Transform Your Small Garden on a Budget
10 September 2020

Transform Your Small Garden on a Budget

Garden Design Doesn’t Need to Break the Bank!

As we continue our focus on small gardens, we have already looked at design ideas for small gardens, How to make your small garden look bigger and sustainable ideas for your small garden, and today we are looking at how you can transform your small or even very small garden on a budget.

Garden landscapers have numerous crafty little tricks to enhance small gardens, from expertly placed ornamental lighting to clever use of angles and colours, but some of these can be very expensive, even in a tiny garden.

Giant mirrors to give the illusion of double the amount of space, shiny marble paving to reflect light or an overstated water centre-piece to draw the focus away from your micro-sized garden, are great if your budget is endless, but most of us are looking for more affordable ways to turn our small garden into beautiful, tranquil havens that can be used all year round.

Simple tricks like laying your paving slabs on the point will create an optical 3D illusion of a far bigger space than you actually have, whilst keeping the colour palette simple with no more than 3 shades, adds a touch of class and an uncluttered feel, especially if you have a very small garden.Affinity Garden Office Range

Show Your Small Garden Some Love With These Budget Ideas

A small garden combined with a small budget doesn’t mean you can’t let your creativity run wild enough to design a beautiful space. In fact, when space is at a premium it’s all about making every square inch count and making the best of what you have. Here we take a look at some small garden ideas on a budget.

Lawns:

For starters, get your lawn ship-shape by cutting it into a small, defined shape, with a clearly marked border to highlight the lines, or better still, axe the grass, giving yourself more space for seating areas and planting.

Small Garden Living Wall

Enjoy your seating space.

Plants:

Always grow from seed, it costs way less than buying established plants and gives you the pleasure of watching them mature over the seasons. Choose a mixture of perennials, annuals, bulbs and intersperse with some evergreen shrubbery to give your garden life all year round.

 

Living Walls:

Living walls are becoming more and more popular for tiny and urban gardens. Fix an old pallet to your wall or fence and fill it with pots of your choice of trailing flowers or climbers. You could even use it to grow your own herbs or vegetables, to save money on fresh produce. Nothing tastes better than the satisfaction of home-grown food!

A living wall example

Use all the space available, this includes walls!

 

Wildlife:

Welcome the local wildlife by leaving small gaps under a gate or fence for hedgehogs to get access or place bird feeders up in trees or high walls to encourage birds to visit. Bird boxes, bug hotels and mini-ponds will all fit into very small gardens and ponds with aquatic plants or water features that can be created cheaply with a little creativity and elbow grease and will attract dragon flies and other wildlife.

 

Upcycling:

Visit charity shops or upcycle old items by giving them a new lease of life as planters or ornamental features which, is a very cheap way to provide some colour and interest. Pimped up pots, bottles or old furniture can look amazing with a lick of paint or even distressing it to make it look even older!

Upcycled Pallet

An Upcycled Wooden Pallet – House Beautiful/Guarsos/Getty Images

 

Pots:

Creative use of pots will always add character and interest to any garden, but especially tiny gardens will benefit from layering them or grouping them in a variety of shapes or sizes, plus keep the maintenance to a minimum. These are especially eye-catching in front gardens as well as back gardens.

 

Heating:

If you have a chimenea or a fire pit that you can use as a focal point for the garden, then design your garden around it, arrange planting and seating to maximise it rather than hiding it in a corner. This also allows you to use the garden on those colder days and nights prevalent in the UK.

 

Lighting:

A string of bright fairy lights is a cheap way to add glamour and sparkle to make a dark corner more inviting, especially in the evenings.

 

Colour:

If you have a shed or outbuilding paint it to match the garden furniture, it will give a coordinated look and instant boost to your garden. Choose your colours carefully though; for a more natural look think pale grey/green shades or think blacks and dark blues to show off your plants more, darker colours will give a lot of contrast and can add depth to a small garden.

For more small garden ideas on a budget, check out these recent articles by House Beautiful, The Middle Sized Garden and Real Homes.

 

All-year-round use:

For guaranteed use of your garden all year round why not install a small garden room instead of a shed or summerhouse. Boasting full insulation as well as providing a stunning focal point in the garden, you will have an amazing space to entertain in, work in, work out in, paint in, craft in or just provide a safe haven to relax and enjoy your back garden.

 

An Affordable Garden Room For Your Small Garden

SMART Garden Rooms, Offices & Studios, one of the leading manufacturers of garden rooms in the UK, offer a range of options to suit every garden size and budget. Our stunning range of garden rooms is designed to create an amazing focal point, to be low maintenance and to be used all year round.

Our Key Studio has proven itself to be a popular choice for those with small gardens. Warm and inviting with contemporary lines, soft thermowood and a crisp design allowing the natural tones to make their own stunning statement.

Small Key Studio Office Exterior

Key Studio Office – 2.3m x 2.3m

As with all SMARTS, you have the freedom to design your studio exactly as you want, to configure it to meet the best needs of the space. Add as little or as much glass as you would like. With sizes starting from as small as 2.3m x 2.3m externally, this will still offer you a surprisingly spacious internal space of 2.1m x 2.1m.

Find out more about our Key Studio here.

Order Your Brochure Now

SMART has been creating thousands of small garden rooms over the past 19 years. With 7 beautiful and diverse ranges available in up to 64 sizes, there is a SMART to suit every taste, garden size and budget. Whatever you plan to use it for, SMART garden rooms offer you the ability to create a space that is bespoke to you and your needs, configured exactly as you would like. With a whole host of optional extras and upgrades, the only thing that will limit you is your imagination.

All SMART’s boast full thermal insulation, UNLIMITED double glazing, a 10-year structural warranty and professional installation, with prices starting from as little as £7,944

Start planning your SMART garden room today and order a copy of our brochure, where you’ll discover what makes our garden room the SMART choice.