When I was younger, having a swimming pool was a real luxury and anyone who had one in their garden was extremely lucky (and probably quite well-off to boot).

Nowadays, swimming pools are usually installed on roofs and balconies. It’s having a garden that has become the luxury.

Unless you manage to buy a house built a few decades ago in a time when gardens and houses came hand-in-hand, your current abode is more likely to have a small area towards the back of the house from which you can spot a patch of sky and which was likely sold to you as a yard, although it’s more of a hole.

Either way, it’s yours and you want to make the most of it, so even if you won’t be planting any citrus groves in the area, you can still create a space in which to sow plants and flowers and call your garden.

When dealing with such a small space, you need to have a clear idea of what you want your garden to look like because too many options can make it look cluttered, especially if you have various types of plants all competing for centre stage.

You can opt to design your garden either according to a colour scheme or a particular type of plant or flower – your ideas at this stage are limitless. However, do get advice from a garden centre about which plants to sow according to the conditions of your yard.

The type of soil you have, the amount of light that your yard sees and the amount of time that you have available to dedicate to your garden are all factors that will contribute to this. Explain your ideas to them so they can guide you accordingly and be prepared to modify your plan according to their advice because no matter how much you may want to plant sunflowers, if your yard doesn’t see much sunshine, they’re not going to flourish.

If you want to surround yourself with lush greenery, an evergreen creeper will create a wall of leaves (and possibly flowers), hiding the starkness of the stone behind it and making you feel like you’re walking into a secret garden.

Mount a trellis onto the wall, plant a seedling of the creeper and provide it with support onto the trellis; it will then grow and find its way around without too much assistance. You’ll probably want to keep it pruned to avoid it becoming too heavy; however, always ask at the garden centre for advice on how to maintain it (and any other plants).

You can also create a garden on a wall by installing outdoor shelving and filling them up with pots of evergreen plants to create a wall of floral life. This is especially effective if your space is very small because you can create a feeling of height rather than width and depth.

Whether you’ve got separate pots lined around the yard or cordoned off area of soil, a careful selection of plants of different heights with your chosen colour scheme will create a harmonious look. Stagger the plants with the taller ones towards the back to give them space to grow and be seen while maximising your limited space.

The use of mirrors is often advised when wanting to create the illusion of added space in a room, so why not take this idea and apply it to your yard? Outdoor mirrors affixed to your yard wall will replicate the area and create the illusion of a larger space. If you decide to employ this feature, ensure that you use proper outdoor mirrors which are heavy duty and purposely made to withstand different weather conditions.

Depending on how small your small yard is, you can include seating options such as adding a deck chair or a small table and two chairs. If space is truly limited, but you want to have some form of seating area, you could opt for a bench by a wall which won’t take up centre space like a table would; or be really creative and use large upside down terracotta pots as stools – they’ll fit in nicely with the decor and can be pushed to the side when not in use.

Herb gardens are another great alternative for tiny yards. You don’t need a lot of space for them and you’ll actually be able to use your own home-grown produce in your cooking.

Having a small garden space may seem limiting but your possibilities are not limited and with some imagination and careful planning you can create a yard garden to be proud of.

Tips

Although your space may be limited don’t limit your ideas of what you want the end result to be;

Seek advice from a professional garden centre before buying any plants;

Use wall space as much as floor space to create an intimate garden feel;

Stick to a simple colour scheme for harmonious results;

The use of outdoor mirrors can add the illusion of a larger space.