Small Space Garden Ideas and Plants
Ideas for small space gardening with minimum work…
Having a small space garden across two, six foot wide tiers with heavy clay soil, is a challenge. Find just the right spot for a favourite plant can be a bit hit and miss. I do no dig, easy to care for plants that keep the garden bright and colourful for most of the year.
Introduction
Gardening is exercising without knowing. When one gardens you use lots of different muscles in a passive active way. Not only do I like the exercise but I love flowers and the raft of wild life that comes along with the plants. My small space garden is full to overflowing with cut flowers, perennials, roses, trees and climbers with a little bit of vegetables. I am going to share a few things I do in my garden to keep it bee, bird friendly, happy and healthy.
Ultimate guide to easy gardening for seniors
Below are points which I consider to be top of the list when starting a small space garden if you are in your senior years.
- Cover every bit of ground with some kind of plant. Creepers, ground covers, shrubs.
- Know where the sunny spots are and which spaces are shady.
- Choose plants suited to your area, they will be easier to keep alive.
- Divide your small space garden into feature sections, this makes for good management.
- Purchase a small spade and fork with long handles.
- Use a kneeler with handles to get up and down easier when weeding or planting.
- Consider using watering systems and water butts to collect rain water. A drip feed water system is a must, it has a timer on the tap and will automatically turn on and slowly soak the plants. This is ideal for when you are away or unable to stand with a hose and water the plants.
- A guardsman type shed for storing tools and compost and other bits is useful if you have space.
- One 4 tier plastic greenhouse stand is essential for starting vegetables or tricky to grow flowers.
- Make a designated sitting out area in your small space garden, to relax and enjoy everything around you. Benches are great for a small space garden as more than one person can sit down on it to enjoy the space.
- Gardening for half hour at a time in a small space garden makes all the difference to you and the plants.
- Enjoy planning, shopping, designing, planting, watch the small space garden bloom into a great outdoor place.
- Invest in raised beds at least 2 ft high. Less bending and can be accessed from a sitting position.
- Keep pathways through your small space garden wide enough for a walking frame or wheel chair.
- The use of wall or fence planters extends your planting area and gives a nice colour at height.
- Plant pots on a wheeled base are ideal, as they can be moved around very easily. This also allows you to move pots that have finished flowering out of the way and replace it’s space with one that is soon to flower.
- Make the garden look nice all year round. Plant easy to manage perennials and evergreen shrubs to create a balance. Use ground cover plants to cover all spaces weeds would love.
Discover what plants are guaranteed to grow in your area?
The easiest way to find out what plants grow well in your area is to go for a walk around the area. This would have to be done throughout the growing and flowering season so you can see what grows when. Don’t think the local garden nursery only stocks plants that will grow well in your area. Areas differ in soil ph as well as situation related to sun and shade, they should have plants for all areas. Observe the following which will guide you to making good choices for your small space garden.
- Where the plant you like is planted – sun, shade, garden bed, or pot.
- What time of the year is it flowering, what colour and shape is the flower. Try using a good gardening book or the internet to identify the plant. This will make going to the garden nursery to find it easier.
- Is the plant a shrub, tree or plant? Shape of leaves, colour of leaves or flowers.
- The same plant, tree, or shrub you like is in a lot of the gardens around your area. This indicates it likes the area as it does well.
- Finding a well kept flower rich garden is amazing as you can knock on the door and have a chat with the gardener.
4 Ideas for making your small space garden exciting.
- Break your garden into sections which are easy to weed, water, and plant.
- Choose a feature for each section. I have a forest garden, rose garden, arch garden, pond garden and my little girl area. These area’s have a feature, like a statue of a little girl watering the plants. I have made the area around her, full of low to medium plants.
- Use small stones, bark, pebbles and solar light to enhance the spaces.
- Think wildlife, water troughs or flower pot saucers, bird feeders, bird baths and bug hotels can be tucked in and around each space. I have a fairy door which is always attracting attention.
In my blogs I will be discussing things I am doing in my garden, hoping these will lead you to creating an area of your own.
Grow a healthy garden in your small space garden
- Vegetables can be grow in large tubs, there is nothing nicer that picking fresh beans or peas for your meal.
- Purchase bush or dwarf seeds, plant in pots and place amidst the flowers. Good for pollination.
- Plant a herb trough for the window sill or a window box or tub near to the kitchen.
- Use bright coloured pots to transplant all the plants you have grown from seed and not been able to use to others as a gift.
- Grow potatoes in a potato grow bag, it is exciting to dig them up and see how many you have.
- Stay away from planting large vegetable plants which spread and take over your garden like the squash family.
Browse All Gardening Posts
Planting a garden is fantastic for the soul
Having a few good books helps you choose the plants best suited to the place you have for it in the garden. I use the RHS garden books below, they are available online in various sites as new books or on book sites as second hand or new.
