SPACE SAVER: Sherwood Garden Centre nursery manager Nadine Piercy shows how small spaces can be maximised with these wooden plant racks. PHOTOGRAPHS: MIKE HOLMES
SMALL outdoor living spaces are no excuse for not having some greenery in your life.
Even the tiniest flat balcony can have a herb rack, while pensioners who live in retirement villages often make the most of their smaller gardens with colourful flowers and shrubs. The trend nowadays is to even make smaller gardens part of the design of bigger gardens or lawns. Weekend Post asked the experts to give advice on making the most of a small outdoor space.
Sherwood Gardens, in Walker Drive, Sherwood offers a variety of quirky and practical solutions for gardeners with smaller spaces to tend to. Nursery manager Nadine Piercy said some fun items to hang on fencing and walls are recycled pots, kettles and even old gum boots.
“You can basically use anything as long as you make draining holes at the bottom. Even old guttering works well against walls and hanging baskets from the ceiling and trellising are also very popular,” Piercy said.
For people who rent their homes and would not want to invest too much in gardening on someone else’s property, Piercy said a very popular option is gardens-to-go, which are instant gardens grown in a big container and contain a selection of either vegetables, indigenous or exotic plants.
Another solution for maximising small outdoor living spaces is buying plant racks, that can fit up to 12 pots maximum and are very popular for growing herbs.
“Spring is a very good time to start planting. All you need is good potting soil, liquid fertiliser and then you can start gardening. There is no reason why postage stamp-sized gardens cannot also look as good as a large small holding or plot,” Piercy said.
Stone Etc owner Mimi Rupp said it being women’s month, a small garden could be compared to a woman.
“Both a woman’s garden as well as her clothes speaks of who she is. It all starts with the basics – which needs careful consideration and very often a total new thought pattern. For your clothes to fit well, you first need well-fitted underwear.
“Well-worn accessories are just what you need to change your outfit from casual during the day to more formal at night. The same goes for your garden – start with your naked canvas. Lawns are not essential for small gardens, and you can actually create a small garden within a big garden,” Rupp said.
Rupp said in a small garden one can create very interesting corners by using the correct accessories such as different shapes, sizes and colours of stones. An arch as a focus point or lights at strategic places can transform your day garden to a fairytale at night, Rupp said.
“Before you buy anything, go to your own back yard or garage and take a new and fresh look at the things you already have. Your gran’s old bucket for example, can have a totally new life with succulents planted inside. Grouping is also important for a wardrobe: certain combinations of clothes make a great statement when worn together. Group similar things like pots or plants together for the same effect,” Rupp said.
She said she loved to share her plants with friends, and bring back cuttings from wherever she goes.
“That is how we belong in our friends’ gardens. Every garden tells a story. What is your garden’s story?” – Cindy Preller
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