1: Add mirrors (main image)
A strategically placed mirror will instantly create the illusion of extra space in a small garden. Something generously sized is often best, fixed on a side wall or fence (much better to reflect plants than the back of your house). Specially made outdoor mirrors are designed to be lighter, weather-resistant and shatterproof, so they’re a wise move, while window-effect designs can hint at a secret garden beyond. Surrounded by greenery and foliage, a mirror can brighten up a shady corner remarkably well. Always place garden mirrors in the shade, so they don’t focus sunlight in one tiny spot and cause a fire. Ensure they don’t harm birds by not hanging them too high and keeping them away from feeding stations and flight paths. In areas with bird activity, cover mirrors, add stickers or avoid altogether so birds don’t display or fight with their reflections in the breeding season, wasting precious energy resources.
2: Paint fences
There’s nothing that will visually shrink a garden more than its boundaries. If your fences are orange, they’ll be the first thing you see, so the eye immediately registers the size of the space. The same applies to fences painted white, or in bright or pale colours. The solution? Go dark! Deep forest green, black or charcoal grey make your boundaries recede, so they’re great for opening up a space, especially if they’re covered in climbers or have deep borders in front of them.
3: Plant big
It may seem counterintuitive, but dramatic plants with architectural foliage will make a small garden appear bigger. Filling a tiny garden with lots of little pots and a scattering of small, low-level plants is a bit like displaying lots of knick-knacks in your living room – the result can be fussy and claustrophobic. Keep things bold and simple by using statement plants like tree ferns, yew topiary, hostas, shuttlecock ferns and fatsias, and you’ll create a space that’s lush, green, and calming to sit in, too.
4: Divide the space into ‘rooms’
If you can’t instantly see the boundaries of your garden, the eye is tricked into believing there’s more to it. Which is why hiding areas from view makes your space appear larger. In practical terms, this can be as simple as creating a screen around your patio, using dedicated panels, sections of trellis covered in greenery or even a border full of tall, airy plants such as ornamental grasses and Verbena bonariensis. Don’t be afraid to use structures such as rose arches and pergolas to achieve the same effect.
5: Blur boundaries with climbers
Again, this simple design trick is all about hiding walls and fences from sight, so you don’t know where the garden ends and the landscape beyond begins. To clothe walls and fences in all four seasons and gain the advantage of seasonal colour, choose easy evergreen flowering climbers such as star jasmine, honeysuckle, chocolate vine and passion flower.
6: Rethink your garden furniture
Furniture needs space to breathe in a small garden, or it’ll dominate and feel too large for the space. And if you can’t move around the patio, you’ll immediately feel hemmed in. Avoid large, boxy designs and instead choose something smaller and more elegant, with legs or surfaces you can see through: slatted wood or metal is a good choice, as is wire mesh or plastic rattan. Similarly, less is more with garden furniture – keep chairs to a minimum and choose tables as small as you can get away with.
7: Introduce focal points
When it comes to making a garden feel bigger, one of the easiest things you can do is create ‘moments’, so the eye looks from side to side, focusing on a series of different areas of interest, rather than straight to the boundaries. Artful placement of a statement plant in a large pot or a sculpture, water feature or bird bath will do the job in style, as will a specimen tree with interesting bark or eye-catching seasonal foliage, like Prunus serrula or a Japanese maple.
8: Clear the clutter
Elementary but extremely effective, a good tidy-up will make a small plot immediately feel much more spacious. Be brutal: there’s no room for sentimentality in a tiny garden, and too many pots and ornaments will just make the space feel cluttered. Overgrown plants and weeds will have the same effect, so prune them back or pull them out. Every plant, pot, ornament or structure needs to earn its place. If you need to add storage, go for a tall, slim shed or unit to make the most of the space.
9: Make borders deeper
If your borders are mean and narrow, that feeling will be mirrored in your garden as a whole. Be as generous as you can, even if that means doing away with a small patch of lawn. Generous borders filled with a bounty of foliage and flowers give the impression of abundance, of both variety and space. Even better: bring borders to the heart of the space rather than pushing them to the edges. Be brave and create one that’s perpendicular to a side fence or wall – the effect will be transformative.
