Gardens provide a safe place outside of the house. It gives us space to enjoy the outdoors without leaving our homes. But not every home is blessed to come with a huge backyard or outdoor space. This is especially true for urban housing. However, city homes and those with small backyards shouldn’t give up on having a garden. Here are some amazing and creative small garden ideas and designs to inspire your gardening plans.

1.       Lush Sanctuary

Make a sanctuary in your garden! This green and private nook feature a comfy swing, perfect for reading, napping, and daydreaming. The small haven is tucked in a corner and is obscured from plain view by lots of green.

2.       Terraced Garden

Create this fabulous garden feature without needing a lot of space. This terraced garden creation includes a bench, a rock and succulent garden, a pond, and water fountains! That is already the entire garden built next to the fence.

3.       Modern Planters

Make your backyard garden pop with big and bold planters. The sleek design and solid colours of these modern planters give this small backyard retreat style and pizzazz. All in black but in different shapes, the planters also help highlight the wonderful plants.

4.       Creative Lighting

A cosy and bright haven, nestled in a cocoon of lush plants and away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Mature trees shelter the space while creative lighting keeps it bright and welcoming. Several cosy seating arrangements, a boho rug, and pebbled ground complete the tiny hub.

5.       Mirrored Fence

Adding a mirror to a room creates an illusion of extra space. This also works in the garden. This small backyard haven features a wide frameless mirror propped against the fence. Its tiled ground, black fence, potted plants, and dressed-up seating area make the backyard an elegant extension of the house.

6.       A Patch of Lawn

Everyone deserves a lawn, no matter how small it is. This romantic backyard features a circle of lawn right in the middle. Surrounded by flowers and bushes on one side, and a flagged patio on the other, the piece of lawn serves as the breathing space of the small garden.

7.       Colourful Recycling

Recycling tins into planters will not only save you money but will also bring in some colours to your backyard. This colourful vertical garden is a smart solution to backyards with limited space. A fun and inexpensive way to brighten up your outdoor areas.

8.       Exotic Greens

Create a statement garden without the space with exotic greens. A collection of rare fronds and bushes will give your garden an interesting character and style. Complement the exotic plants with lights, pottery, and rock accents for that gorgeous, landscaped look.

9.       Spa Deck

Make your garden a complete retreat by integrating a spa into the space. This small backyard is transformed into a spa resort complete with a jacuzzi, lounges, plants, deck space, lights, and privacy. This transformation will need creative planning and landscaping from the professionals.

10.   Trellis the Fence

When you don’t have ample ground space for a garden, build one on the fence instead. This manicured backyard features bushes lining the perimeter, classic concrete planters, and a trellised fence. The climbers create a striking pattern and add definition to the small garden.

11.   Backyard Pond

A water feature is considered a must in backyard landscaping. If you don’t have the space for elaborate water features, this DIY garden pond is your solution. Find a nook in your garden to build the pond. Complete it with rocks, gravel, fronds, and a waterfall system.

12.   The Elegant Backyard

Space is not a factor in creating an elegant backyard. This small backyard managed to create a fabulous garden and retreat without much space. Its classic brick walls are lined with creepers, fronds, and sculptured bushes. The centre features a lawn with modern pavers leading to a patio with a firepit.

13.   Pocket Gardening

Do not let the lack of space hold you back from gardening. This pocket garden is an ingenious way to grow smaller plants. Herbs, shrubs, and succulents are perfect for your wall or fence pocket gardens. You can buy organisers to use as pockets or DIY with burlap or any other strong fabrics.

14.   Corner Pergola

Create an extension of your home in the garden by adding a pergola. This corner pergola and deck define a living space complete with seats, a coffee table, rug, and buntings. Perfect for relaxing, barbecues, and enjoying the outdoor air.

15.   A Green Wall

When you can’t garden on the ground, bring it up on the wall! This sensational green wall consists of ferns, fronds, shrubs, and hanging plants. The profuse mix of glorious leaves – different shapes, textures, and sizes, liven up this small outdoor space.

16.   Rocky Garden

This stunning backyard features a rocky garden that includes crags of rock, pebbles, gravel, grass, and flowery bushes. The result is a natural garden that mimics the wild and the untamed. Get creative and build your own rock garden!

17.   Modern Minimalist

Sleek, clean, minimalist. This small backyard is converted into a cosy and tranquil hub. The tiled flooring makes it easy to clean. Privacy screens surround the space and match the built-in benches. Plants are organised in flower boxes and modern planters.

18.   Chicken Surprise

Add something surprising and quirky to your backyard garden! These metal chicken garden accents provide a fun element to the outdoor space. They are a great conversational piece, attention-grabber, and instantly improves your backyard looks.

19.   Mix of Blooms

A gardener’s heaven. This flower garden features blooms as its main attraction. The colourful mix of flowers is a result of random planting and mixing different plants. Raise flower beds lining the perimeter of the backyard gives the flowers their space and the backyard its order.

20.   The Courtyard

Interior garden space is ideal for people who like to indulge in the outdoors but not the prying eyes of strangers. This is also a great way of creating an outdoor space in the city where space is at a premium. This private sanctuary includes a lawn and a patio with a built-in banquette, flower boxes, and vertical gardens.

