Have you ever dreamt of having a beautiful spacious garden but always thought you didn’t have the space to make your dream come true? The good news is that there’s a wide range of tips and tricks you can actually use to transform a small backyard garden into your very own spacious oasis. In this week’s featured article, we look at how to make your garden look bigger with these 7 ideas that are not only affordable but also highly effective at creating the feeling of depth and space that you’ve always wanted in your home garden.
How to Make Your Garden Look Bigger?
Vertical Gardening
When you don’t have the luxury of a big garden, making effective use of the vertical space over your garden can add those layers of much-needed depth to your garden. Introduce vertical structures to your garden such as a plant wall or invest in an all-in-one vertical planting system. There are even vertical planters that come with an in-built vermicomposting system that will have those flowers and edible plants looking lush and delicious all year round.
If you don’t have much space for planters and pots, make use of fences, or the sides of a garden shed to grow climbing plants such as a kiwi vines, cucumbers, and passionfruit on trellises. Vertical gardening is a great way to make garden look bigger on a budget, just make sure that all of your vertical structures are anchored well for safety!
A Fresh Coat of Paint
If you’ve ever wondered ‘what colour should I paint my fence to make my garden look bigger’, you’re in luck because a fresh coat of paint on your garden fence or garden shed can do wonders to make a small garden look bigger. When painting your fence or shed consider these tips, in general, colour schemes inside the home, work equally as well for outside the home. Aim for lighter, cooler colours to create a spacious feeling and darker or warmer colours when you want to make a certain area feel smaller.
Garden Colour Scheme
Not only will giving your fence a fresh coat of paint help with ‘how to make your garden look bigger’ but having the right colour scheme with your plant choices will also make a world of difference when working with a smaller garden footprint. While those beautiful red Roses and hot orange Dahlias look stunning when in full bloom, dark and bold colours tend to draw the focal point of the eye and can make your garden feel smaller. Instead, plant them sparingly and opt for lovely white or light pink Petunias, the soft light blue tones of Hydrangeas or some charming white Gardenias for a light colour scheme in your garden.
Hide Boundaries
While it might be appealing to lay turf right to the edge of your fence line, fences can create an imposing vibe that makes your garden feel smaller. One way to maximise space is to use raised garden beds, or plant garden shrubs along your fence line; Not only will you benefit from the added greenery but by partially obscuring your view of the fence line, it creates the illusion that your fence is off in the distance.
For some shrubs that are easy to grow, make a small garden look bigger, and can also be used in the kitchen, try for some lavender or rosemary; If you want to create more privacy aim for some taller shrubs like Sky Pencil hollies, Bamboo or Leighton Green.
Terraces
Building on from using vertical space, by creating steps or ‘terracing’ your garden you can make that small garden look visually bigger and have more planting space for your favourite plants. When it comes time to plant a terraced garden some things you might need to consider are providing adequate drainage, ensuring that plants on different levels are all getting a healthy amount of sun and that plants on lower terraces don’t obscure the view of those higher up.
Create Pockets by Dividing up Your Space
Instead of a completely open lawn, instead, divide up your garden space and create little ‘nature’ pockets. Think IKEA, while it would make more sense to be able to just easily access everything in one giant showroom like a traditional retailer, the IKEA method encourages you to follow a path, so you see everything in the showroom.
You can use a similar method in your garden by creating pathways with pebbles, gravels and rocks, raised garden beds, trees and shrubbery to help break up the line of vision in your garden. Best of all, you can create a garden journey which ends with a centrepiece tree, water feature, or secluded bench. Dividing up your space well can be a very effective method when asking ‘how to make the garden look bigger’.
Light Up Your Garden
Outdoor lighting is all the rage in the modern garden landscape, from tiki lights to a well-strung set of fairy lights. Not only will lighting up your garden look majestic come sunset, with carefully hung lights your eyes are instantly attracted up rather than across your garden.
When it comes to lights there are so many on the market that will help answer that all elusive question ‘how to make a small garden look bigger’; Illuminate a gravel pathway leading to that secluded bench seat at the back of your garden with LED stick lights, draw attention to a water feature with a submerged water-safe light, and add a bit of fairy tale charm with lights that give off a warm gentle glow.
Interested to find out more about ‘how to make the garden look bigger’?
Get in touch with our landscaping supplies team at Centenary Landscaping Supplies on (07) 3373 4999 today for the latest tips, tricks, colours schemes and fresh ideas to really give that small backyard garden the feeling of openness and airiness.