Small gardens may be modest in size, but they are often so beautiful that they remain imprinted on our memories, to be recalled time and again. “The smaller the garden is, the closer to a room it becomes,” says garden author Roy Strong.
Because a small garden is so closely linked with the house, it follows that it should be in sympathy with the architecture and decor. A Victorian-style house suggests a more formal style than a cottage decorated with floral prints and pretty china. A modern home with uncluttered lines may be more suited to a no-lawn patio garden made up of wooden decks, raised planters or even a water feature in glass and steel.
In any size garden, colour and fragrance are two of the elements that will create an instant mood. Introducing water in some form can further enhance the mood of a garden. “The sound of water spilling from a free-standing or wall fountain is not only soothing, it also helps mask unwanted noise from close neighbours and from passing traffic,” says gardening expert Joan Wright.
There is a check list of principles that you should consider when designing a small garden. Keep the these points in mind:
* Layout: Relate the garden layout to the style of the house. A formally designed townhouse with a centrally placed door and windows on either side lends itself to a formal garden layout. If the house façade is non-symmetrical, a geometric, asymmetrical layout, or an informal garden with curving beds and an irregularity in planting will be more appropriate.
* Scale: Avoid planting tall, spreading shrubs and trees- they will simply overwhelm the garden. Choose small trees and upright shrubs or shrubs grown as standards to provide height in the garden.
* Proportion: If your home is a double-storey, you will need some plant height to balance the wall height. This can be achieved with tall, narrow trees, such as certain conifers, or with climbers growing up walls. Choose climbers that do not spread too vigorously.
* Positive and negative space: Place your taller plants around the perimeter and keep the centre of the garden open to achieve a feeling of spaciousness. Plant lawn or groundcovers, or use paving or gravel. In formal gardens, it is a good idea to position a low focal point in the centre, such as a pond, sundial, herb garden or knot garden.
* Simplicity: This is paramount in the small garden. It can be achieved by choosing a particular theme for your garden and keeping to it. If the theme relates to the architectural style of your townhouse, so much the better. Or, choose a particular colour scheme. Repeat plants in the garden, rather than using one of each.
* Seasonal interest: If half to two-thirds of your plants are evergreen, your garden will look good in winter. Choose plants that are interesting for more than one season. For example, those that have a long flowering season, or those with good autumn colour as well or spring or summer blooms.
* Focal points: Make sure your garden has at least one focal point that will draw attention, and add interest. Some examples are a statue, a birdbath, a water feature, an archway, a wall trellis, or a striking container.
* Shade: Avoid planting tall evergreens on the north side of the garden, as these will block out winter sunshine.
Make use of “borrowed” shade, but never rely on its permanency, as at any time a neighbour might decide to remove these trees and shrubs.
Finally, it is a misconception to think that a small garden filled with plants is necessarily low maintenance.
A small garden is a close-up garden, where each plant is on show every day and faults cannot be as easily hidden as they can in a larger garden.
In a small garden, every plant must justify its place, and for this reason only the choicest varieties should be chosen.
To create year-round interest, plants of differing structure and texture are more essential in a small garden than colour.
GARDENING TIPS
* Miniature citrus calamondin and kumquat are attractive when planted in large containers. The square wooden containers known as Versailles planters are particularly suitable for citrus, especially in a courtyard or on a patio.
* Defining the edges of paths and borders adds interest and structure to informal plantings and allows the gardener the freedom to use a variety of materials, such as bricks that are stood at an angle, rope edgings, terracotta tiles or a pre-formed edging.
* Roses, day lilies, nicotiana, aster, nasturtium, vinca and daisies will give the garden a happy, relaxed atmosphere, where birds, butterflies and bees visit, and children love to play.
* Sow Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, celery, lettuce, turnip and spinach this month. Sow into trays and transplant the seedlings when they are about 5cm tall. If you’ve had no success with sowing vegetable seed, plant nursery-grown vegetable seedlings. Seedlings such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and Swiss chard (spinach) can be planted now.
* Remove faded flowers from annuals, and continue to water dahlias, cannas and March lilies (Amaryllis belladonna). Cut the seed heads off the liliums, but let them die down naturally. If you cut them down while still green, you deprive the plant of food for next season’s flowers.
*l It’s a good time to plant new irises and tidy up the dead leaves on old irises. Start to prune the pelargoniums by cutting zonal and regal pelargoniums back by one half. Creeping ivy pelargoniums need only be tidied up. Cut back weak and damaged stems. - Weekend Argus