Small gardens need clever and innovative design, from judicious lighting to plant-led solutions for making spaces more cohesive and, in town and cities, more private. Here are a few of our favorite ideas to steal from the compact gardens nominated for prizes at the annual Society of Garden Designers Awards, held in London in early February.
1. Backlight your plants for drama.
This ingenious and beautiful courtyard for a flat in central London is based around the idea that the garden can be entirely moved from, or around, the space; 13 planters were installed, each equipped with castors so they can be moved easily for maintenance and to accommodate future changes. Designer Haruko Seki created views out into the Japanese-style garden from her client’s basement study, and despite limited space, the richly textural and layered planting, including acers, azeleas and camellias, has a dramatic depth. Frosted glass screens at the back of the garden, lit from behind, bring even more drama and atmosphere.
2. Use a continuous color.
In this north London project, Adolfo Harrison transforms a series of small and awkward areas on different levels into a cohesive series of spaces, including a basement courtyard, a first floor terrace, a roof garden and an open core extending from the basement to the top of the house. The multi-level space becomes a vertical forest, while red accents in walls, furniture, and accessories join the areas together and lead the eye up through the planting.
3. Craft a journey.
This atmospheric and transporting garden, like so many town gardens, was once a plain square of grass. But designer Stefano Marinaz breaks up the 10m x 10m space with a winding path that takes visitors on an immersive journey through rich and textural planting. He used multi-stem trees like ginkgo, flowering cherries, and pines, creating a natural woodland canopy. Grasses such as Sesleria autumnalis ‘Greenlee Hybrid’ and Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Goldtau’ add texture and movement.
4. Blur the boundaries.
Even in the heart of a bustling city the borrowed landscape presents opportunities. In this courtyard by designers Lucie Conochie and Jane Heather, the neighboring trees blend with an arrangement of shrubs and architectural plants, most of which are contained in planters of various sizes and natural tones.
