During COVID 19, Small Spaces is still operating and we are keen to help out with advice on your garden. You can still start the design process while we are in lockdown. We can arrange a garden consultation on line, and walk through your garden remotely.
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We created this garden in Autumn in 2019 and have just been back to check on progress.
This courtyard had a deck already to go, we just needed to do the courtyard design to complete the picture. Our brief, to create a green space with raised planters, soften the view and finish on all the fences, and some space to grow a few edibles.
Our solution, we installed planter boxes on castors for some flexibility and a mix of concrete pots with corten steel, to give some depth and interest to the garden space.
We often work with Future Environment, they build custom sizes for us, so we can mix it up depending on our courtyard design. http://www.futurenvironment.com.au/
Pots by https://potsnpots.com.au/ for some lovely (and heavy!) concrete pots.
Making the most of a small space with raised planters can be tricky.
Building raised garden beds can sometimes take up lots of valuable space and may appear too chunky for the space. Opposite to this is using lots of pots, which may or may not work. Pots are great but sometimes you want a more streamlined look. This is where I tend to go for steel planter boxes and cylinders.
These can be manufactured to whatever size I want and, are relatively simple to make and install.
Round, square, rectangles, narrow and high, short and squat to tier the garden. Anything you fancy.
Colours can be bright and showy, subdued and muted, it’s flexible, using a wide range of powder coat colours, or, Cor Ten steel for a more organic look.
These are 3 vastly different projects we have worked on recently;
a narrow bluestone terrace in a new build, a modern townhouse and a native garden with a lovely new paved terrace overlooking the garden, all dotted around Melbourne.
Birch trees have the most beautiful bark. More
Here is a garden in Ascot Vale More
Corymbia ficifolia is the ideal tree for a small native garden. More
This courtyard has been transformed from boring old gravel and step stones to a wonderful native garden, full of wild flowers. We first came upon this courtyard a couple of years ago. It was a classic new townhouse with lots of gravel and step stones, minimal landscaping. The developers actually did our client a favour because we didnt need to do much to transform it to what she wanted. We’ve replaced the step stones with a board walk which gets her from a to b, the old clothesline concrete right outside the living room is a great place to sit in the garden (we moved the clothesline out of sight!), and the rest, well it’s all native shrubs and ground covers that will cope on this site. The upshot, we think it’s a pretty nice garden to enjoy, from inside looking out, from a to b on the way to work, and, just to sit in and enjoy the sunshine. It’s a little bit of native sunshine, in Sunshine.
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We installed this garden about 6 months ago. More
Is this colour in the garden? More