Size might matter in many instances, but a lot can be done with a little. Most city dwellers are lucky to have even five square feet of garden or a small patio—a massive step down for the yardage of some of our suburban pasts—so what better way to count your blessings than to make the most of whatever green space you have to yourself? Below, we’ve compiled 18 small garden ideas to make the most of your petite oasis. From humble hedges to hanging florals, nothing is out of the question when natural beauty is concerned.
Amy Neunsinger 1
Small Courtyard Garden
You don’t actually need dirt to make a garden. Take the terrace at Mark D. Sikes’s West Hollywood home, for instance. He’s made his inner courtyard a garden with not a spot of soil in sight. To pull this off yourself, start by bringing in potted shrubs and trees (if you’ve looking for more color, orange trees are a historically fabulous choice and can weather winter indoors). Next, plant your walls with the least invasive ivy you can find. Cut to a few years later and you’ve got your own little secret garden.
Simon Upton 2
Green Your Balcony
Any city dweller knows that deep yearning for greenery. Often it can be the only thing that calms our frayed urban nerves. Turn your piece of heaven into a mini Shangri-la by planting hanging plants from the ceiling or strategically placing pots along the railing. Studio Peregalli used wisteria, papyrus, and ferns in this Milan apartment to create a wistful countryside energy. For the ultimate transportive effect, spring for fragrant plants like climbing roses.
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Chris Mottalini 3
Steal from Your Neighbors
Generally, we do not encourage theft over at ELLE DECOR, but beauty is boundless and should be enjoyed by all. This Garrett Hunter–designed house has beauty to spare inside and out, and though the trees surrounding the property are the homeowners’, it gave us an idea: When your property abuts healthy, flowering trees tall enough to clear your balcony, allow them to make a green boundary around your second (or third!) floor. Then all you need to create a small outdoor garden is an array of potted plants and a little imagination!
Pernille Loof 4
Small Garden Mirrors
If you have minimal space to garden, try to create the feel of a larger space via illusion. In Anthony Todd’s Hudson Valley house, he placed a mirror in one corner of an outdoor space, helping to reflect and maximalize the greenery. This works inside or outside the home, and it works best when plants, pots, and shrubs are placed directly in front of the mirrors or in their sight line.
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Simon Watson 5
Try a Tiny Trellis
Contrary to popular belief, a trellis doesn’t have to be firmly rooted to the ground. You can use one on your balcony. The benefits of this intervention are added privacy to generally a very public part of our private spaces. Additionally, the shade of a trellis creates an ideal environment for many plants to survive. Veere Grenney used a trellis to create a calming effect in this London townhouse.
Matthieu Salvaing 6
Small Sunny Porch
On this terrace, Casa Muñoz went easy on the greenery and instead focused on the sky. Remember, any element of Mother Earth can make a garden: Rocks are zen, greens are refreshing, and the sun is healing. If you’re going to lean in this bright direction, play up the theme with yellow seating and a few fragrant plants.
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Courtesy of Stephen Kent Johnson 7
Billowing Floral Garden
In this Samuel Spiegel–designed tiny Provincetown, Massachusetts, front yard, size was not a restriction. The landscape designer let the small plot blossom into a perfectly witchy assortment of native flora. If your space is also restrictive in size, don’t let that limit you to only a few different flowers or plants. Pack them in tight, and you can get the perfect garden with an abundant variety.
Daniel Schäfer 8
Porch Art
On L’Objet founder Elad Yifrach’s terrace, art is just as central to the vibes as plants are. The designer mixed several vases with big personalities (all potted with pretty plants) alongside a chair and bench with impressive structures of their own. The effect is as visually stimulating as it is relaxing.
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Simon Watson 9
Embrace Antiques
A tiny garden is the perfect place to utilize antique statuary and garden paraphernalia in creative ways. On a London terrace, Alexander Hoyle repurposed an antique fountain, using it as another planter. If you’re a moss lover, this is also a good idea. A soft, removed place for the plant to grow is hard to find!
Photimageon / Alamy Stock Photo 10
Small Garden Gazebo
Usually gazebos find their way into the most idyllic corners in the most spacious gardens, but in truth they come in a wider array of shapes and sizes than most of us are aware of. If you are strapped for space but still desirous of a little shade and a place for contemplation, don’t overlook these little canopies. Here is a great option that can double as a trellis in a pinch!
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Simon Watson 11
Multiuse Garden
Jenni Kayne is not pressed for space in her New Zealand compound, though this garden area offers tips for those with a quarter of the square footage. In the inner courtyard of her home, Suzanne Turley’s landscape design incorporated tons of greenery, interspersed with flowers in happy spring tones, to offset the more muted Alaskan yellow cedar wall cladding. If you go this route, don’t be afraid to push your plantings right up next to any seating or surfaces—better to enjoy the fragrances and textures up close and personal.
Trevor Tondro 12
Porch Palms
In a small garden, sometimes minimizing your plantings can allow for a cleaner, more inviting space. In this Kathryn Ireland–designed home, the designer went for palms as the main plant surrounding the pool. By populating the exterior corners of the house with the largest trees and filling the in-between areas with smaller ones, she allowed for this outdoor space to breath and still feel rooted.
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Ricardo Labougle 13
Follow the Architecture
If your small garden is framed by any kind of architecture, let that lead your aesthetic. On the terrace of this French Riviera home, roses were planted to frame the terrace, in lieu of a traditional trellis. Plantings and hedges on both sides of the 19th-century café tables and contemporary garden chairs make the garden terrace feel like a room with the sky for a roof and views of Monaco as the art.
Frank Frances Studio 14
Small Sculpture Garden
Even the tiniest garden can be a vehicle for art. Richard Arregui’s Miami home is art filled in general—and the same goes for the grounds surrounding it. Here, a sculpture is nestled among palms and lower plantings.
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Matthieu Salvaing 15
Minimal Garden
At Christina Seilern’s Greek island getaway, olive trees, brush, and cacti proliferate throughout the grounds. The house itself—a series of whitewashed cubes and stone doorframes—is a minimalist masterpiece, so of course her garden follows the same aesthetics. If your space is pared back, keep your garden simple, with just one or two trees or potted plants. If you want to kick it up just a single notch, spring for a tall grass native to the region.
Simon Watson 16
Small Garden Hedges
We think of hedges as the purview of landed estates and the über-rich alone, but they can work beautifully in smaller and more restrained spaces as well. Take this tiny patio, designed by Alexander Hoyle in a London townhouse by Veere Grenney. It is stately in its own right, with hedges framing its outdoor corners, just tall enough to clear the head of the tallest person you could possibly have over.
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John M. Hall 17
Use Your Architecture
Have an unused outdoor shed? Even if its interior is relegated to lawnmowers and the planters of yesteryear, the structure’s exterior can still be used to dazzling effect. Take Ina Garten’s splendid garden, for instance. By planting clematis off the side of her pergola, she’s made the structure a central part of her garden. For this, you can also try bougainvillea, ivy, certain ferns, or really any delightfully hanging plant.