21.   Built-in Storage

Most homes have a shed to store backyard and garden tools, equipment, and gear. But when you don’t have the space for a shed, you can get creative with your outdoor storage space. This built-in outdoor bench includes storage spaces under the seat. Clever!

22.   Multi-Level Landscaping

More levels will create more depth and definition to the outdoor areas. Separating the areas of your garden is tricky if you have a small area. Creating levels will effectively separate the areas without hampering the space. In this creatively landscaped backyard, the firepit is separated from the patio, and the succulents by levels, not walls.

23.   Succulent Patch

Succulents are fascinating plants with interesting forms, patterns, colours, and shapes. It has become a highlight of many gardens. Collecting succulents has become a hobby for many. This succulent garden includes rocks for texture and additional colour.

24.   A Water Feature

Add a piece de resistance to your garden to give it personality and style.  A water feature is a common highlight for gardens. Its flowing motion and rippling sound mimic wild nature. The design and construction of the water feature can vary a lot. Even the smallest one can make a huge in your small garden.

25.   Boho Backyard

This cosy and private sanctuary is designed for comfort and quiet. Ample seating ensures everyone a comfy spot. Rugs, pillows, and the giant umbrella provide added comfort. Multiple lighting fixtures provide cosy ambience and illumination.

26.   Dressed-Up Fences

Don’t have enough grounds to make a garden? Use your fence! This dressed-up fence is an entire garden. It includes planter boxes, benches, flowers, and a lawn! The modern design keeps things sleek and clean. While the assortment of flowers gives the space pops of colours.

27.   Private Oasis

This modern and beautifully appointed garden has everything to provide you with comfort and peace. Its deck area includes a sauna, a lounge area, a dining area, and a pond. The landscaping created an exceptional and beautiful space filled with plants and comfort.  

28.   Flower Accents

The manicured and clean lines of this garden patio are interrupted by a blast of flower accents. The flagged patio is surrounded by green fencing and features inserts for flowers to grow and bloom. The wild profusion of colours and blooms softens the disciplined landscaped lines and gives the garden a more natural look.

29.   Fence Planters

This fence is designed to impress! The modern wall is painted black and featured a garden of ferns and shrubs. The black and green contrast is striking and so does are the triangle planters that hold the plants. The uniform shape and modern design of the planters create a pattern and are the highlight of the wall garden.

30.   Concrete Block Planters

An easy DIY garden that will add definition and planting space. This concrete block garden is placed in a corner and features succulents. Ideal for smaller gardens, concrete block planters are easy to put together. Just place the concrete blocks on top of each other, arrange to create the holes for planting.

31.   A Pool Party

You can still enjoy a backyard swim or even a pool party without the swimming pool in a huge backyard. Stock tank pools are easy to install pools that don’t need much space. This small backyard features a stock tank pool placed near the fence and is surrounded by rocks. Plants, a wide lawn, and a seating area complete the design.

32.   Vertical Farm

Growing your own food is healthy and economical. You save on food money, and you’re assured of the food quality to eat. Having a small backyard is not a deterrent to gardening. This vertical garden planter manages to multiply the planting room without much space.

33.   Perennial Heaven

Go wild and fill your heart and your backyard with all the plants and flowers you desire! This colourful and wild profusion of perennial blooms is a sight to behold. No one will grudge you for creating this piece of colourful nature. Planters and flower boxes might help tame the overgrowth.

34.   Garden Screen

This vertical garden idea is also multi-functional. The garden screen also serves as a privacy screen. Everyone can create this easy DIY project. Just make a sturdy wood frame with its posts staked to the ground for stability. Attach the screen and hang the planters! You can also use the screen as a trellis or support for creepers.

35.   Reader’s Nook

When you need personal space and alone time, this garden nook is perfect for it. One side of the garden features a reader’s nook, ideal for reading, resting, or just daydreaming. The secluded space gives you a lot of privacy while allowing you to enjoy the gifts of nature.

36.   A Firepit Hub

Firepits are great for nippy nights during the colder months. This small backyard features a corner for a firepit hub. It includes comfortable seating, a plank and gravel patio, surrounding plants, and a privacy screen.

37.   Japanese Inspiration

Japan makes the most beautiful gardens! The iconic Japanese gardens are extensive, intricate, and features a lot of details and interesting elements. This garden nook gets a lot of Japanese inspirations – bamboo tree and fencing, a pagoda figurine, trimmed shrubs, and gravelled ground.

38.   Pergola and Hammock

Get the island feels with this pergola and hammock combi. You can rest, sleep, or read on the hammock while enjoying the outdoors. The pergola provides shade, defines the space, and gives your back and garden character.

39.   Farmhouse Blooms

This wild and colourful flower garden gives a lot of farmhouse vibes. The cornucopia of wild and colourful flowers growing abundantly and heedlessly brings in memories of forest jaunts, walks, and hunts for wild berries. Line the flower beds with rocks to keep the growths confined to the area.

40.   Pebbles and Pavers

Sleek and modern, clean, and minimalist. The streamlined garden design features a lawn in the centre, gravelled path around it, and huge black pavers to ease walking. The contrast between the black pavers and white pebbles is striking and precise. Large black planters match the pavers and complete the garden with greens.

Do you have any amazing and creative small garden ideas and designs to add? Why not discuss it on our RenoForum!