THE MANUAL
The design of very small gardens is not easy. It is harder than laying out half an acre or even your average sized suburban garden. Microgardens need structure, thrive on structure and will not be successful without it. So much valuable space is wasted through poor design and layout.
To find the perfect lead in design for the very small garden we must go back to the start of the last century and two pioneers in garden design. Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens.
Gertrude Jekyll was originally an artist but very poor site lead to her broadening her horizons in the field of plantmanship and gardening. She had a amazing understanding of the use of colour and the relationships of planting different plants next to each other. Her partner in laying out gardens was the architect Edwin Lutyens, the designer of the London Cenotaph and architect of myriad country houses. Lutyens believed in strong structure and layed out the hard landscaping of gardens with a clear definition of pathways, seating areas and water features.
Together they created some of the best gardens ever made in England. We can learn from them in the design of our small spaces. Seating areas, patios, decks, steps, etc should be very strong in their design. Initially the should almost overwhelm the area. But then the strong planting around and between these features should then soften and complete the design. There is an excellent book about the gardens they created - 'Gardens of a Golden Afternoon by Jane Brown ISBN 0 7139 1440 8.
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