Neil Sperry: Designing for small spaces

Urban landscapes aren’t the same as they were 50 years ago. I was mowing quarter-acre-sized lots for $2 back then. Yep. I’ve been around that long, and, through the years, another change I’ve seen is the arrival of hundreds of new and dwarf plants on the market. Nurserymen and plant breeders have worked hard to find smaller plants for today’s increasingly small urban gardens.

Interior decorators will tell you that if you’re choosing furniture for a small room, you don’t want to go with pieces that take four bulky guys to deliver. You just won’t have room for them. You can carry that same principle outdoors as you remember to choose plants that stay small at maturity, perhaps also fine- or medium-textured as well, just to lessen their visual “weight” in the landscape.

Mapping it out

Begin with a drawing of your little area. Whether it’s a patio garden, a breakfast nook or the entryway landscape, draw it to scale. Use graph paper so you can illustrate sizes and distances precisely. (You can download graph paper that can be printed at no charge online.)

Draw in all of the permanent features such as sidewalks, patios, pools, lights, grill — whatever is going to stay there, draw it into your plan.

Make a list of your expectations of that part of your landscape. Whether it’s achieving more shade or color, growing herbs, softening a fence or wall, accenting a spa or some other goal, put each item on your list and prioritize your goals. Think about how to achieve as many goals as you can and mull it over for a few days.

It’s a good idea to make photocopies of your scale drawing and do additional sketches. That way, if your ideas change, you won’t have to start at the beginning again as you finalize your plan.

The hard parts

Develop a list of surfaces you’d like in your urban garden. It could be patterned concrete, brick or concrete pavers, decorative stone, decomposed granite, wood or faux wood decking. Since it’s a small area, you’ll probably want to stay with a softer look and finer textures.

Large flagstones, for example, might draw undue attention to the small size of the space.

The same thought processes apply to fences and walls if you plan to include them. Wrought iron, lattice and louvered fencing won’t feel nearly as confining as a solid stockade fence or stone wall. If you already have a solid wall, vines trailing over it can soften its look and lessen the feeling of confinement.

Sized for simplicity

And then we come to the plants. Here more than anywhere, you need to do your homework carefully. While patios and walls won’t grow larger with time, plants certainly will. One of the saddest things that can happen is to wake up one morning and discover that your lovely little plants have grown up to be monsters.

Make a list of the plants you like best, then do homework on their mature sizes and growth forms. Use only those that will stay within the spaces you have for them. Nobody wants to become a slave to the shears. Pruning should rarely be used as a means of size management. It’s much easier to address this when you’re planning and buying.

Some of the best shade trees for small landscapes include Little Gem and Teddy Bear magnolias, Mexican plum, Mexican redbud and shrubs trained tree-form — including taller crape myrtles, yaupon hollies and Nellie R. Stevens hollies. If you have shaded spaces, Japanese maples come in a variety of sizes (some smaller than others) and growth forms.

If it’s shrubs that you’re after, choose from Carissa, dwarf Burford, dwarf yaupon and other low-growing hollies, dwarf nandinas and dwarf abelias. For sun, try trailing junipers.

In some landscape settings, Aspidistra and giant liriope are tall ground covers that can be used in lieu of dwarf shrubs. Holly ferns are handsome evergreen ferns in very protected locations. (They’re winter-tender below 20 to 24 degrees.) Mondograss, regular liriope and Asian jasmine are fine-textured ground covers for smaller spaces. Carolina jessamine is a handsome and fairly compact vine that also works well in such settings.

If there is one guide word I can offer for landscaping a small space, it is “simplicity.” When you make things too complicated, the design itself can become distracting. Your goal is to provide a simple and inviting area that encourages relaxation.

If you have too many things going on there, you’ll be tempted to spend time tidying. A simple and comfortable bench, a shade tree to sit under, a good surface to walk on, a burbling fountain to hear and a decorative pot filled with color to look at — that’s all you really need.

This story was originally published February 20, 2015 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Neil Sperry: Designing for small spaces."