5 Small Garden Mistakes That Leave Your Outdoor Space Looking Cramped – And the Simple Tricks to Make it Feel Twice as Big
You can't make a small garden bigger but you can easily make it feel more spacious
Just because a garden is small doesn't mean it can't be both beautiful and inspirational when you're designing it, as long as you avoid the most common small garden mistakes. The main thing that trips up most people is overcompensating for the small dimensions of your garden by trying to cram in more things.
Perhaps one of the best tips from garden designers is to go big with your small backyard ideas. Aim to include a stunning focal point that also has a practical function, like the most spacious outdoor dining area you can fit in. You can have fewer flowerbeds but go big on the ones you do have and layer up the plants to take the look firmly into designer territory.
It is entirely possible to avoid the most common small garden mistakes that will make your space feel cramped. We asked garden designers to pinpoint the key small garden mistakes they see being made and, crucially, to offer easy alternatives that will work to transform your space.
1. Cluttering The Space Instead of a Curated Layout
This outdoor dining set is generously spaced rather than shoehorned into a corner with not enough room to pull the chairs out
It can be so tempting to cram lots of different ideas into a small garden so you don't miss out on any of the things you like. But go down this route and you will end up with so many elements that none will shine and the overall effect will be a badly executed mishmash. This approach is one of the most commonly seen small garden mistakes.
Instead aim for repetition and consistency to pull together the layout, such as using the same colors, landscaping materials and plant groups throughout so the design feels coherent and curated rather than thrown together randomly. Resist the urge to fill space. Instead let the garden breath.
'Avoid cluttering up the garden with too many ideas,' says garden designer Rosemary Alexander, co-author of landscaping bible The Essential Garden Design Workbook, available from Target. 'In a genuinely small space, there may be room for only one good idea, so make sure you provide enough room for this element.
'A terrace accommodating people dining at a table, for example, should be designed with sufficient room for chairs to be moved away from the table easily. Pencil in adequate space on the terrace and the number of people to be seated on it, and the very smallest of spaces will appear commodious.'
Rosemary Alexander is founder and principal of the English Gardening School, a talented garden designer, and a skillful educator. She is a trustee of the Great Dixter Charitable Trust and judges regularly for the Royal Horticultural Society. She is well known on the international lecture circuit.
2. Choosing The Wrong Plants That End Up Overwhelming The Garden
A harmoniously planted section of a small garden designed by Laura Janney, which has grown comfortably in the space into a beautiful focal point
When planning and buying plants one of the biggest small garden mistakes is not factoring in how the plants will look together as they settle into the space, and also not gauging how big they will eventually become when they reach maturity. Make the wrong choices and your planting scheme will soon become overgrown, swamping the yard and leaving it feeling claustrophobic.
In small garden design generally the temptation is often to opt for tall plants like bamboo or pampas grass to screen the space and make it feel more private. But these plants can be invasive and overwhelm areas of the garden where you don't want them to be.
'I am very careful to not use plants that are going to spread aggressively with volunteers or self sow,' says landscape architect Laura Janney, CEO of The Inspired Garden. 'Always do your research and make sure you're not planting anything that will take over quickly. Read the tags and don't plant anything that will crowd out the bed.'
Instead aim to scale plants to the size of the space so your design feels open and intentional. If you're set on bamboo choose a clumping species that won't spread, such as Fargesia rufa, which you can find at Plant Addicts.
Alternatively tall ornamental grasses like fountain grass (Pennisetum) or maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis) are a measured and elegant addition to any planting scheme. I love this purple fountain grass from Fast Growing Trees for elegant movement.
Always look closely at plant labels to determine the eventual height and spread of plants, and try to visualise how they will all grow together. 'When picking plants I pay close attention to how wide and tall they get,' says Laura.
'I try not to use plants that will get super big, and also make sure the heights are not too different across the planting so there’s not a bunch of plants at 16 inches and a solitary one at 32 inches.'
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Laura Janney is a renowned landscape architect and designer, and CEO of The Inspired Garden Masterclass. She won the Houzz Best in Design award in 2023 for her work in the New York area. Driven by the belief that flowers feed the soul, Laura sees gardens as more than simply outdoor spaces – they are living, breathing sanctuaries that awaken the senses.
