10 Ways to Turn your Urban Garden Into a Dreamy Oasis
From winding paths to rustic doors, there are lots of atypical ideas for city gardens that work brilliantly
Kate Burt
16 May 2017
Houzz UK. I'm a journalist and editor, previously for the Independent, Guardian and various magazines. I'm now excited to part of the editorial team at Houzz UK & Ireland, bringing the best of British and Irish design, interiors and architecture to Houzz.com.
Houzz UK. I'm a journalist and editor, previously for the Independent, Guardian and... More
When your outdoor space is a square patch of land amid the urban sprawl, possibly overlooked and if not absolutely tiny at least decidedly not rambling, it can be tempting to create an equally boxy, metropolitan garden. Yes, this type of garden may look sleek and stunning, but if you’re after some escapism, tranquility and a foil to busy modern life in the city, browse the ideas in these relaxing plots for inspiration.
Create a secluded seating area
It might only be a weeny spot in your outside space, perhaps even in a front garden if you can screen yourself from the street, but a little patch to sit and think, with nothing but greenery and sky to gaze upon, is a soothing thing for the soul. Crowd your seating out with evergreen bushy shrubs, sit back and enjoy the privacy.
It might only be a weeny spot in your outside space, perhaps even in a front garden if you can screen yourself from the street, but a little patch to sit and think, with nothing but greenery and sky to gaze upon, is a soothing thing for the soul. Crowd your seating out with evergreen bushy shrubs, sit back and enjoy the privacy.
Add a romantic door
Pick the right door and you’ve created your own fairy-tale scene in a flash. And what could transport you further from reality than that? Even if you don’t have the capacity for a working door like this in your space, consider a purely decorative one – it’s just as evocative and makes an interesting feature. Look at salvage yards and second-hand websites for something that captures your imagination. Train ivy to grow around it. Now, once upon a time…
Pick the right door and you’ve created your own fairy-tale scene in a flash. And what could transport you further from reality than that? Even if you don’t have the capacity for a working door like this in your space, consider a purely decorative one – it’s just as evocative and makes an interesting feature. Look at salvage yards and second-hand websites for something that captures your imagination. Train ivy to grow around it. Now, once upon a time…
Prettify your shed
For many, a shed – if it’s just big enough to get inside and has a little window – can be a place of refuge; a place to indulge in a hobby or just somewhere quiet to get away from the hustle and bustle with a cuppa and a book. If yours is currently the non-cool colour it was when you bought it, and cascading with cobwebs and a damp smell inside, consider how you might use it better if you spruced it up.
To make yours look inviting, paint it a soothing colour (you can get paints for such a job that require no boring wood prep) then drape it with plants and pile pots bursting with blooms around it. The ‘veranda’ of your shed can be an equally restful spot.
You can also find compact, assemble-yourself summerhouses that might suit your purposes even better, if potting or tool storage aren’t among your needs. Just squeeze in a comfy chair, a camping lantern, a blanket and somewhere to perch your drink.
What’s your dream shed? Take the Houzz quiz to find out
For many, a shed – if it’s just big enough to get inside and has a little window – can be a place of refuge; a place to indulge in a hobby or just somewhere quiet to get away from the hustle and bustle with a cuppa and a book. If yours is currently the non-cool colour it was when you bought it, and cascading with cobwebs and a damp smell inside, consider how you might use it better if you spruced it up.
To make yours look inviting, paint it a soothing colour (you can get paints for such a job that require no boring wood prep) then drape it with plants and pile pots bursting with blooms around it. The ‘veranda’ of your shed can be an equally restful spot.
You can also find compact, assemble-yourself summerhouses that might suit your purposes even better, if potting or tool storage aren’t among your needs. Just squeeze in a comfy chair, a camping lantern, a blanket and somewhere to perch your drink.
What’s your dream shed? Take the Houzz quiz to find out
Swing low
The thing that makes hammocks more suitable for larger spaces is that you tend to need two big sturdy trees to secure each end to. If you happen to have something suitable, or can borrow the strength of your neighbour’s trees, voila. If not, simply seek out the easy option: an all-in hammock that comes with its own supports. You could train climbers around the ends if it’s to stay in one place (and can be protected from the weather) to help it to blend in.
The thing that makes hammocks more suitable for larger spaces is that you tend to need two big sturdy trees to secure each end to. If you happen to have something suitable, or can borrow the strength of your neighbour’s trees, voila. If not, simply seek out the easy option: an all-in hammock that comes with its own supports. You could train climbers around the ends if it’s to stay in one place (and can be protected from the weather) to help it to blend in.
Green up a roof terrace
A roof terrace with views across an urban skyline can be thrilling… but if you have the opportunity to add some height, you can potentially cocoon yourself inside three walls of green, as here. Choose fast- growing climbers for tall walls and fences, and put bamboo in pots – sitting on low benches if possible, to give you max screening. And generally add as many other pots of plants you love in elsewhere. YouTube is a great source for recordings of birdsong – just plug your speaker in, hit play, and sit back and soak up that rural mood!
A roof terrace with views across an urban skyline can be thrilling… but if you have the opportunity to add some height, you can potentially cocoon yourself inside three walls of green, as here. Choose fast- growing climbers for tall walls and fences, and put bamboo in pots – sitting on low benches if possible, to give you max screening. And generally add as many other pots of plants you love in elsewhere. YouTube is a great source for recordings of birdsong – just plug your speaker in, hit play, and sit back and soak up that rural mood!
