When it comes to your backyard, bigger isn't always better, and narrow outdoor gardens can also be entertaining during the summer and spring. In addition, a long, narrow garden also requires less maintenance. Beautiful and space-saving landscaping can transform any outdoor space into a small, stylish and cozy retreat. Most homeowners know that purchasing a home often involves certain compromises. For some, this means opting for inviting narrow gardens that are ideal for intimate gatherings or simply relaxation. In this guide, we've put together inspiring design ideas for narrow gardens to make this compromise a popular advantage for you.
With a little forethought and garden planning, you can transform outdoor spaces into little oases that you and your guests can enjoy for a long time. Additionally, the right design could potentially turn a once negative feature into a potentially valuable asset for an eventual future sale. There are a few tips that can help ensure success if you want to create narrow gardens with your personal style and taste. With our design ideas, you will immerse yourself in a space that is so functional and aesthetically pleasing that you won't even think about the square meters.
Make narrow outdoor areas functional
To make the garden area beautiful, you must first define its function. Start by thinking about how you can best utilize the space in your garden area. Maybe one will helplarge dining tableenjoying convivial meals in the fresh air. Or you may prefer a soft garden seating area that is perfect for relaxing or even an outdoor fire pit. Depending on how much space you have, you can focus on one main function or divide your narrow garden into a few areas.
Create contrasts with garden paths
When people look at a room for the first time, they tend tothe entire areato scan. This is one of the quickest ways to actually see the available space. You can change this perception by giving the viewpoint a strong focus for the eye to land on instead. So consider creating a garden path through your green space using paving stones, for example. This can accordingly define a clear sense of freedom of movement throughout the environment when designing narrow gardens.
Make it look taller using vertical landscaping
Since adding width to your small backyard is unlikely, you have the option to create an illusion using vertical plantings. Vertical landscaping will encourage the eye to consider height when viewing the garden, thereby creating a sense of spaciousness. Be sure to use a variety of plants at different heights to make the most of the amount of visual interest you bring to the area. Plant narrow trees for small gardens that can still give you enough shade during a hot day. Combine hardy perennials with spreading ivy and shorter plants by stacking them in tiered planters or flower beds.
Add strong colors
Of course, small backyards and narrow gardens don't offer as many design options as wide and spacious outdoor areas, but using bold colors is one of the easiest ways to spruce up the space. Just like you would do with interior design, you can add color through cushions on the outdoor furniture. Narrow gardens with color contrasts are a successful option. Don't hesitate to be inspired by nature. Plus, gorgeous flowers in full bloom are an excellent way to add a bold splash of color to any outdoor area. For a truly unified look, you can focus primarily on 2-3 colors that will combine narrow gardens in onematching color schemedesign.
Some rules to follow
If you want to successfully design narrow gardens, you should follow a few golden rules to avoid mistakes. First you need to get the shape of the lawn and, if necessary, the paving correctly so that the garden can look good in both summer and winter. Divide the room to eliminate the corridor effect and keep your eyes from going straight to the end area. Usegeometric shapes such as circles, squares or rectangles for the lawns in any garden area.
Divide the space
Give each room a purpose so you can designate an area for kids, one for morning coffee, and one for eating. Note the shady and sunny spots to choose the best possible spot for it. No fixed barrier is necessary to delimit the suitable rooms. Narrow gardens can appear smaller if you have their borders completely cut off. The ideas for such garden design are to include every area but still allow enough views through. So the space can only be defined by what is on the ground: the paving or the shape of the lawn. To make it more defined, you can apply sections of trellis or planting to form a sort of screen that can be seen from each side of the garden.
You will use narrow backyard gardens almost every day. For this reason, it would be nice to place a seating area right at one end of the garden. Try to keep a corner of the garden area as maintenance-free and low-maintenance as possible. It is best to plant evergreen shrubs there instead of flowers and lawns. Work out the balance you want between shade and privacy. The more you block out your neighbors and the outside world, the more you will miss out on sunlight. You can achieve the right balance using tall shrubs. These can provide the desired seclusion but also create permanent shadows.
Create sidewalks
Don't you have a single way to walk down the garden? You'll probably have to create one yourself because of this. No matter how beautiful a walkway can be, it will dominate the view from the house. Instead, think about connecting the garden areas together. The shapes you create can be equally beautiful living spaces. Take advantage of the different garden areas, for example by adding hidden seating areas. If you have divided the space well, it may result in a potential secret and peaceful favorite spot for a comfortable seat or hammock.
The suitable planting for narrow gardens
Creating sections with plants can be the key ingredient to successfully designed narrow gardens. You can either place these across the garden to partially delimit areas or use them to hide fences and walls. Hedge plants such as yew and hornbeam are ideal for use in front of walls or as demarcating plants. They take up little space and give a strong green background with a suitable height. If you want it to be green all year round, bet on laurel. However, if you don't mind the plants losing their leaves in winter, try planting beech.
To create different areas within the garden, use larger planting types. If you choose a formal design, you can use the same plant varieties that you used for the border. These will be able to form a strong barrier. For a less structured, softer look, use tall, lacy varieties such as verbena (Verbena bonariensis) or two-winged meadow rue (Thalictrum delavayi). These rise to almost 2 meters in height and form a wafer-thin curtain in summer.
Tall growing plants like moss grass (Molinia caerulea) can create a stronger, but still delicate, boundary between different garden areas. For a permanent evergreen wall of plants, you can try bamboo. But first, make sure you avoid those that will spread aggressively. A good choice in this case would be the golden cane bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea).
Seasonal changes and cost-effective alternatives
Fragrant flowers or other types of plants are very suitable for long, narrow gardens. These can mark the changing of the seasons. In this regard, you can plant daphne for spring, honeysuckle for summer and beefberry (Sarcococca confusa) for winter. Dainty pays dividends in tight spaces, and neatly demarcating flowerbeds will help your narrow garden thrive. Most hardware stores sell surrounds that you can install yourself. It's the kind of work you do in a weekend.
Also, don't forget the fences. These dominate the view and some sections of trellis can work quite well as camouflage over them. You just need to place them at even intervals along the fence. This will look better immediately, even before any plants have grown. Be creative and use a water feature to produce pleasant sounds. Intrusive noises can sometimes be less than ideal for narrow gardens, but an inexpensive water feature will help mask and mitigate the noise.
If you are designing narrow gardens for the summer, try to equip them with the right lighting for the winter too. A cheaper option would be to use warm white LED light chains outdoors. You can also use this as a light sourceUse for Christmas decorationsby decorating the flower beds, garden benches or other corners in the narrow garden with it.
