In a small garden, every detail counts: Plant selection, color combinations, paving patterns, and even garden accessories are important.
Garden editing requires discipline, with sufficient respect for the art of garden design to appreciate that "rules" for small gardens are not intended to punish, but are offered as guidelines by experienced gardeners who have tried to prove them wrong.
The late, legendary garden writer Henry Mitchell phrased it well: "The temptation to devote every square foot to growing another plant should be resisted, for the excellent reason that other approaches will make the gardener happier."
My words and thoughts are less profound, but I have observed many times that attention to detail in small gardens pays big dividends. The end result is far more pleasing than a mere collection of plants.
Like the rest of us, owners of small gardens should prepare a garden plan for the entire yard, so that, ultimately, the different parts of the garden work together. But the plan should be implemented slowly. Doing so allows the gardener to savor the process of garden building, which is every bit as rewarding as its completion.
Those of us with seven acres have no end of new projects to anticipate; gardeners with a small lot may have only two or three.
Paving is critically important in small gardens. The pattern in which bricks are laid, the edging used to define a stone patio, or the color of the gravel chosen for a walkway are details which get noticed in a small space. Use paved surfaces to enhance the garden, especially in winter, when there is less foliage to support the composition.
Even in a large garden, it's easy to make the mistake of over-decorating with accessories. A proliferation of gardening catalogs has dramatically increased the availability of garden "art."
Within the confines of a limited space, accessories can quickly overwhelm the plants. Multiple objects compete for attention and often make a garden look "busy" instead of tranquil.
A guideline that I find useful is to place no more than one primary accessory--bench or chairs, urn, pot, arbor, trellis, sculpture or statue--in each garden scene. Sometimes a view needs nothing at all.
Such restraint!
Be discriminating when shopping for garden accessories. Notice the details and workmanship of a piece you might be considering. Try to match the style and mood of the garden.
When it comes to plants--the most important part of any garden--think in layers. Instead of a large bushy tree, select one with a vase-shaped silhouette. At its feet plant small shrubs, perennials, annuals, and groundcovers that appreciate the dappled shade.
A square foot of soil can do double duty by supporting deeply planted bulbs like alliums and daffodils, while annual and perennial flowers or herbs occupy the layer of soil directly above them.
Warm-season ornamental grasses, such as Panicum and fountain grass, make excellent companions for early spring bulbs. Like a jack-in-the-box, colorful tulips pop up through the still-dormant tufts of grass, whose feathery foliage later goes on to cover the tulips' dying leaves.
Substitute "color" for "plant" and the sentiment expressed by Mr. Mitchell is equally valid. A "riot of color" in a small garden is as unsettling as too much art.
That doesn't mean a gardener must ignore whole quadrants of the color wheel, just that certain color schemes should dominate at any one time. I suggest saving bright reds and oranges for late summer and fall, when the light intensity can meet the challenge of these bold shades within the visual boundaries of a small garden.
(Lindsay Bond Totten, a horticulturist, writes about gardening for Scripps Howard News Service.)
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