• Slide 1 of 14: Small gardens have lots of advantages – the main one being they're wonderfully low-maintenance. Small gardens, city terraces, balconies and even unloved corners can all make enticing outdoor spaces with a little care and attention. Visual tricks, good lighting, interesting planting and comfortable seating will play to the strengths of the most awkward or compact of gardens.  Whether you're looking to create an impressive balcony garden, want to introduce some garden furniture or love to be surrounded by greenery, you'll find lots of small garden ideas here to inspire you.

  • Slide 2 of 14: Don't get too carried away when planning for a small space. A carefully chosen palette of materials and plants is often the most satisfying. However, this doesn't mean you can't be adventurous and experimental, just be mindful that trying to squeeze everything into a compact space will make it cluttered and decrease usability.

  • Slide 3 of 14: The choice of planting is essential in smaller gardens. Use plants that won't overcrowd the space, however you also need to ensure you are not always looking at fencing or boundary walls. A really useful plant is the evergreen climber Trachelospermum Jasminoides, commonly known as star jasmine. It will offer year-round interest with an abundance of white flower from mid to late summer.

  • Slide 4 of 14: Using plants in pots provides additional flexibility in smaller gardens. You are able to position the pots around your dining terrace and relocate them easily whenever you need to, as well as vary the planting from season to season.

  • Slide 5 of 14: Continuity of approach from the inside out will help make the garden feel part of your home. This can range from paint colors and materials to simply using plants whose flower color complements the interior. Be mindful that although some paving materials can be used both internally and externally, the stone outside will tend to weather over time.

  • Slide 6 of 14: Introduce focal points, which can include sculpture or water features, specimen trees and even an outdoor fireplace. Correct positioning is important – some will be most successful as the design centrepiece while others are better tucked away within planting so that you aren't fully aware of them until you enter the garden.

  • Slide 7 of 14: 'Lighting specific areas and focal points will create interest and provide a backdrop to the house all year round, even at times when you are not in the garden. It is important to not light the whole space, areas of darkness are essential to the success of a garden lighting scheme,' says Dan Bowyer, Fisher Tomlin & Bowyer.

  • Slide 8 of 14: Think about a shaded spot as a multisensory experience of sight, sound and scent. Trees provide excellent coverage without blocking too much sun, and can be trimmed back to suit your needs.

  • Slide 9 of 14: Transform an overlooked or exposed garden space. Sunken gardens make great retreats and are especially useful in urban plots where boundary fences may cast unwanted shade.  Lowering a terrace by just 45cm makes it easier to create a greater sense of privacy with planting or awnings; if you want to go lower, ask a landscape architect to check the water table level and advise on drainage. In a sloping garden, carve out terraces and create an outdoor room on the lowest level.

  • Slide 10 of 14: It may not sound the most exciting, but getting on top of tasks such as the cleaning and tidying of pots, sheds and greenhouses is the perfect way to ensure that your small garden is clutter-free – allowing you to make the most of even the smallest of areas. If space allows, why not invest in a potting shed? 

  • Slide 11 of 14: If floor space is at a premium, plant vertically instead. One of the most sought after look this year – living walls are taking planting to a whole new level.  To create these vertical gardens, plants are rooted into a structure which is then  attached to an interior, exterior or freestanding wall. Systems can range from  something as simple as plant pots hung on a vertical wall, or highly sophisticated  modular, hydroponic panels where all the water and nutrient requirements of the  plants are precision delivered and monitored electronically.

  • Slide 12 of 14: It is hugely important to get the scale just right in a compact area. Look out how your furniture pieces relate to each other and the surrounding space. A neat garden sofa and armless – or single arm – chairs are good options for a small garden or courtyard where space is limited. 

  • Slide 13 of 14: What better way is there to start your working day than a relaxed walk to the end of your garden? And you need not have a large garden to do so. And, for as little as $7,000-$10,000, you can hire a builder to create a simple studio, much like the one shown above. Building an extra room with a view of the garden is now a growing trend. With the current vogue for open-plan, multi-purpose family rooms that combine a mix of kitchen, dining and living spaces, garden rooms and orangeries fit the bill perfectly. 

  • Slide 14 of 14: Often used on a grand and formal scale, try topiary forms in short-on-space areas to dramatic effect. In this tiny garden, topiary box has been cut into balls – in close proximity – to create a chess board feel.

