how to make a small garden look bigger: 11 ingenious tips & tricks

Mary, Mary quite contrary how does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells, and pretty maids all in a row. If you’ve ever felt like Mary, wondering how to make a small garden look bigger, grow and flourish – don’t worry, you’re not alone.

87% of British households have gardens, and many of them don’t quite measure up to the 188m² average. This is especially true if you live in a built-up urban area such as London.

the small garden problem

A small or narrow garden can become quite a handful if you’re not too careful: overgrown greenery and a surplus of furniture can make them look especially cramped and untidy. And equally, if you go too minimal, it can draw attention to how small it is. But it’s not the end. Why?

Because while you might have limited outdoor space, this is balanced out with unlimited options. Even with the narrowest of yards or lawns, it’s possible, with some creative tips and tricks, to play with perspectives and introduce subtle changes that make all the difference to its overall feel. It only takes a little planning.

11 handy tips and tricks to make a small garden look bigger

Without any more fanfare, here’s 11 ideas you could introduce into your garden to maximise space and create a scheme that’s visually more interesting – and more importantly – disguises the scantness of the plot.

1.      it’s all in the planning

There’s a phrase that seems to follow us around in life, and that phrase is: “a project is only as good as its planning”. There’s a reason why this is a cliché – and that’s because it’s true!

Before you do anything at it, it’s always a good idea to evaluate what you’re working from, the main purpose of your garden and your capacity. Are you willing to put in the effort to pull off a massive transformation? Or are several small changes to disguise the size of your garden more within your remit?

Either way, you’ll need to set realistic goals. While it’s tempting to have everything, incorporating too many elements can make things look messy and small – the opposite of what we want to achieve here. Think of it like dining at your favourite restaurant: you’ll have to be selective with the menu.

2.      use a splash of colour theory

Colour theory goes a long way and that applies to picking out your garden colours too. Introducing a colour scheme into your horticulture and garden décor will help maintain a cohesive look, and if planned carefully, you can create accents, disguise small corners and open up the space.

paint colours

The power of paint can’t be overstated. By picking out the right fence paint you can make a garden look more spacious by an untold amount. When it comes to fence colours, greens and neutrals blend in beautifully with garden surroundings, allowing the garden to come to an end subtly.

greenery

For plants and flowers, there are two general rules to observe:

1. Don’t cram in too many types of plants – this will make your garden look too busy and draw attention to its size. Instead, opt for a modest combination of seasonal plants that both allow for variance and complement each other.
2. Don’t go too crazy with colours – generally speaking, loud colours draw the eye so be careful with your placement as brightly-coloured borders might work against you.

3.      go vertical

On the whole, small gardens lack floorspace. To compensate try thinking about decorating upwards. This might involve hanging wall planters, flower walls, a trellis or ladder shelving – the options are endless!

4.      level up your lawn

Jumping off the previous point, you can introduce different levels by raising things up and levelling things down, achieving a sense of depth and freeing up space for seating and relaxation.

5.      time for reflection

If you want to make a small garden look bigger with minimal effort this tip is for you. Simply intersperse reflective surfaces into your garden décor. This could be large shiny plant pots (remember not too many) or a large outdoor mirror.

They will instantly double the perceived size of an oddly shaped garden plot. Just make sure that you get the placement right – you don’t want to gaze into a reflection of the wheelie bins or a compost heap.

6.      conceal and blend

When we say “conceal and blend” it might sound like we’re talking about dolling yourself up with makeup, but we promise you that isn’t the case. By concealing and blending the boundaries of your garden into its surroundings, you can draw attention away from the limited space.

Relying on the principle that if you can’t see the boundaries of the garden you won’t notice them, you can achieve a more spacious feel by packing in climbing plants or even painting a garden wall green to blend into the plants.

7.      layer in interesting textures

By adding a diverse range of textures into your garden, as with colour, you can create interest, depth and direct attention where you please. For instance, the curvy edges of bushes and the delicacy of fine textured plants make a soothing canvas, which will both blend into the background and create an organic garden screen.

8.      get into the zone

Zoning works a treat for small gardens. Rather than viewing the whole space as one, you can divide the garden into sections with partitions, concealing its length and adding an interest point. Paired with colour blocking, this creates a decidedly modern and cohesive look.

9.      pave the way

For paving, small pathways really go the extra mile to imply additional space. While you may associate paths with gardens of a larger variety, nothing is stopping you from adding this charming feature to your own small garden.

Simply, make sure that your path fades out in a gradient, and doesn’t stop abruptly. You can achieve this by allowing it to blend into a border or designing it to become narrower as it stretches out across the garden.

10.  furnish to size

This might sound like an obvious one, but finding furniture to scale can make all the difference. Try opting for slimline or minimalist seating that won’t visually disrupt your garden scheme.

11.  meld indoors and outdoors

One foolproof way how to make a small garden look bigger is to bring the indoors out and the outdoors in. By this, we mean an indoor/outdoor living space.

With the pairing of a bi-fold or sliding door and a seamless flow between your interior’s flooring out the exterior decking, you can trick the eye and create the illusion of extra space.

Small garden, big ideas

We hope this post has demonstrated that just because you have a small space, it doesn’t mean you can’t think big. Get out there and get creative – and you can cast the illusion that your garden is larger than it is, maintaining a sophisticated and Instagram-worthy design all the while.

Looking for more big ideas? Explore the rest of our decorating and design blog and get creative.