Plants don’t know how big your garden is, they just want to grow where it suits them. It’s up to you to pick the right plants for the space you have, be that courtyard, balcony, roof top, doorstep or window ledge.
You don’t even need to have access to the earth, you can use containers to fit your style. Growing in pots allows you to grow plants that might not usually grow in your local soil, for example, you might love rhododendrons and camellias, but live in an area where clay soil dominates. Plant them in peat-free ericaceous soil and your acid-loving plants will be happy.
With small spaces you have to think in all directions – up, along, around and through. You might have walls which would suit climbers, railings for weaving plants through, or structures to give you focal height and screening. Don’t consign plants to the floor or the corners – play with spacing, grouping, maybe adding staging or shelves to take your plants up a level and make a cute display at the same time.
Designing your space
Firstly, pots and containers can be anything you like, as long as they can hold soil and have some drainage to stop them flooding. They open up a world of possible plants as you can pick the soil, the light conditions and watering requirements. You can even put an impossible mix of plants together that would never usually grow side by side – very liberating. You can use recycled or upcycled materials, in exactly the shade of peach fuzz that takes your fancy. Mix and match to suit your interior decor or your building materials for a super stylish look and have fun with it.
Year-round joy
If you’d rather something more decorative, think of year-round interest, something to draw your eye through the seasons. Small spaces have to work hard. This could include evergreens, spring bulbs, summer perennials and autumn colour or texture.
Shelve it
Tiny spaces need to make the most of every angle, so think vertically. Shelving can be attached to exterior walls or freestanding and made from offcuts or interesting boxes to display plants and ornaments. Think of creating your space like a shop window, put your favourite pieces together in a way which makes you happy.
Grow up
Make the most of vertical surfaces by growing climbers up and along walls and fences, such as roses, wisteria, and honeysuckle, or train fruit trees along walls. Use the biggest pot you can fit in the space for this, to give them plenty of soil to grow successfully in – this is a long-term investment.
A little bit of theatre
You could curate your own collection and show it off in a theatre, such as used for auriculas. The RHS holds many National Collections at its gardens if you need inspiration or just choose your favourite plant and seek out its friends. Other suggestions to collect include snowdrops, irises, echeverias, or even bonsai.
A mini kitchen larder
If you want an edible garden, pots are perfect as they are easy to tend. You can monitor them daily, feed and water them according to their individual needs, and replace annual crops through the growing season.
On the rails
There are now lots more products on the market that are specifically made to fit over different styles of balcony railing. The plants are going to be growing ‘on the edge’ and might therefore be exposed to strong winds and other extremes of weather, so choose tough plants that suit.
Hang it
Hanging baskets are a really useful way to grow things that hang down but do take a little more maintenance. Annual plants work well in baskets and you can also grow crops such as tomatoes. Use the biggest size you can as they can dry out quickly, especially if in exposed situations. They’ll also need feeding at some point once the nutrients in the soil have been used up by the plants.
Tiered treasures
Using different heights to show off your plants not only makes each one a piece of artwork to be viewed individually but also uses small space with ingenuity. You could even display your houseplants on these in the warmer months or rotate plants each season to keep things interesting.
Between the cracks
Those little spaces in between, where you think nothing will grow, might just be the most perfect nooks and crannies to have some pretty plants. Spreading, groundcover plants love these types of locations, thriving on poor soil and good drainage. Some are even tough enough to be walked on.