Small garden ideas – 13 clever designs for maximizing a compact gardening space

Small gardens have lots of advantages – the main one being they're wonderfully low-maintenance. Small gardens, city terraces, balconies and even unloved corners can all make enticing outdoor spaces with a little care and attention. Visual tricks, good lighting, interesting planting and comfortable seating will play to the strengths of the most awkward or compact of gardens.

Whether you're looking to create an impressive balcony garden, want to introduce some garden furniture or love to be surrounded by greenery, you'll find lots of small garden ideas here to inspire you.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1. KEEP IT SIMPLE

Don't get too carried away when planning for a small space. A carefully chosen palette of materials and plants is often the most satisfying. However, this doesn't mean you can't be adventurous and experimental, just be mindful that trying to squeeze everything into a compact space will make it cluttered and decrease usability.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2. PLANT SMART

The choice of planting is essential in smaller gardens. Use plants that won't overcrowd the space, however you also need to ensure you are not always looking at fencing or boundary walls. A really useful plant is the evergreen climberTrachelospermum Jasminoides, commonly known as star jasmine. It will offer year-round interest with an abundance of white flower from mid to late summer.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

3. POT UP

Using plants in pots provides additional flexibility in smaller gardens. You are able to position the pots around your dining terrace and relocate them easily whenever you need to, as well as vary the planting from season to season.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

4. CONSISTENCY IS KEY

Continuity of approach from the inside out will help make the garden feel part of your home. This can range from paint colors and materials to simply using plants whose flower color complements the interior. Be mindful that although some paving materials can be used both internally and externally, the stone outside will tend to weather over time.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

5. CREATE INTEREST

Introduce focal points, which can include sculpture or water features, specimen trees and even an outdoor fireplace. Correct positioning is important – some will be most successful as the design centrepiece while others are better tucked away within planting so that you aren't fully aware of them until you enter the garden.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

6. LIGHT RIGHT

'Lighting specific areas and focal points will create interest and provide a backdrop to the house all year round, even at times when you are not in the garden. It is important to not light the whole space, areas of darkness are essential to the success of a garden lighting scheme,' says Dan Bowyer, Fisher Tomlin & Bowyer.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

7. CREATE A SHADY CORNER

Think about a shaded spot as a multisensory experience of sight, sound and scent. Trees provide excellent coverage without blocking too much sun, and can be trimmed back to suit your needs.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

8. GO UNDERGROUND

Transform an overlooked or exposed garden space. Sunken gardens make great retreats and are especially useful in urban plots where boundary fences may cast unwanted shade.

Lowering a terrace by just 45cm makes it easier to create a greater sense of privacy with planting or awnings; if you want to go lower, ask a landscape architect to check the water table level and advise on drainage. In a sloping garden, carve out terraces and create an outdoor room on the lowest level.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

9. INSTIL GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

It may not sound the most exciting, but getting on top of tasks such as the cleaning and tidying of pots, sheds and greenhouses is the perfect way to ensure that your small garden is clutter-free – allowing you to make the most of even the smallest of areas.

If space allows, why not invest in a potting shed?

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

10. PLANT UP

If floor space is at a premium, plant vertically instead. One of the most sought after look this year – living walls are taking planting to a whole new level.

To create these vertical gardens, plants are rooted into a structure which is then  attached to an interior, exterior or freestanding wall. Systems can range from  something as simple as plant pots hung on a vertical wall, or highly sophisticated  modular, hydroponic panels where all the water and nutrient requirements of the  plants are precision delivered and monitored electronically.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

11. OPT FOR LOW-LEVEL FURNITURE

It is hugely important to get the scale just right in a compact area. Look out how your furniture pieces relate to each other and the surrounding space. A neat garden sofa and armless – or single arm – chairs are good options for a small garden or courtyard where space is limited.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

12. BUILD AN OFFICE AT THE END OF YOUR GARDEN

What better way is there to start your working day than a relaxed walk to the end of your garden? And you need not have a large garden to do so. And, for as little as $7,000-$10,000, you can hire a builder to create a simple studio, much like the one shown above.

Building an extra room with a view of the garden is now a growing trend. With the current vogue for open-plan, multi-purpose family rooms that combine a mix of kitchen, dining and living spaces, garden rooms and orangeries fit the bill perfectly.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

13. ENJOY SMALL-SCALE TOPIARY

Often used on a grand and formal scale, try topiary forms in short-on-space areas to dramatic effect. In this tiny garden, topiary box has been cut into balls – in close proximity – to create a chess board feel.

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

14/14 SLIDES