Audrey Cotton Hammock, £37.99, available at Wayfair
Originally published at https://www.refinery29.com.
