How To Make The Most Of A Small Garden Or Yard
The fact that you only have a small yard does not mean that it has to be devoid of landscaping elements. There are plenty of things that can be done with a small yard to help it look nice, whilst at the same time not encroaching too much onto the usable space.
The key is to plan well, and to choose plants and designs that are not too overpowering. Even though you may not be able to have large boulders or a sweeping flower garden, or indeed a large pond, it is still possible to have a beautiful landscape that surrounds your home. Making it both attractive and an area in which you can enjoy relaxing and entertaining.
One of the things to remember when you have a small space is that you can build up rather than building out. You can do this by building raised beds for your plants. This can be done yourself, allowing you to save money. In fact, if you have a small yard, your landscaping costs should be fewer anyway. Building a raised bed allows you to create an attractive feature for your small yard without having to worry about taking up too much space. Some beds, if built on planks of wood, can be designed with wheels. Then you can move your landscape wherever you want; you have a moveable landscape!
Another method of maximizing small landscape space is to use containers for planting. Instead of marking out large sections of your yard for flowerbeds or vegetable patches, do a little container gardening. These types of gardens allow you to choose to plant various items in containers. Plants in containers take up less space, and you can move them around as you need to. This also creates a moveable landscape that can be very convenient depending upon your use of the space for a certain day. The containers can be placed for ornamental effect while you are entertaining, or they can be moved out of the way for a rousing family party or game.
Take into account the colors in your landscape. Cool colors (like blue) actually make a space look larger. Therefore, if you would like your yard to feel and look larger, choose the colors that make it look that way. Plants like silver king and evergreens can give your yard a feeling of largeness. Blue spruce and Alberta pine are good examples of plants that add a decorative tough while helping your property look bigger. In fact, Alberta pines are rather small trees, so they do not take up very much space while at the same time conferring a feeling of maximum space.
Another idea for the smaller landscape spaces is a small rock garden. A well-designed rock garden always makes an attractive feature. Make sure that it is in a place that will not be in the way when you mow the lawn assuming you have one of course. A little nook or corner of the property, or even up against the house on a raised bed, will do for a small rock garden. Choose your rocks carefully to complement each other, and choose plants that go with the rocks and that will not spread too much. Hens and chicks are great plants for use in a small rock garden. The rock garden draws the eye, but does not need to be sprawling.
Finally, if you want a water feature, it is possible to use a small one for limited landscape space. Small features similar to serenity fountains can be purchased for outdoor use. You can put them among your rock garden or even place one on the wall of your garden or house. Even a small birdbath can add a feeling of elegance to the yard. And the great thing about buying a small water feature is that it costs much, much less than putting in a big pond or even a medium size waterfall. Water features come in a variety of types and designs, and it very likely that you can find one to fit the size and the look of your yard.
Even if your garden is small, it is possible to design a landscape that enlarges the space in an attractive manner. By carefully considering your design, using small features and cool colors, and by thinking about what would help give your yard a touch of elegance, you can have a very nicely landscaped and cosy surrounding for your home.
Paul P. Duxbury
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/how-to-make-the-most-of-a-small-garden-or-yard-95209.html
Filed under: garden
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I want to make a small garden in my back yard?
I’m thinking about growing tomatoes and cucumbers.
And white daisies are my absolute favorite flower, so those too.
Any tips for getting started?
This is pretty much the same question I just asked, my dad is a farmer and I called him and he told me to till when the ground is moist and not wet otherwise it will crust over. To tend to it on a regular basis and be careful not to overwater it
References :
The best time to plan a garden is the previous fall. That’s because it takes a lot of work to create a flower or garden bed. You start by removing any grass from the area, usually by digging it out. You have to be careful to get any deep roots out, or they will come up in your garden. After you’ve done this you add manure and other compost and turn it in, then you cover the tilled area with leaves, and wait out the winter. In the spring you set out your young plants, pulling the leaves away from spot you want to place each plant. The leaves can stay over the rest of the bed as mulch. You can do all this in the spring; it’s just easier in the fall.
Since you only want a small garden you might consider container gardening. Each tomato needs a 14" or 16" pot. You can use large plastic storage containers with drainage holes punched through the bottom instead. They are usually cheaper than plastic pots. Fill them with a topsoil/potting soil mixture, and they will be weed free.
Cucumbers need a trellis to twine in, and tomatoes are best tied to some support to prevent them falling over. Both of these need full sun and regular watering. Both are warm weather plants, but the tomato will stop flowering if the air temperature gets too high. Reflected heat can help tomatoes get an early start, or cause a short season if the weather turns hot. Having plants in a container makes it easy to move them if the initial site you placed them doesn’t work out.
The first link below gives planting dates for seed for particular crops based on your USDA growing zone (see link 2). As long as the chance of frost has passed you can set out plants. If a late frost is forecast you can cover your small plants with pots, cans, or baskets to prevent frost burn. Remove the covers when the sun hits the garden.
Of course, it will be easy to intersperse containers of flowers with your containerized vegetables. The third link is a list of companion plants that help protect your vegetables from insects.
References :
http://www.2bseeds.com/plantingschedule.shtml
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants