Our garden is huge! And I really mean huge! It’s long, and has multiple tiers and is very unruly in places. We loved the space when we bought the house but really didn’t consider the fact we aren’t green fingered in the slightest and we also don’t have a huge amount of time to work on it, especially now we have little dude!
For the first year we simply put up fencing to make the garden safe and usable for Opie, but other than that and the odd bit of lawn moving we didn’t touch it. At the end of last year though we made a very big change to our garden when we built our photography studio on one of the tiers. This has encouraged us to do a little work to our garden to make it more usable and just generally prettier. We decided to focus on our small patio area outside our backdoor first as this is most likely to be the area we will use this summer, whilst Elian is still small.
Here are our top 5 tips to easily transform your small garden or patio area:
- Paint your fences, add some colour – Most gardens have some sort of fencing or boundary markers so whether they are wooden or metal make sure they are looking great either by adding a coat of paint or by making sure the panels are all fixed and in old condition. This can also be a great opportunity to add a bit of colour to your garden, we love the Cuprinol Shades paints and have our fences painted in Willow.
- Pot those plants or grow some herbs – You don’t need big flower beds to have beautiful plants and greenery in your garden. Pots are the perfect way to bring plants into a small space, especially if you only have a patio area. You can buy some beautiful pots in garden centres or even supermarkets, and you can buy them ready planted up or plant them up yourself. Just check that the plants you buy are suitable for the area they will be positioned in your garden. Or if you love to use herbs in your cooking, a little herb garden might be the perfect thing for you. I knew when Jon built our fence that I really wanted my own herb garden, so Jon added some cute little metal buckets to the fence panel and I have planted up some herbs to grow right outside our back door.
- Make it comfy and useable – Get yourself some garden furniture, even just a little chair and table will make your garden feel more inviting and make it useable all year round. No matter how small the space you will be able to find some seating that fits perfectly. If space is at a premium look for a set that folds down so you can move it aside when you want more space. Look for something that suits your style and fits your space well. We settled on this tall 2 seat set with glass table and our patio isn’t wide enough to take a 4 seat set, and we loved the fact the high seats would allow us to see over our fence and down our garden.
- Add some heat, – To make your little space more inviting having a nice warm fire is just the key. We decided on a chiminea but you could also try a fire pit if you have the space. The Chiminea means its lovely and warm on our patio late into the evenings and even into the cooler autumn months. Plus the glow from a fire in the evenings is so lovely. A chiminea is pretty compact in size too so its perfect for those smaller outdoor spaces
- Make it light…even at night – If you like the idea of using your garden on summer evenings then some string lights, solar lights or even a few small candles would be perfect. You can get garden lights in all shapes and forms now, just remember to think about how your powering them, some will be mains, some battery and others solar so see which works best for you and your outdoor space.
If you love this post, don’t forget to PIN IT!!
