Limited acreage doesn’t mean transformative small garden ideas arent within your reach.
Add Definition with a Pergola
Turn a tiny patio into a gorgeous outdoor room with a freestandingpergola.
Here, a small wooden pergola stands over a gravel patio.
Credit: Jon Jensen
Go Gravel
Small garden ideas don’t have to be expensive and difficult to execute.
For example, crushed brick or gravel is a beautiful, low-maintenance paving option for smaller yards.
It’s easier to use and less expensive than brick pavers or flagstones.
Credit: Matthew Benson
Spread a layer of landscape fabric underneath the gravel to keep weeds from popping through.
In this small yard, several trees made growing grass or a flowerbed impossible.
Instead, the homeowners paved the area with flagstone and added a table and chairs forshaded seating.
Credit: Ed Gohlich
Install a Pond
You don’t need a huge backyard to have awater garden.
Dig out the area, add a pond liner and pump, and you’re on your way.
Even a tiny oasis with agarden fountainwill attract colorful butterflies and birds.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
This allows you to grow vine crops vertically so they wont sprawl over their plant neighbors.
For example, this square bed is packed with pollinator favorites, such asblack-eyed Susanandphlox.
Pollinators feed on nectar from early spring through the summer and even into autumn.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Choose plants that bloom during these times for a colorful and busy garden.
Consider installing amowing stripat the border’s edge.
Here, a mowing strip is designed to keep weeds at bay and act as a low-maintenance garden path.
Credit: Rob Cardillo
This is one of the best small garden ideas for homeowners who are averse to mowing.
Here, a grand entry arbor supports a crown ofclimbing rosesfor a romantic, intimate landscape.
White lilies in the center bed mirror the white roses and arbor for a cohesive look.
Credit: Erica George Dines
This curved path incorporates further visual appeal with strips of tile separating the concrete slabs.
In this luxurious backyard,geraniumandmarguerite daisyprovide color around a welcoming teak bench.
A large terra-cotta bowl is the landscape’s centerpiece, serving as a reflecting pool and birdbath.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
Many yards look terrific in the spring and early summer, but by fall, they fade.
Here, a bevy oftulipsin the tiny front border provides plenty of spring color.
This homeowner’s sole view was an eyesore of a garage on their narrow lot.
Credit: Ed Gohlich
With items of various shades and patterns, this low-light deck is now a colorful spot for family fun.
Instead of having your bins in plain sight, build a wooden surround to keep them contained.
Small garden ideas arent regulated only to plants or decor.
Credit: Janet Mesic Mackie
Credit: Ed Gohlich
Credit: Janet Mesic Mackie
Credit: Alison Miksch
Credit: Richard Felber
Credit: Ed Gohlich
