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-Garden Design for Small Spaces
-How to choose Trees and Shrubs

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Garden Design for Small Spaces

How Does Designing a Small Garden Differ from Designing a Large Garden?

Gardening in small spaces is generally overlooked in garden design manuals. Garden design is often presented as a list of principles or rules and illustrated on a grand scale. Most of us do not have acres of land on which to carefully calculate the width versus length of our perennial borders. Many of us don’t have the time or the inclination to undertake the maintenance these acres of gardens would need.

Gardening in a small space has its limits, but it need not be limiting. In a small garden, the gardener can pay attention to detail. You can keep on top of maintenance, while still having time to sit and enjoy your small garden. In fact, many small space gardens are designed around entertaining and sitting areas, rather then the need to nurture plants.

Whatever your reasons for having a small garden, there is no reason it cannot be a well designed show stopper.

Small Garden Design Challenges

The entire garden can be viewed as a whole. Some small garden spaces will be able to accommodate a hidden turn around a path or even be divided into garden rooms, but for the most part, small gardens can be taken in whole, in one look. This means that, more than ever, your garden will be viewed as a composition.

Limited space means you are going to have to make choices. You won’t be able to grow every plant you love. You will need to curb your inclination to buy a plant on impulse and assume you’ll find a place for it.

Color should also be limited, to give your small garden cohesion. Less is more. Cooler colors will make the garden appear larger. You can compensate for the limited color pallette with a variety of textures. The textural contrast will help blend the plant material and allow the garden to flow.

Every plant or feature will need to serve a purpose. There is no room for wasted space or underperforming plants. Plants should offer at least two seasons of interest.

Small Garden Bonuses

Design can be easier when you can take in the whole picture at once.

It takes less plants to make a dramatic effect.

Gardeners get to know every space and plant in a small garden. Any plant that is out of place or not thriving can be spotted and corrected quickly.

Small gardens lend themselves to being enclosed. You may not want to install a stone wall, but an evergreen or flowering hedge will give the illusion of a secret garden. A simple low boxwood edge transforms a small garden into a formal garden. Hardscaping and fencing enclose and define a space for entertaining or children’s play. A small space garden lends itself to personal expression. Smaller gardens are extensions of your home and speak volumes about the sensibilities and tastes of the gardener. And if those tastes and sensibilities should change, it’s much easier to rework a small garden.

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How to Choose Trees and Shrubs

Choosing the right tree or shrub is important since you're likely to live with your decision for years, or even decades, so don't just go to the garden center and buy whatever is pretty at the moment, tempting though it is. Instead, do some thinking about what you want.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when choosing a tree or shrub:

• What growing conditions does the tree or shrub need? Some plants need full sun (at least 6 hours of unfiltered light) while others need at least light shade (4 to 6 hours of filtered or other shade a day). What sort of moisture does it need? What type of soil?

• Do I want an evergreen plant or a plant that sheds its leaves once a year—a deciduous plant? Evergreen trees offer more privacy and look great all year long. Deciduous trees offer ever-varying leaves, most of which change shape and/or color through the year.

• How tall and/or wide will it get? Know the plant's ultimate size and the length of time it will take to reach maturity. After all, it’s a shame to prune a tall, stately tree severely because you didn’t take telephone or power lines into account at planting time. Pruning a tree or shrub severely to reduce or drastically control size is never a good idea. Not only is heavy pruning working against nature and labor-intensive, but it's also difficult, if not impossible, to maintain a tree's lovely overall shape.

• Does it have spring flowers or interest? Does it have fall color or interest, such as berries?

• If the plant is a tree or large shrub, what sort of litter does it produce? Does it drop fruits, the way some crabapples do, which can produce a hazard on sidewalks and patios and create a mess otherwise? Or does it have lots of broken little branches, the way some weeping willows do? The amount of litter a plant produces (including dropped autumn leaves) is especially important in areas around swimming pools.

• What insects or diseases is it susceptible to? If the insects or diseases are severe in your region of the country, you may want to reconsider. Check with garden center staff to be sure.

• Is it a plant that wildlife will enjoy? Does it produce berries or flowers that attract birds or butterflies? Does it encourage nesting for songbirds?

• How attractive is the plant to deer and rabbits? If these animals are a problem in your area and you can provide protection for the plants, fine. If not, you should reconsider. There are a number of lists of plants that are not attractive to deer and rabbits available online. Just go to your search engine and type in "deer-resistant plants" or "rabbit-resistant plants." The most useful lists are local and usually put out by your state's cooperative extension service.

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