How to Grow a Beautiful Garden in a Small Space

I can’t believe that it’s the end of April. Our small backyard is ready for planting flowers, greenery, perenials, and annuals. Do you have a small space to make pretty? Here is how to grow a beautiful garden in a small space.

Because we have had a chilly and somewhat rainy April this year we are behind in planting our flower pots, planters, and flower beds in the front and backyard.

Normally, our planting would have been completed two weeks ago and the flowers would be settling in, filling out and spreading.

I understand if you also have a small yard and limited space for growing a garden. We do, too.

Since that’s not happening yet, I wanted to show you how we have planted our backyard over the last few years. I also have several tips for how to create a lovely garden in limited spaces.

After moving thirteen years ago from an acre lot that required a ton of time, effort, and money every spring, we realized that having a smaller yard is much easier on the body and the budget.

Our Backyard Set Up

We don’t have a small backyard and what we do have is made up of a small swimming pool, a small amount of grassy area (artificial turf), and two large planting areas. All our flora and fauna come from potted flowers and greenery.

Since we added the artificial turf almost four years ago, the sense of greenery and color has increased 10-fold. The backyard also feels much cooler, even in the heat of summer. Covering up all the concrete hardscape was the best thing we ever did.

On the patio, we plant flowers, such as periwinkles and pentas, in a variety of stone and ceramic planters.

Across our backyard is a 4 1/2 foot tall metal fence that is about 70 feet long. We love flowers and in order to have a profusion of color, we have to plant in containers, which means hayracks, metal urns, (at one point, we even had a wrought-iron baby carriage), and ceramic and terra cotta pots.

We have used these traditional-looking white planters for the past few years to plant bright pink mandevilla. This is last spring when they were still small. By the end of summer, they are almost as tall as the fence and covered in blooms. They also last through Thanksgiving.

The effect is stunning when you look outside. It’s taken us a few years to figure out how to grow a beautiful garden in a small space, but now we feel like pros.

Container flowers grown in any garden need the right amount of sun and rain (and watering when it doesn’t), fertilizing and love and care.

We rely on the backdrop of trees in the greenbelt (it’s really a dry creekbed) behind our metal fence for greenery, planters and hayracks on the fence for color and the pool for cool blue ambiance.

Small Space Gardening

Normally, I plant our hay racks and planters in mid-April, (as I said earlier, we are late this year) after we are 100% sure that the last frost is over. Each year we get better at determining the sun requirements for different plants that can be grown in containers.

If you also have a small backyard and minimal space for growing flowers, you will enjoy these suggestions on how to grow a beautiful garden in a small space.

When you are fortunate to have something beautiful to enjoy every day, that’s what you want to do.

I recently spent one morning enjoying the backyard and taking pictures with my Canon Rebel R10 of how the backyard looks this year.

Let’s Take a Walk Through the Garden – Flowers in Hayracks

Let’s start with the hayracks across our 70-foot-long back fence.

We have 8 – 2 are 36″ long and 6 are 30″ long. All of them are about 8″ deep.

Our backyard and the metal fence runs from south to north. Depending on the time of day, from one end of the yard to the other, we have shade to morning sun to filtered afternoon sun to direct sun.

Just so you know, we are in Zone 8.

We have to select plants with different requirements. For shade, we use lemon drops, Persian shield, impatiens, caladiums, begonias, torenia, splash and creeping jenny.

For the sunnier side, I use new wave petunias, dahlberg daisies, melampodium, dianthus, bachelor buttons, million belles, potato vines, gomphrena and other plants I can’t remember the names of.

On the wooden fence on the south end of our yard, we have this planter that I found in an antique mall in McKinney, Texas. filled with morning shade and afternoon filtered sun plants – lemon drop, vinca, Persian shield, and New Guinea Impatiens. I used sheet moss to line the planter.

We have a “baby stroller” that I bought in Fredericksburg, Texas, years ago. I line it with a coconut liner on the inside, then sheet moss and chicken wire.

These New Guinea Impatiens, double impatiens, and caladiums do really well in one of the terra-cotta planters that I painted.

Herbs Growing in Planters

Last year we prepped a small area in the back of the yard to make a new herb garden. Right now, it is overgrown with oregano and parsley. Our sage, thyme, and mint are in pots.

This year’s basil is flourishing and in a few weeks, it will be time to make my first batch of pesto.

You can see a branch of our Meyer lemon tree on the left. We harvested over 50 lemons this past winter. The lemon tree already has blooms on it this spring.

Hosta, Ferns, and Leopards – Oh, My

Outside our back door, behind the kitchen and seating room is a large flower bed. When we moved in the house 12 years ago, there was nothing there except an existing Japanese Maple. We added another small Japanese Maple a few years ago.

This area is in shade all day long, so it is planted in perennial greenery. The only annuals we ever put in this area are impatiens and caladiums.

Wood ferns, hostas, and liriope fill in the plantings. All these are perennials that come back year after year. In mid to late May, sweet Shark will plant caladium bulbs, usually in white for a great contrast with all the green foliage.

This image from a couple of years ago shows a hosta, wood ferns, and mondo grass. In a few weeks we’ll plant caladium bulbs.

The Evolution of a Hydrangea

This hydrangea was here when we moved into the house twelve years ago and it is the housewarming gift that keeps on giving.

A few years ago was its most beautiful – more blooms which are pink, blue and lavender. I’ve never had a hydrangea that had different color blooms on the same bush.

Last year we had beautiful pink blooms. We didn’t change anything to change the color.

This year, the hydrangea bush now has a few tiny buds on them. In the background our small Japanese Maple, the leopard plant, hostas, and ferns are thriving in spring weather. We have had warm days, cool nights, and a nice amount of rain.

My concrete bunnies and angel add a decorative touch of whimsy to the garden.

10 Tips for Creating a Beautiful Garden in a Small Space

Here are 10 tips that we have learned over the years for gardening in a small space. Small space gardening is not as hard as you may think.

• Use a variety of color, texture, and shape.
• Remember the “thriller, filler and spiller” rule for creating a sense of fullness to your pots and containers.
• Start small; for the best plants for small gardens, I try to find 4-inch pots. In small containers, plants still grow fast. If you start with large plants, they will take over the limited space in no time.
• Think contrast in color and texture; not just the color of the flowers, but the color of the foliage.
• Read the labels so you know the sun and water requirements.
• Put “like” plants together: those that like shade or sun, and those that need more water.
• Use a variety of containers to create interest: different materials, sizes, colors, and shapes.
• Make sure your containers have good drainage.
• It’s better to water deep and thoroughly and less often, rather than just water the surface of the plants every day. (Caveat: in July, we sometimes have to water every day, especially if it’s windy; the heat and wind dry out the plants so quickly.)
• The best plants for small gardens are ones adapted to your climate; otherwise, no matter how pretty the flowers look in the nursery, if they are not adapted to your particular climate, they will die, wasting your time and money.

That’s the end of the garden tour of our backyard as it has looked the past few springs. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have a small yard, I hope you are inspired to see how to grow a beautiful garden in a small space.

Here are more garden ideas for you to check out: 13 Ideas to Create a Beautiful Flower Garden , The Ultimate Guide for Preparing Your Backyard for Spring and Summer, and 15 Herb Garden Ideas for Beginners and Experts.

Please PIN this post on how to grow a beautiful garden in a small space. Check out my Pinterest Boards: Flowers and Gardening and Outdoor Spaces.

I think I’ll head outside for another leisurely stroll. And then I think I’ll have a glass of sweet iced tea and listen to the birds singing.

Wish you were here.