Disclosure – this is a collaborative post with Brabantia.

Top of our list when we moved to our current house was a garden. With two active children we knew we wanted plenty of space for them to run around, as well as somewhere for us to sit and relax. The garden we ended up with was a lot smaller than we wanted but we decided to compromise on it as the house was in a great location. Over the years we’ve made a few adjustments so I thought I would share my tips on how to make the most of a small garden in case it’s useful. These range from using a rotary clothesline to investing in garden storage. Read on to find out more.

How to make the most of a small garden

Divide your garden into separate areas

We found it really important to define separate areas for plants, seating and play. We’ve never been particularly talented at growing anything (except our kids!) but knew we wanted some areas to grow plants and flowers. We found it easiest to make a narrow flower bed around the inside of the garden fence where we could experiment and plant. Thankfully there was a decent sized patio where we could keep our table and chairs for outside dining, which left space for the children to play.

Use your space wisely

I would recommended using a rotary clothesline instead of a single clothes line. For years we’ve used a single clothes line strung up across the garden. It was simple to use and did the job until the children wanted a trampoline, and then a swingball. My husband is very fussy about his grass and wanted to move the trampoline to make sure it didn’t kill the grass underneath it. The clothes line kept getting caught on the trampoline and stopped us moving it around too much. Then the children wanted the swingball game and the ball kept catching in the washing line. It was all getting too frustrated, so we invested in a rotary clothesline which takes us less space when not in use. The rotary clotheslines holds just as much washing as our previous single washing line too.

Make use of storage space

Modern living seems to require plenty of storage and we found this is the same inside and outside of the house. I’m not quite sure how, but we’ve ended up with a bike shed, a garden tools shed as well as a shed for my husband to do his hobbies in. The children also have their own playhouse which has ended up being an overflow for their toy storage! I like a tidy garden so garden storage has always been a priority, it’s important to keep the garden tidy.

Create height differences

When we first moved into our house someone recommended that we create height with raised beds. Our garden is so small that it used to feel that you opened the back door and stared straight at the garden fence. We really wanted there to be something to look at so bought some ready made wooden flower beds to add height. We picked plants which grew tall and also enjoy planting sunflowers and watching them grow over the top of the fence.

Make sure you have enough colour

Like I said, we’re not natural gardeners but we wanted to ensure colour all year round. I love our Red Robin tree which offers interest all year round with its vivid red leaves. Our ornamental cherry blossom tree has recently sprung into life and the children love collecting the blossom and making it into mud pies in their mud kitchen. Spring is my favourite time of year but it’s important to have evergreens in your garden too.

Create depth with mirrors

One trick I learned from the previous owners of our house was to add mirrors to the garden fence. I thought this was slightly odd when we looked round but I quickly appreciated the effect they had. Sadly the mirrors were taken with them when they moved out but I’m always tempted to buy garden mirrors when I see them at the garden centre.

We love our small garden and think we have made the most of having a small garden but would love to hear what you think. Do you have a small garden? If so how do you make it work?