Gardening in small spaces
Many of us retired to Southwest Florida to enjoy our subtropical environment without the demands of a big yard or vast gardens that we may have had in our former homes. If you now live in a condo with only a small side yard, patio or balcony, you can still surround yourself with the lush beauty we associate with Florida!
Gardening in small spaces is instantly rewarding and allows you to be creative and imaginative using an array of colorful plants that are easy to maintain and change. Plants are very adaptable and can thrive in containers, climbing walls and even on rooftops.
Your initial consideration for small space gardening is your environment: sun exposure, water requirements, and if you have a balcony or a corner patio, wind. These factors will help you choose the appropriate plants for your space.
Once you have established these conditions, you need to determine what type of pots/containers you will use; the height and width of your area will dictate the size and width of your containers, and the weight that your area will accommodate. The next step is to decide how you will arrange your containers; you can create various levels using plant stands, racks or hanging pots, create interesting groupings of plants on the floor, or even mount plants directly on your wall.
If you have a small side yard, you might use vertical features such as a trellis or archway to draw attention through your space to lengthen your perspective and create depth; you can even employ a stone or gravel walkway to draw the eye forward. To create separation from your neighbors, tall, narrow vertical plants are ideal for providing a screen along your property line. With enough space, you could even install raised beds for flowers or herbs. Containers may also be employed as highlights in your side yard and should be designed to provide a variety of colors and textures in spaces that are easily maintained.
When choosing plants, you might either mix various types and varieties of plants or use specimen plants for more focused interest. This is where you could exercise your creativity by establishing a monochrome theme, a mix of colors and textures using both flowering and foliage plants, or even incorporate herbs that you can use in cooking. Smaller gardens should incorporate a dramatic focal point, such as a specimen tree or shrub, a piece of sculpture or statue or even a tree and art object if you have sufficient space.
Since a small space demands plants with visual impact, incorporating palms and tropical plants with large leaves will provide interest with their texture and unusual shapes. Large containers with dramatic colors or shapes are also ideal for providing instant pizzazz in your small garden. “Hot” color combinations supply the bright splash that will draw attention to your area; yellow, red, and orange flowers always deliver a tropical punch, and highly contrasting colors such as burgundy and purple with silver, chartreuse or yellow touches are real attention getters.
Vertical gardening is one of the most innovative approaches to small space gardening. If space is at a premium, sometimes the best place to plant your garden is vertically up the wall! Provided you have sufficient sunlight, vertical gardens will produce a beautiful solution in your limited space. Your approach to vertical gardening could be as simple as installing a vining plant against your wall using a trellis, or mounting orchids, air plants or staghorn ferns on boards and placing them on your wall. Hanging pocket planters are one of the easier solutions for starting a vertical garden, and there are ready-made systems available at big box stores or nurseries to organize your planting. Picture frame planters are also easily assembled using a shallow box frame which is filled with a mixture of soil and moss. Next, staple chicken wire across the soil/moss mixture to hold it in place and add shallow-rooted plants such as succulents. Keep the box horizontal for several days to allow the plants to take root and then hang on your wall. If you use plants such as succulents which have very low water needs, you can occasionally mist your plants and take the frame down weekly and place it on a horizontal surface for a brief sprinkling of water.
With a little imagination and creativity, you can design a beautiful garden that reflects your tropical personality even in a small space. Incorporate your favorite colors and textures in fun and interesting containers and establish your garden on different levels to create a sense of space and movement. It’s impossible to make a mistake in the garden when you are having fun and creating an environment that is welcoming and engaging!
Cathy Dunn is a Lee County Master Gardener Volunteer and Garden Club of Cape Coral member.