How to Garden With Limited Space
By George Graine, Fairfax Master Gardener
“. . . life wasn’t about what you don’t have, but what you do with what you have.”– Marianne Willburn
Often you can find beautiful garden books and magazines at the library and on bookstore shelves that make you gush and think: You, too, can have lots of colorful plants on a wide vista. If that is not happening, and this is just a pipe dream, do not fret. Many of us live on a typical suburban smallish sized lot. Here the area to garden shrinks after considering the house footprint, driveway and walkway. This should not be a problem because award winning garden writer and extraordinary teacher, Marianne Willburn, instructs you on how to overcome your garden space in easy to understand words and realistic colorful photos. After reading her book, you will not regret or repel at your own limited space because “Big Dreams, Small Garden: A Guide to Creating Something Extraordinary in Your Ordinary Space” (Skyhorse Publishing, 2017) will show you the way to achieve and how to create your own perfect garden.
This book is written in four sections which include: Visualize, Achieve, Maintain and Enjoy. You will learn how living in what here-to-fore was an imperfect space can become your own pride and joy. In that regard, Wllburn shows you how to overcome your former obstacles. Thus, your less than ideal landscape will melt away when you stick to her step-by-step plan for your own garden. If you are envious of those with large properties, then carefully consider this direct quote from Willburn. “Big garden = big price . . . a large garden requires a large amount of time, thought, and financial outlay, whereas a small garden can give one a sense of joy and accomplishment whilst allowing greater balance in the rest of one’s life. More is not always better.” Perhaps the word “energy” should also be included after the word “time” in this quote. Agree or not, the choice is yours. Another quote: “Being creative is not just about a constant stream of ideas and inspirations, it’s about solving problems, and all of us do this on a more or less daily basis.”
If you are not familiar with the term “garden porn” or “plant porn” get over it because these are the current words used by the green industry that can trigger your inspiration. This often happens as a result of reading garden magazines and watching computer videos and websites about plants and planting and landscaping and so much more. Is that truly realistic or a lot of hype because you need to assess your own creativity and desires? Willburn provides us with a series of various “exercises” and helpful thoughts and ideas. At the same time, she includes colorful photos that help to get various points across to the reader. For example, Exercise #1 accentuates the negative, #2 notes obstacles and opportunities and #3 sketching out a very rough idea. All of these exercises are valuable because they focus in on real garden problems and their solutions.
The discussion on “Planning Your Garden” is invaluable because Willburn breaks down a series of questions and answers by asking the reader a very important question: What do you want? In a straight forward manner, she tends to answer your many concerns because they can be so confusing and makes you wonder — how do I start fixing my problem(s)? Section 2 of the book is about achieving your “wants” now that you have gone through the mental gyrations of visualizing your garden. It is now time to be realistic about how to achieve a garden design that will fit the space. You are not alone! Your local library and the internet, noted earlier, provide an abundance of resources that may overwhelm you. It is important that you reconsider what you want so that you do not need to deal with way too many ideas. Willburn makes it clear that gardening is a process and cannot be hurried. She writes “. . . an instant garden soon becomes a boring garden, as does an instant design.” Then she elaborates by noting, “It’s the joy of watching things become, rather than watching them be.” In other words, think, take time and visualize what you want your garden to be. The emphasis should be on your garden and not some cookie-cutter design from a potentially uncreative landscape designer who has not listened to you describe what you are trying to achieve. You may find yourself re-reading Section 2 of Willburn’s book because it provides excellent do’s and don’ts. If you follow them, the chances are that your garden dream will become a reality. Many of the guidelines may surprise you. A couple of examples to consider are (1) foliage is more important than flowers and (2) larger plants or shrubs throughout the garden will create a more cohesive garden.
Of course, after designing and then planting comes that part of gardening that is also an integral part of the process of gardening — maintenance. Consider this along with having the future of your garden in mind. You may have limited time and energy to carry out all the many maintenance chores; therefore, you need to strike a balance with seven hard truths that you may or may not recognize. All of these truths come from Willburn’s book. For many of us they are real and need to be recognized in advance as part of your dream garden. In the book, Willburn goes into sufficient detail for each truth. They include:
- There will never be a time when I am completely finished.
- Whatever I create, I have an obligation to maintain.
- If I cannot maintain it, I need to change it.
- I can’t just work hard; I must also work smart.
- What works for someone else might not work for me.
- I need to research the plants I choose to cultivate.
- I’m not doing a great thing — not really a hard truth, but it gives you a great feeling of accomplishment.
And finally, the last section of the book (Enjoy) is what you want after all the work you put into your big dreams for a smallish sized garden. It is now time to realize the Eden you created. In summary, and with much humor, Willburn shows us how to overcome a less than perfect garden space. In particular, she points out that our relationship to Mother Earth is something that should be embraced. Gardening is good for your well-being and finding contentment wherever you find yourself. This should be a dream that you can execute at your own pace. Gardening is a process and at the same time you will cultivate a spirit of contentment, so enjoy gardening now.