Space can be an issue for many aspiring gardeners. After all, people aspire to have huge, beautiful gardens filled with a variety of flowers and trees. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to achieve this, but there’s also no shame in having small yet admirable gardens. In fact, designing your small garden might just convince you that size doesn’t always equate to being better. Due to the small size, such a garden will be easier to manage and will have a unique charm to it. Thus, we have provided several tips in achieving small yet wondrous gardens.
1) Make your garden colorful.
When you use a mix of vibrantly colored plants for your small garden, you create a visual setting that makes the area seem a whole lot brighter and livelier. Instead of simply relying on green foliage, why not take advantage of plants with various colors? Take note that warm colors evoke a sense of intimacy while cooler tones give a small area a sense of largeness. Regardless of which colors you utilize for your garden, you have to appropriately water your plants every single day to stop them from drying out and losing their vibrance. Thus, it is essential to take good care your lawn by using a sprinkler or even a hose. You can read this article to chose a best sprinkler for your garden.
2) Invite wildlife.
By this, we don’t mean that you should get goats and chickens to loiter in your garden. Instead, we mean that you should invite birds and insects that will not only create some buzz in your garden but also help pollinate plants. All you have to do is to place some bird boxes, insect hotels, and feeding stations. Also, don’t forget to grow vibrant flowers that bees and butterflies will surely adore.
3) Take advantage of containers.
If you desire to have small trees or flowering plants, you should definitely consider using pots. By using pots, you can easily move your plant and small trees around your small garden to make the area look new every month or so. Moreover, this allows you to expose your plants to enough sunlight each day by simply placing the pots in another area. Thus, pots and other containers offer flexibility – something that small spaces need a lot.
4) Don’t forget to apply fertilizers.
In order to efficiently grow plants with the small space you have, your garden soil needs to be healthy all the time. You see, people will often grow plants as close to each other as possible to maximize space. While this is a good strategy, it will also take way soil nutrients faster. In order to prevent your soil from drying out, practice organic composting and crop rotation. In the long run, the nutrient-filled soil will grow plants well while the plants will offer nutrition and better resistance to pests.
5) Practice vertical gardening.
Since space is a problem, why not go up? With vertical gardening, you can maximize your gardening space without having to look for more land. In fact, vertical gardening not only offers a fresh view but also more privacy and easier harvesting of fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, vertical gardening reduces the risks of having fungal leaf spots since the improved air circulation prevents the accumulation of moisture. Water usage is also reduced since you target the plant’s root section instead of watering from above. This is a relatively new concept that’s gaining ground, and it would be great if you try it out yourself.
6) Grow edible plants.
Why not combine beauty with practical value? By growing edible plants, you can balance having a visually pleasing small garden while also having something to eat in the near future. After all, it’s more commendable for gardeners to grow something that has more than aesthetic value. There are many plants you can grow including lettuce, beet, sweet potatoes, strawberries, and peppers. Furthermore, there are many vegetables that can be harvested within several weeks, which allows you to have new plants to diversify your small garden.
7) Develop raised garden beds.
This is one of the most popular and reliable gardening tips around. Since you are trying to efficiently use space, a garden space will do wonders. Basically, each square foot of a raised bed provides more room for plants to grow than simply being planted in a random area in your garden. In addition, weed control is better with raised beds since uprooting them there is quicker. Just like vertical gardening, a raised bed means that your plants will be exposed to sunlight faster due to the positioning. Similar to using pots, a raised bed allows you to move your crops to better areas throughout the year. Lastly, water drainage works great with raised garden beds.
As you can see, a small garden does not have to look bleak and dull. By exploring various methods such as vertical gardening, raised beds, and luring bird and insect activity, your garden will have its unique identity that even bigger gardens cannot replicate. Once you create a beautiful small garden, other people will realize that you are an efficient and creative gardener.
Ann blogs at www.sumogardener.com and is learning and sharing more about gardening all the time. A place for beginner gardeners to find and exchange tips and knowledge, Ann hopes to become an expert at gardening and share her journey with you through her blog.