As Christchurch becomes a denser city, our urban and suburban gardens are becoming smaller and our outdoor private living spaces more precious. Paul Roper-Gee of Canopy Landscape Architects has some tips to make your mini garden feel monumental.

It is important we make the most of every square metre available and maximise its potential. Through clever design, a small outdoor living space can be made multifunctional and also have the illusion of a larger garden.

1: Keep it simple Adding too much complexity can make small gardens feel confined and confusing. A limited palette of hard materials and an edited selection of plants will help make the garden cohesive. Rather than squeezing in a small area of paving and small area of lawn together with planting, it is better to forgo the lawn and have a larger terrace or deck that can be immersed in the planting. Don’t be afraid to think big. Large plants, sculpture or water features in a small space will create focus.

2: Bring the indoors out Consistency between indoors and outdoors can make both house and garden seem larger. Repeat interior colours and materials outside (and vice-versa), which will draw your eye through the spaces. Set up views through the garden so that it is not all revealed at once. Use taller plants, hedges or screens to hide part of the garden from the initial view. This will create a sense of mystery and discovery as you move through the garden.

3: Find the longest line Structure the garden space around the longest axis in the garden – which may be parallel or diagonal to the house.

4: Think borders The boundaries of a small garden will often be prominent. To make the most of these features, give them a colour that is in harmony with the house; clad them in sympathetic materials; or cover them in greenery.

5: Go beyond Also take a look at what you can see outside your boundary and ‘borrow’ the view of a neighbour’s tree, the hills, or an interesting building to make it a feature of your own space. This will help the garden feel bigger than it really is.

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