3. Miniaturising Features To Squeeze in Too Many Things
Aim for one deep flowerbed with layered planting rather than several skinny underwhelming ones
It doesn't follow that simply because a garden is small everything in it must be small too. Resist the urge to use smaller materials in order to fit more in, as this can end up emphasising the small size of the garden.
Skinny borders draw attention to the size limitations of the garden, for example, while using small bricks for paving will not necessarily give the impression of space. Instead they can just look busy.
Instead opt for one deep flowerbed on one side of the garden that lets you layer up planting in a generous bed for a more immersive feel. For a landscaping solution, rather than using bricks try carefully placed larger slabs, as this will lead to a better effect.
'In small gardens there is a temptation to reduce the size of features in order to squeeze in as many as possible,' says garden designer Rachel Myers. 'This invariably results in miniaturisation, and the garden feels uncomfortable, difficult to navigate, and impractical. Instead a bold feature, well chosen and placed, can give an air of grandeur to even the most modest space.'
A realistic wish list for the garden, with each feature and its use prioritised, enables the most important elements to be retained and given adequate space in your design.
Rachel Myers is a landscaping expert specialising in small garden design, and co-author of landscaping bible The Essential Garden Design Workbook. She has designed gardens in France, Belgium, and Colombia. At the English Gardening School, Rachel lectures on both garden design and practical horticulture diploma courses.
4. Ignoring Clever Ways Of Creating The Illusion Of More Space
This tall wooden pergola encourages you to look up and makes this compact garden design feel so much bigger. The climbing plants set to cover it will add the finishing touch once mature
Failing to utilize the space above your yard is another one of the common small garden mistakes it's easy to make. Adding height with a small ornamental tree, pergola or vertical planting scrambling over boundaries will lift the view so even the smallest garden will feel bigger as you're making use of the space above you.
A small backyard design can be much improved by using vertical planting as it helps make the space feel bigger by leading the eye upward. It also helps to blur the boundaries so you're not sure where the garden begins and ends. Covering walls and fences in foliage tricks the eye, rather than immediately revealing the limitations of a small space.
'Another way to create a sense of space is to design a garden that “borrows” a feature from its surroundings – such as an interesting tree or dramatic skyline – to extend the apparent size of the garden,' says Rosemary.
'Even in the centre of cities glimpses of pleasant views can be exploited. The advantage is that every garden will appear bigger if the eye is drawn to a viewpoint beyond its boundaries, a useful trick to employ when designing a very small garden.'
This pergola design and garden bench also creates a key focal point with a function – an outdoor seating area. It's always a good idea to design small gardens with at least one function in mind to give your garden a purpose. Find a similar cedar wood pergola here at Wayfair to recreate the look.
Also think about using space-saving products, such as the IKEA TVETÖ umbrella and making clever use of garden furniture, such as this plant shelf that doubles as an outdoor hosting station.
5. Choosing The Wrong Landscaping Materials (And Using Them In The Wrong Way)
Stretch dimensions with light-colored landscaping materials
Using light-coloured landscaping materials in soft shades of stone, sand, clay and taupe can help to bounce the light around and make the garden seem more spacious, while dark-colored landscaping materials can feel oppressive. If you have a shady garden using pale colors will also help it feel more light and airy.
Make your garden look wider by using rectangular paving horizontally to create an illusion that your garden is wider than it is. 'Linear features across the site will emphasise its breadth, and linear features along the site will emphasise its length,' explains Rachel.
'These can be incorporated by way of pools, rills, or detailing in paving, all of which are attractive in their own right, but they also serve to create sight lines that move the eye around the space. While you may not necessarily want to reveal everything at a glance, long sightlines can create the impression of space.'
This three-tier water fountain from Wayfair caught my eye when looking for suitable landscaping materials. Granted, it's much more of a feature, but I love its height, color and the gentle sound it would create from the soft, trickling water.
Add these landscaping material choices to a carefully considered planting palette, and a well-chosen focal point and make small garden mistakes a thing of the past.
If you are a small-space gardener you may also be interested in courtyard garden ideas, and balcony garden ideas to help inspire you to create a beautiful design in even the most compact outside spaces.
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