Add a small water feature
The gentle trickle of water is also a relaxing sound that will help to transport you far from the hectic world beyond your garden fence.
There are plenty of how-to videos online that will show you how to DIY something to suit your space, using a vessel of just the right size, whether a vintage sink sunk into the earth or a bowl balanced among rockery.
The gentle trickle of water is also a relaxing sound that will help to transport you far from the hectic world beyond your garden fence.
There are plenty of how-to videos online that will show you how to DIY something to suit your space, using a vessel of just the right size, whether a vintage sink sunk into the earth or a bowl balanced among rockery.
Go for country planting
Lots of urban gardens have very structured, sculptural planting – and it looks beautiful. But for an unexpected and softer mood, you could grow an out-of-context rustic garden, full of lupins, sweet peas, rambling roses, foxgloves and peonies (the bees will love it!). Grow a mixed native hedge – a classic country lane staple – to hide or even replace angular fences, these are wildlife magnets, and replace paving with a little lawn (a tufty fake version if the practicalities of lawncare don’t appeal). Any other hard edges can be disguised with climbers.
12 ways to create a wildlife haven in a small garden
Lots of urban gardens have very structured, sculptural planting – and it looks beautiful. But for an unexpected and softer mood, you could grow an out-of-context rustic garden, full of lupins, sweet peas, rambling roses, foxgloves and peonies (the bees will love it!). Grow a mixed native hedge – a classic country lane staple – to hide or even replace angular fences, these are wildlife magnets, and replace paving with a little lawn (a tufty fake version if the practicalities of lawncare don’t appeal). Any other hard edges can be disguised with climbers.
12 ways to create a wildlife haven in a small garden
Wend your way
A winding path isn’t always a natural choice for a small space, but it’s surprising how such a detail will, in fact, expand a little plot by adding intrigue and movement. It doesn’t even need to be very long.
Fringe with blowsy shrubs and fill empty wall space with climbers. For added atmosphere, some Victorian stonework or an antique birdbath will do the job, lending a ‘secret garden’ feel to your space.
A winding path isn’t always a natural choice for a small space, but it’s surprising how such a detail will, in fact, expand a little plot by adding intrigue and movement. It doesn’t even need to be very long.
Fringe with blowsy shrubs and fill empty wall space with climbers. For added atmosphere, some Victorian stonework or an antique birdbath will do the job, lending a ‘secret garden’ feel to your space.
Underplant – even in a tiny space
Part of what helps a garden to feel like a secret oasis is a sense of the plants dominating the space and nature being at the forefront; when you think of what makes the great outdoors such a good antidote to modern life, it’s about exactly that sense of feeling small and insignificant in comparison to Mother Nature. So pack in that foliage for max escapism!
And it’s possible even in the smallest spaces to max out on foliage, and underplanting (cultivating smaller plants around taller plants) is a great way to increase your greenery – even if you only have space for pots. The planting in these containers bursts out in all directions, adding a lovely, unstructured aesthetic to an otherwise ordered and contemporary backdrop, in terms of the wooden raised bed and brickwork. Keeping all the plants green also makes for a lush and wild jungle-y effect.
Part of what helps a garden to feel like a secret oasis is a sense of the plants dominating the space and nature being at the forefront; when you think of what makes the great outdoors such a good antidote to modern life, it’s about exactly that sense of feeling small and insignificant in comparison to Mother Nature. So pack in that foliage for max escapism!
And it’s possible even in the smallest spaces to max out on foliage, and underplanting (cultivating smaller plants around taller plants) is a great way to increase your greenery – even if you only have space for pots. The planting in these containers bursts out in all directions, adding a lovely, unstructured aesthetic to an otherwise ordered and contemporary backdrop, in terms of the wooden raised bed and brickwork. Keeping all the plants green also makes for a lush and wild jungle-y effect.
Try topiary
Ideally, of course, you’d have room for a fabulous box hedge maze for the ultimate in escapism. Should you not have room, ahem, some topiary created by shaping the same plant could create a visually similar feel. Depending what you use your garden for, you can potentially go large, too – letting the hedging take up lots of space. Don’t bother yourself with trying to trim complex figurines into your foliage; simple shapes and some rough edges look lovely, as seen here.
Again, some antique stonework and sculptural elements will help to build the theme (scour salvage yards).
12 reasons to plant a hedge
What kind of garden do you have – and what do you love/loathe about it? Share all in the Comments below.
Ideally, of course, you’d have room for a fabulous box hedge maze for the ultimate in escapism. Should you not have room, ahem, some topiary created by shaping the same plant could create a visually similar feel. Depending what you use your garden for, you can potentially go large, too – letting the hedging take up lots of space. Don’t bother yourself with trying to trim complex figurines into your foliage; simple shapes and some rough edges look lovely, as seen here.
Again, some antique stonework and sculptural elements will help to build the theme (scour salvage yards).
12 reasons to plant a hedge
What kind of garden do you have – and what do you love/loathe about it? Share all in the Comments below.
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Well, according to me all the ideas are good, but another way is to get summer houses Yorkshire. Once you’ve had a garden room installed, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
Garden on an alley in the midst of an industrial district.
I do have a small urban garden looking much bigger than it actually is (11×20 m) using 2 tricks, stick to max 3 colors, stay away fron red and orange for flowers, white and all shades of blue are best. Second, don't hesitate to 'crowd' your garden, it will add interest and make it look bigger