Much like creating a lean closet, designing an excellent small garden is usually about editing. Inside of a limited area, each element should enhance the overall style and feeling of the garden. Whether you’re beginning from scratch on your outdoor space or updating an existing garden, the dozens of decisions of the things to incorporate along with what to leave out can seem to be overwhelming without having a plan.
For a more focused approach, consider this three-part formula for putting together a sophisticated garden that can feel entirely your very own. Then we’ll look at a few gardens that put it into practice with inspiring results.
Formula for a Stylish Outdoor Room
1. Space. First, define your top priorities for the use of the space. As an example, this could be creating a place for entertaining friends or a private retreat. In a small yard, you possibly will not have room to include every one of the elements you’d like, but defining the key use will help put the bones in place for the garden design.
2. Mood. Next, define a mood by choosing 2 or 3 words that describe how you’d prefer to feel in the garden. These might be words like peaceful and serene or playful and energized. As you begin to design your garden, include only the elements that resonate with your mood words.
3. Color palette. Finally, establish a color palette to act as a guide for all plants, furniture and hardscape materials. Deciding on a palette could be particularly useful in small gardens, where swaths of a few hues, rather than a spotty mix of colors, can help make the space feel larger.