Planning A City Garden
If you are planning to create a small garden in a city setting, you will be facing a number of challenges that people in the country - or even the suburbs - do not have to consider for garden landscaping plans. Chief among them are the excessive shade created by surrounding buildings, and air pollution caused by ever-present exhaust fumes from vehicles (and, possibly, that restaurant next door). However, your city garden can be a treasure, providing a peaceful haven and the satisfaction that comes from working with the elements you have at your disposal.
First, you need to plan the garden carefully. Since every square inch of space is important, it makes sense to try to create a harmonious outlook, rather than planting at random and ending up with a mess. Later, when plants are growing, it will be expensive and time consuming to dig them out and replace them. Planning and design are also time consuming, but well worth the effort. Creating detailed garden planting plans will help to ensure you select only plants that will thrive in the conditions available. (Of course, you will still need to persevere at caring for the plants, giving them the extra attention that their situation demands.)
Although you may have only a small amount of space at ground level in the city, think all around your property - front, sides and rear. Covered in concrete? Consider containers. What about fences? Is there space for hanging baskets? Perhaps a garden on the roof? A terrace or patio ideas can make a wonderful space for a small greenhouse, or provide a base for a “no-dig” vegetable plot.
To start planning you need to assess all available space - horizontal and vertical. Do you need to retain a beautiful view? Does sun pour into one area only? Are you exposed to a prevailing wind? Look carefully at orientation. In the northern hemisphere a south-facing space is best for plants, and for outdoor living in general, but a north-facing space can grow shade-tolerant species (the reverse holds for the southern hemisphere). If you feel hemmed in by the small space available, creating terraces or interesting levels can add an extra dimension to the garden. A city view, if you are lucky enough to have one, can be made even more dramatic if you frame it with trees and shrubs. If, like so many city dwellers, you have no view at all, you can create your own garden or landscaping pictures, developing vistas within your own boundaries on which to rest the eye. Consider planting a small specimen tree like the Japanese maple, Acer palmatum. (There are hundreds of cultivars with all sorts of forms and leaf types, some mature trees being only three feet high.) Or you may want a small pond, fountain, or a gazebo - or an espaliered peach tree on that south-facing wall. The smallest space can grow salad vegetables, or enough cut flowers to beautify your indoor living area.
A small city space is not usually the place for a formal garden, which requires symmetry and balance, usually achieved through the use of geometric patterns or mirror images. Nor is the small space suitable for a truly informal garden, with riotous growth in three dimensions. Striking a balance is probably the best way to achieve a harmonious affect that looks natural and is restful to live with.
Any area of garden, however small, will make a small house or apartment seem larger if you can open the windows to bring the outdoors inside. A massed carpet of groundcover plants with seasonal bulbs and a small paved area can give you an extra room for the days when you can sit outdoors, especially if you “furnish” it with an outdoor table and some chairs. With a little planning, a simple paved area with a few container plants can bring an extra dimension to your life - just a few shrubs and some seasonal plants can turn a small space into a retreat.
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