I have a fairly large garden, and I enjoy it. But I can see a day when I’m ready to downsize to a smaller, more manageable outdoor space.  This post, brought to me by a guest writer, gives us a few suggestions for maximizing space in a small garden.

The following is a contributed post.  For more on my contributed posts, please see this page.

Getting The Most Out Of Your Small Garden

It can be challenging in small gardens to fit all the plants you want to grow into a limited space. You don’t have the luxury of planting every crop or flower species you may want. But, with some creativity, you can make the most of your small garden space.  Here are a few tips.

Grow What Isn’t Easily Accessible To You

You may want to grow and harvest all your favorite veggies but, if you only have a small space to work with, you might not be able to grow all your favorite crops. The best you can do, in this case, is to prioritize and focus on growing what isn’t easily accessible to you. Find out what you cannot buy easily and grow it instead. For example, if you love mushrooms but find them a bit difficult to access where you are, you can try growing them. Out-Grow, for example, can provide you with the mushroom-growing substrates you need.

Practice Companion Planting

With companion planting, you can grow more than one crop on a patch of land. In companion farming, it is important to pair plants that grow well together. Growing the wrong crops together will only lead to competition for nutrients and root space. 

A crop like carrots, for example, does well with beets, as the latter has a shorter growth period. Tomato plants also do pretty well when paired with most other plants. 

Grow Vertically

If you have a limited amount of garden space, why not try growing plants on your garden wall or fence? This will provide you with extra growing space and also add to the attractiveness of your small garden.  You can choose climbing plants or opt to grow plants in pouches and wall-hanging pots attached to your fence. Growing plants in containers on a wall or fence also keeps them out of reach of many pests. 

Look For Compact Varieties Of Your Favorite Plants

Many plant types have compact or dwarf species that take up much less planting and growing space. If your favorite plants take up too much room, try opting for their dwarf species instead. The only downside here is that the compact or dwarf species also yield smaller fruits and flowers in most cases. So, take the time to check your local seed provider or plant nursery for the compact species of the plants you want. And be sure to read the instructions they come with.

Posts on this website are for entertainment only and are not tutorials.

Want to see more? Browse my photo gallery or check out these categories: