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Small gardens
Large expanses of green English lawn, plays of color created by enormous flower beds, and then shadowy corners created by majestic trees and shrubs. The garden imagined in our mind is certainly wide, but often these daydreams clash with a very different reality: either the garden we have is small, or even, as happens in the city, our green space is compressed between walls and buildings.
Giving up our little dream, our little green oasis, it is not convenient, often, in spaces much smaller than we imagine, they have succeeded in creating small masterpieces of gardening, preserving and enhancing harmony and symmetry.
Taking care of the small garden and preparing it is not so difficult, just follow a few simple rules and rely on good taste, with the foresight that, in small spaces, the lines must be simpler and that there is less space for embroidery and finishing; moreover it is necessary to use as much as possible, the perspective and certain optical games that can help us to increase the perception of the dimension.
The small garden: design and constraints
Having a small garden requires even more care in the design phase. A few simple rules apply, but never as fundamental as these.
Paper and pen will allow us to report the size of our garden on graph paper, and we will have the opportunity to give vent to our imagination. In reality, the sketch confronts us with the first obvious constraint: limited space.
How to adjust in the design of a garden with little space?
In this case the symmetry comes to our aid both to dampen the impression of reduced spaces, and to camouflage any irregular shapes.
The symmetry lies in the homogeneous arrangement of greenery and plants: the sides of the garden must mirror each other in the shape, colors and type of plants chosen.
The second constraint may be the irregular shape of our space: acute angles or the preponderance of one dimension over another. In this case the perspective can be used to rebalance the dimensions, or to hide an irregular area with many plants.
You can dedicate an open area in front of the house, perhaps with a beautiful green lawn or a uniform floor, which makes the building move away from the entrance and also gives an idea of greater space width.
Furthermore, it can be expanded, creating lines that increase its depth by focusing on the center of the garden, through a particular flower bed. Finally, you can create a corridor that goes from the access to the garden, to its limit.
A small example: the garden in the city
The lucky few who, in the chaos of the city, can enjoy a green space know very well what the difficulties of a small garden are. Who really has fully exploited this green treasure, has studied and designed his garden with care, taking into account perspective and symmetry, and carefully evaluating other important aspects.
First of all we must keep in mind that, in the city, plants are subjected to pollution stress, so the soil must always be very rich in nutrients, so, as a general rule, it is necessary to supply humus and organic material, often and generously .
Moreover it is necessary to prune the tallest shrubs to make their growth "guided" and not clash with the reality of a small garden.
A further form of city garden is small, it can be recreated and adapted to terraces. It is a curious modality that demonstrates how, a small green space, it is necessary for man.
In this case, the gardens will be mostly regular in shape, but the plants chosen to embellish it will have to deal with intense exposure to external factors, such as ventilation and the need to be forced into pots. Also in this case, nourishment and care are the magic elements to maintain our green space.
Style and plants of a small garden
How to customize a small garden? How to make a small green space stand out?
First of all, using the rules of perspective and symmetry.
Then ... coloring it!
For city gardens and terraced gardens, a good idea is to maintain an informal style or recreate a Japanese garden, while those who have more space available can play with their imagination more freely.
The plants recommended for a small garden are mostly those that grow in height, ie shrubs or trees, and those that develop vertically, such as leaf and flower climbers.
The climbers have the merit, not only aesthetic, of papering surfaces such as walls and fences, increasing privacy, or isolating the small garden oasis from surrounding ugliness.
Many species of ivy, roses, bougainvillea or jasmine, are the most suitable climbing plants because they are species that bloom and give a touch of color and intensity.
As for the shrubs, plant evergreen trees, it is the ideal solution to keep the garden tidy and colorful: the only trick is to choose species that are always of medium size, so as to always keep the proportions of the garden, in order.
A small garden can be enriched with elements of street furniture to maintain an informal style and to be original, in these cases it is good practice to coordinate the style of the building with these elements. The flooring should consist of pieces of a size proportionate to the size of the garden, and should not be prevalent with respect to the green.
Drinking fountains or pools are well appreciated because they can mask irregularities of the shape or imperfections; likewise a pergola, can give the idea of having a bigger house.
Playing with these accessory elements helps make this precious green space unique and beautiful.
