Make the Most of a Small Garden With These Brilliant Space-Saving Ideas

Crafting a small outdoor space is never easy, but it's not impossible. Even if you're not lucky enough to call Versailles home, you can still make your tiny patch of green look stunning. With a dose of creativity and a few smart furniture choices, your humble garden can be picture-perfect in no time, thanks to these brilliant space-saving outdoor ideas design ideas.

Not sure where to begin? This roundup has genius garden hacks, stylish decor and unique planters that will give a petite space some grand style. These small garden ideas have more than enough inspiration to bring style to your home, regardless of your design aesthetic.

Obsessed with lattice? For an unexpected touch to your garden, let the pattern set the foundation for a green wall.

You can't go wrong with taking advantage of outdoor wall space. A simple fold-out shelf can serve as the perfect spot to display small plants and outdoor entertaining essentials.

Enhance greenery or statement floral arrangements with a pair of potted hanging planters.

Play up your garden's cozy factor with a stylish hammock, designed for an afternoon nap or getting lost in a good book.

Any outdoor gathering would be so much more fun if classic string lights are in the mix, whether you choose to hang them on a fence or under a pergola.

Window boxes can be used in so many creative ways. Fill one with vibrant blooms—a great match for a white picket fence.

Outfitting a small space doesn't mean you have to settle for drab furniture. The brighter, the better is the way to go to bring your space to life.

StyleWell

homedepot.com

$139.00

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Mistana

wayfair.com

$30.99

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Vertical gardening doesn't get any easier than this. Use one or both planters depending on how green your thumb is.

Sol 72 Outdoor

wayfair.com

$144.90

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With a roomy shelf underneath, this wood piece doubles as a mini garden "shed" for storage.

Society6

society6.com

$134.10

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When it comes to an impromptu yard game, consider folding furniture, like this floral style, to easily free up space in an instant.

bloomscape.com

$35.00

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Ditch those unsightly plastic hanging pots for a sleek bowl like this waterproof design that's available in four colors: charcoal, stone, clay and slate.

Instantly boost your home’s curb appeal with bright blooms on each side of your front door. Expecting guests? Steal these tricks
from our home team: Add stems from a supermarket bouquet for extra fullness and mint for a fragrant burst.

SHOP ORANGE TREES

If you've got a tiny patio or balcony, you can grow a fruit tree. Calamondin orange or fig trees especially do well in pots at least 1 foot in diameter and 1 foot deep. Just watch out: Choose a variety that can survive at least two zones colder than where you live, because planters will freeze faster than the ground.

RELATED: 8 Fruit Trees You Can Grow Right on Your Porch

Think small — really small — with this adorable project. Outfitted with a mini birdhouse, rustic stones, and teeny-tiny accessories, this planter is the perfect thing to make with kids.

Get the tutorial »

This highly efficient method divides raised beds into a grid. Vegetables then get planted in one or more squares at a density based on plant size (e.g., you’d plant about 16 radish seeds per square, but only one tomato plant).

RELATED: The Pros and Cons of Square Foot Gardening

goodhousekeeping.com

$18.95

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If you have ¼ acre of land (or even less!), you can produce your own vegetables, fruits, grains, eggs, and more — this book shares garden plans, landscaping tips, planting tricks, chicken coop ideas, and more.

Averaging about 15 feet tall and wide, many ornamental or dwarf tree varieties can handle tiny spaces. Crowd-pleasers like dogwoods, camellias, crepe myrtle, and crabapples offer both flowers and foliage too.

RELATED: The 9 Best Trees for Small Yards

Mkono

amazon.com

$23.99

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Amazon shoppers are obsessed with this cute wooden plant stand that can fit just about anywhere. Consider your yard officially Instagrammable. (Note: The plant and pot is not included.)

Placing flowers and veggies together in the same beds doesn't just save space. It'll help boost your yields and keep plants happy by attracting more pollinators.

RELATED: 26 Plants You Should Always Grow Side-By-Side

shopterrain.com

$48.00

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If your outdoor dining spot could use a little green, try adding one of these long planters to the table. The cold-rolled steel can stand up to the elements, and succulents will adapt to even the shallowest containers.

RELATED: 5 Mistakes You’re Making With Your Succulents

You can actually prune certain types of fruit trees to grow against a wall, a process called espalier. Start with a 1- or 2-year-old tree and attach two supple branches to the wire about 18 inches off the ground, advises the Oregon State University Extension Service. Then take time as the seasons go on to prune your tree carefully.

SHOP POTS

Green up your patio or deck with oversized terracotta or plastic planters overflowing with anything from tomatoes to wildflowers. (The lush lineup here creates a pretty privacy wall!)

RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Container Gardening

SHOP RAISED BEDS

No room for a garden plot? No problem. This blogger's raised garden allows flowers to soak up the sun on top, while storage for tools and accessories can be found down below.

Get the tutorial at Inspired By Charm »

If you don't have space on the ground for the garden of your dreams, use porch ceilings to display your plant babies in hanging baskets.

Not only does this DIY take up less surface area than multiple pots on the ground would, but it can also serve as a privacy fence for nosy neighbors.

Get the tutorial at Angela Marie Made »

unho

amazon.com

$49.99

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Not all scaffolding is an eyesore. You'll get six levels of greenery and blooms with this stained pine plant stand. It maxes out at 37 inches long, 10 inches wide, and 37 inches tall, and can hold up to 44 pounds altogether.

SHOP SUCCULENTS

Lean louvers (old or new) against an exterior wall and fill slots with hearty plants such as succulents or mosses. Succulents are nearly indestructible, but can get scorched in direct sunlight, so put them on the shady side of your home.

To create contrast with terracotta pots, transform inexpensive galvanized-steel washtubs into planters. This long, low oval version, with drainage holes poked in the bottom, shows off a basil crop.

Beachcrest Home

wayfair.com

$129.90

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It doubles as a seat or side table depending on what you need at the moment. Bring the stool inside during the winter and use it as a perch in the bathroom, or as an end table in the living room.

SHOP POTS

Attach clay pots to a pallet with nails and stainless steel cable ties for a living art display that keeps your rosemary and basil at the ready. Space out the pots so your plants have room to grow

You don't even need a yard to wake up to a view of blooming flowers every morning. Flowering annuals like geraniums, marigolds, wax begonias, coleus, scarlet sage, and flowering tobacco are all good choices.

IKEA

ikea.com

$24.99

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Easily stack pots of herbs or flowers with this wooden plant stand that tucks neatly into the corner.

SHOP SHOE ORGANIZERS

Hang an old canvas over-the-door shoe organizer on a fence or wall, then fill the compartments with dirt and wispy ferns or vines.

Turn a wooden ladder into a space-saving stand for flowers, veggies, and herbs with just a few boards and a coat of paint.

Get the tutorial »

Just about anything can hold plants if it's got sufficient drainage (i.e., a few holes drilled in the bottom). The handle on this vintage toolbox makes relocating succulents to a shadier spot a snap.

Train wisteria to grow over the front door, liven up a bare wall with bougainvillea, or let clematis climb up a mailbox. A simple stake in the dirt is all the trellis you'll need.

Noble House

homedepot.com

$55.73

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Add a little mood lighting to a deck or outdoor space with flickering candles set in gilded glass.

This clever table works hard for your yard: Not only is it a neat way to showcase plants, but it's also a nice spot to place your book as you sip lemonade.

Get the tutorial at Today's Nest »

SHOP HERBS

Eye-catching as well as edible, herbs bunched together on a table transforms a small patch of porch into hardworking acreage. Burgundy coleus in a timeworn metal tub provides a colorful counterpoint.

To create contrast and visual vibrancy, situate curvaceous containers on stairs and fill them with interestingly shaped plants, like scallop-leafed geraniums or spiky, serrated agave.

RELATED: 16 Easy Container Gardening Ideas for Your Potted Plants

SHOP SUCCULENTS

Hardy succulents, which stow water in their stems and leaves, will thrive in a shallow birdbath perch. Add pebbles to hold more moisture in the soil.

With more foliage than flowers, a garden full of greenery is not only ultra low-maintenance, but also more bang for your buck. Petalless plants, like this ghost bramble, don't need deadheading and leaves last longer than briefly blooming blossoms.

SHOP COLANDERS

Hang spring flowers in brightly colored colanders for an unexpected porch update.

Get the tutorial at Country Living »

Covered with ivy, a frill-free fence acts as a natural privacy barrier to shield a patio or garden from view.

This metal table, originally intended for serving drinks, now overflows with Irish moss and succulents on a patio.

In shady spots, replacing grass with no-fuss stone makes more sense than growing a patchy lawn. For lush foliage in your remaining beds, hostas, sedges, and ferns thrive with minimal sun.

RELATED: How to Grow the Most Stunning Hostas

By obscuring parts of the yard, a curved ivy fence can visually enlarge it. "You can't see the entire garden from any one vantage. You're unsure where it ends, so it seems bigger than it is," says landscape designer Louis Raymond.

How many pots does it take to make a double-tiered planter? You need three to create an impressive stacked container garden that is much more than the sum of its parts.

Get the tutorial at Anything & Everything »