How To Plan A Small Garden Layout – Tips For Making The Most Of A Little Space
How To Plan A Small Garden Layout – Tips For Making The Most Of A Little Space
A small garden space doesn’t mean you can’t grow your fresh produce, herbs, and flowers. It just means you need to put in a little extra planning to get the most out of it.
Here are some tips on how to plan a small garden layout so you can make the most of your little plot.
WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE A GARDEN:
Aside from making your space look more aesthetically pleasing, a garden can be an effective way to naturally cut down on air pollution.
Studies have shown that houseplants are great at removing several chemicals and heavy metals from indoor air, like formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, benzene, and carbon monoxide.
Not only is gardening a great activity for stress relief but having a garden also gives you fresh fruits and vegetables throughout different parts of the year.
Something to keep in mind: it’s important to properly plan out your space before you plant your first seed.
Otherwise, you might not make much use of your space — or have room for future plants! So how do you determine what kinds of plants will fit best in which areas?
CONSIDER YOUR NEEDS
You may have a little space in your yard, but that doesn’t mean you can grow everything. Some plants need a lot of room to spread out their roots.
Others need to be grown close together and will produce more if they are kept in small, compact groups.
Before you start planning your garden layout, figure out what type of space is available and how many plants you want to grow at once.
You might find that a staggered row design would work better than an elaborate square plot arrangement.
CREATING AN INVITING SPACE:
First, you want to choose plants with a similar growth rate. You don’t want some of your plants quickly taking over, and others that take forever to mature and provide flowers.
If there is anything in particular that takes up a lot of space, you can plant it in another container to keep it away from others that have smaller footprints.
Second, try to choose vegetables and herbs that are more compact so they will grow nicely in their designated spots without becoming invasive or overflowing into other parts of your yard or garden.
Even if your larger plants take longer than a year to reach maturity, you can move them around as they grow and turn them into annuals rather than having one large bush dominate your space for years at a time.
GETTING DOWN TO DETAILS
When you’re writing a gardening plan, first think about what you want to grow. What will be your focus? How much space will each plant or veggie need?
How much space can you allocate for them? Once you have a general idea of what type of garden you’d like to create, lay out your spaces on paper.
This can be done with graph paper (found at craft stores) or by printing out templates from online resources.
In either case, scale is important; when laid flat on your desk or dining room table, your template should be close in size to how big your actual garden will be.
FIGURE OUT PLANTS TO USE AND PLANTS TO AVOID:
Some plants are good choices for a small garden space, while others will just never grow well in small pots.
If you’re on a very tight budget and not sure what to start with, it’s always a good idea to hit up your local farmer’s market or community garden if you have one—those growers are happy to share some of their secrets with newbies who want to give it a shot.
Don’t know where to find these resources? There are plenty of online options that can help get you started. Just Google the community garden near me and see what pops up!
Make sure to ask how many people signed up in your area. You don’t want to be alone out there!
Once you have an idea of what types of plants grow best in your climate, go ahead and pick out some seeds from your favorite nursery.
You might also want to check out an annual plant sale; these events tend to pop up around springtime and often offer great deals on seedlings from previous seasons.
You might even be able to score some free ones if you show up early enough!
CONCLUSION
If you have a big garden and know you won’t be able to keep up with weeding on your own, consider mulching.
Mulch is usually made from wood chips or recycled plastic. The idea is that by covering your plants with something that blocks sunlight, weeds won’t be able to grow as easily—though they will still pop up occasionally, even with good weed control methods.
Sometimes you’ll need to pull them out by hand; if you have a big enough garden or a particularly pesky weed problem, there are machines designed specifically for weeding.
Still, it can be tough to remove some deep-rooted weeds without damaging plants nearby.
