Selwyn Times: March 26, 2019
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SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
Wednesday <strong>March</strong> 27 <strong>2019</strong> 31<br />
Gardening<br />
Editorial supplied by<br />
www.gardener.kiwi<br />
Setting up small spaces in your back yard<br />
• By Hannah Zwartz<br />
WHAT’S A ‘small’ garden?<br />
Usually urban, it could be many<br />
things – a strip between front<br />
fence and veranda, a pocketsized<br />
backyard, a courtyard or<br />
patio, or even a balcony.<br />
What all small gardens have<br />
in common is that (as with tiny<br />
houses) every centimetre counts.<br />
Design needs to be pared back<br />
and concentrated, including only<br />
what’s essential.<br />
There’s something very restful<br />
about this. The beauty of a small<br />
garden is you can probably<br />
spend more per square metre<br />
on soil, paving and plants.<br />
Less weeding and watering<br />
means more time to relax and<br />
appreciate your sanctuary.<br />
And the more urban your<br />
environment, the more valuable<br />
your green space becomes.<br />
Making your space a<br />
pleasurable place to be starts<br />
with the physical elements: sun/<br />
shade, wind, views and access<br />
to water (see the list on page<br />
53 for hints on mapping these).<br />
Then there are the human needs.<br />
What do you use the garden<br />
for – cooking and entertaining?<br />
A private retreat? Extra living<br />
space? A wild space for kids to<br />
play? Growing vegetables, fruit<br />
or herbs? Even a small garden<br />
space can meet all these needs.<br />
Built-in structures need to<br />
multitask. Steps and decking<br />
can double as seating, as can<br />
generous built-in edges on a<br />
raised bed or sandpit. Screens<br />
to give privacy (or hide the<br />
bins) can double as supports<br />
for cucumbers or sweet peas.<br />
For shade structures, adaptable<br />
options like umbrellas,<br />
retractable awnings/sails or<br />
pergolas planted with deciduous<br />
vines give you options for more<br />
sun in winter and less in summer.<br />
When it comes to planting,<br />
choose carefully. Cramming lots<br />
of different colours and textures<br />
into a small area is like a room<br />
filled with clutter – it makes the<br />
space seem smaller. Growing<br />
in pots gives you the chance to<br />
change things around, but a few<br />
large pots are easier to care for<br />
than many little ones, which dry<br />
out quickly.<br />
Simplifying your planting<br />
palette can make a small space<br />
look bigger. Plants with large<br />
leaves, such as monstera, fig<br />
or taro, seem to be closer than<br />
they are, so backing them with<br />
fine-textured plants creates an<br />
illusion of distance. Blur the<br />
boundaries by covering at least<br />
some of the walls or fences with<br />
vines, or tall upright plants<br />
like rushes or bamboo (wellcontained<br />
to prevent a takeover).<br />
Look at the plants’ eventual size<br />
and choose those that won’t<br />
outgrow their space.<br />
Small gardens often have<br />
corners of full shade, so avoid<br />
slippery paving in these areas.<br />
Instead, make the most of them<br />
for shade-loving plants like ferns<br />
and mosses, which hate to dry<br />
out.<br />
Even a small garden has room<br />
for edibles – maybe not all your<br />
favourite vegetables, but you<br />
can start with fresh salad greens<br />
and herbs. Lots of veges thrive<br />
in containers, and dwarf fruit<br />
trees can grow in a barrel if given<br />
plenty of liquid feed. If you only<br />
have room for one fruit tree,<br />
choose your very favourite – for<br />
me, it would have to be a lemon<br />
tree for the fragrance of its<br />
flowers as well as the flavour of<br />
its fruits.<br />
IMAGINATION: Above –<br />
Cramming a lot of different<br />
plants into a space can make<br />
it seem smaller. Left – Curate<br />
your small carden – a few<br />
choice plants will make your<br />
space appear bigger. Below<br />
left – Even with limited space<br />
you can still have your own<br />
oasis. Below – Fit more plants<br />
in with pots on patio areas –<br />
try a few large ones for easy<br />
care.<br />
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