Small garden design? Yes please!

Designing Small Gardens

25 March 2024

family gardens, family garden design, gardening with kids

City? Courtyard? Or, just small?

Having a small garden (or even a really small garden) doesn’t mean you can't enjoy it.

Whether you want to be out there entertaining and relaxing in or, have something lovely to look at while making space for local wildlife.

It just means that every inch needs to work hard to fulfil its potential.

It can be hard to know where to start.

In a city you’re probably a bit overlooked by neighbouring properties or you may have conflicting requirements (kids/pets vs a relaxing space).

If you’ve recently extended your property and nibbled into your garden to do so, it can feel a bit daunting working with even less space than you had before.

Blank canvas new builds can present broadly the same issues with the added roulette of what the builders might have (not) left behind, soil-wise and often a bit of a fish-bowl feeling when you step outside your back door.

It’s a good puzzle (you’ve got a garden after all!)

I’ve worked with families and professional couples in person and remotely, designing spaces that work for them, make their garden space feel inviting and, often most importantly, feel secluded as well as looking lovely.

The seclusion thing is interesting and it comes up with a lot of projects I work on.

Two of the main points Clients are usually looking to address, often at the same time, are:

- There’s nothing of interest out in the garden to draw them out there.

- Once they’re out there, they feel exposed and over looked and don’t feel comfortable settling in the space.

The first can be addressed creating destination points and, it doesn’t need to be much but, there needs to be a purpose - a bench to sit and read on, a dining or bistro set or, a BBQ station or pizza oven to cook and hang around. Even in small gardens it’s usually possible to get at least a couple of things in there.

Unless you live in the middle of a field, there’s a good chance the second issue is something relatable at which point I’m going to say what I say to pretty much all my Clients in that there’s a difference between actual, physical privacy and perceived seclusion.

In reality, the first is tricky to achieve 100% but, enough can be done with clever positioning of planting and screening and use of existing boundaries to provide privacy in the areas that it’s really needed and create what feels like, once you’re out there, a secluded and secure space.

Ideas for designing for small spaces:

- Space saving planting – narrow cultivars and clipped specimens.

- Multi-purpose features to add things like storage.

- No room for a lawn? No problem. There are lots of options (nope, I am not talking about artificial grass!)

- Use the vertical to add interest and utility

Designing for tricky spaces can be a fun exercise and, if your site is straightforward (no obvious drainage issues or big level changes) and you want to be engaged in the design process (and have the energy and enthusiasm to provide all the necessary info) a distance design may be a cost effective route to a garden space that adds utility and aesthetics to your living space and, ultimately, adds value to your property.

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Are Traditional Gardens Dead? Part 1: Trees

by Hannah Phillips • 13 August 2026

Part 1: Trees. Climate change means we all need to start thinking differently about what it means to and, how, we garden. A fair share of Clients I speak to are looking for a garden that is somewhere between Chelsea ready and low maintenance’, however, the new normal (ostensibly meaning ‘anything could happen but there’s probably going to be a hosepipe ban at some point’) means achieving any garden at all is going to need some forward planning. Trees, in particular will require careful consideration. Especially the trees we choose for our gardens from now on. With most hoping to live at least 50 years, the right ones in the right place, 100’s, they will bear witness to everything Climate Change brings over the decades to come. They are also some of the most important flora in terms of supporting both people (think shade, cooling, maybe, oxygen?!) and wildlife. I went to Ely earlier this week for Barcham Trees ‘Our Urban Forest Future’ event. As a primarily residential designer based in rural Northamptonshire I do get to design a few urban gardens (and I do love the challenge of designing a small space and they are some of my favourites to work on!) but, they’re not something I do everyday. So, why go to an urban tree focused event? Well, consider the conditions your average urban tree has to contend with: Often limited soil and planting space, soil compaction, erosion. Warmer temperatures and microclimates due to the urban heat island effect and limited water and nutrients. (As well as pollution, potential vandalism etc). As Climate Change bites, these sound remarkably similar to the stresses that a lot of planting will experience in one form or another. Certainly the trees in your average garden might be in for a shock as temperatures rise and the convenience of watering gardens with drinking water is seen for insanity that it really is and the feast or famine effects of extreme weather affects soil structure and stability. The insights provided came from a wide range of schemes - large scale tree planting in the Middle East, tree audits from across the American North West parks to the current challenges facing the Royal Parks Treescape teams. Perhaps the biggest face-palm moment of the day for me was that in the USA, Native American Tribes Partners are being consulted to help in the management of areas of national woodland (presumably, that their ancestors had acted as custodians of for millennia, prior before being removed to create 'National Parks'?) as the approaches typically used in modern forestry management are not working to mitigate the now, increased, risk of wildfires. (Finally. Waking up to the idea that working with nature instead of against it is a good idea)... Another take away that can be applied to planting at any scale was resilience in diversity. The example of one of the Royal Parks which has had a heavy historical reliance on London Plane trees (Platanus hispanica - as does much of London) and the emergence of a hitherto, unknown, pathogen attacking it. This is another by-product of a changing climate and in this instance, has led to the removal of a large number of mature trees, fundamentally changing the character, canopy cover and associated ecosystem of the space. There are other species that have been and will be impacted by the influx of previously unseen pests and diseases brought about by the changing conditions with their effects rendering trees even more susceptible to less hospitable climate conditions. There are many other impacts that will be seen and felt amongst our trees. Phenological adjustments (how plants adjust the timing of their seasonal lifecycle in response to changing climate patterns (such as longer growing seasons) will mean that species will survive based on their ability to adapt. So, as we observe how some of our own garden favourites over the next few years and, when some of them inevitably fail, choosing their replacements from a range of trees better suited will be critical in helping to maintain ecosystems and all the other benefits they provide that we tend to take for granted.