Packing the most into a small rose garden

When you are creating a garden, it’s important to consider how much upkeep will be required. It’s all right to allow a backyard garden to grow wild and woolly at times, but since the front garden is always on display, you want to keep it looking as good as possible.

While you might envision a lush mixed border that includes roses that embrace all sides of the garden – and this could be your goal – it may be best to start with a small test area and see just how much effort it takes to maintain it.

If you’re intimidated by the thought of caring for fussy roses, then shrub roses are a great way to get you started.

I like to plant both sides of any fence in the front, as well as the grassy strip between the sidewalk and street if possible. That way the rose garden can be enjoyed both from the street and from the yard.

This gives everyone who passes by a sense of moving through a garden, instead of stopping to look over the fence at one. Northwest US cities are full of these plantings.

Fit a rose garden wherever you can

Just because you may have less space than the imagined acre of your dream house, don’t think you can’t make your current yard attractive.

Lots of owners of very small gardens wish they had more scope for their hobby than the average tiny urban plot. But would they welcome, say, an eighth acre? This is where I started in the 1950s, where at 10, I was planting & tending 16 roses in the backyard to support my working mother.

There is a ratio of the size of a manageable plot to the work and outlay it entails. This is one great advantage of a small plot – like 20 ft. by 20 ft. – that it takes only modest amounts of maintenance. That’s still 400 sf to work with.

Don’t plan your tiny plot in miniature though. Just be sure to avoid planting anything that will soon outgrow its welcome, such as small maple trees or hydrangea bushes.

People sometimes complain there is little they can do with such a site, because it is so small. But this is a misconception – a small garden can be as rewarding in its way as a full-sized one.

True, there are limitations: tall buildings keep sunlight from the plot, neighbors are all too close, and the whole area can be taken in at a glance. But the other snags met with the in-town garden – air pollution, poor soil, tree stumps, and even abandoned foundation debris – affect all sizes of gardens equally.

One goal is always to design a garden that complements the architecture of a small home or bungalow. In particular, I try to get the hardscaping to reflect the sense of quality of craftsmanship like the house. I’ve often added brick bands to widen an existing entry path – and for variety, laid quarried blue stones near the front rhodys, as a walking path in hard weather.

Extend your living space out in the garden

While you plan the layout of your small plot, keep in mind that there are no flowing lawns and vistas like more expansive gardens. Think of it purely as an extension of the living area, and try to furnish it as you would a room indoors, but with colors and textures from the garden.

While the pattern of planting on the ground is important, especially as seen from an upstairs window, always think of the plantings in three dimensions, using trees and shrubs to border the spacial areas which will be planted with color.

Keep the small layouts square-based

The smaller the garden, the less scope there is for layout variety. So you are wise to keep to simple rectangles or over-lapping squared shapes.

This looks rather severe, but has intriguing rose bed possibilities when some of the shapes are planted up.

This sketch shows what a standard layout based almost entirely on interlocking rectangles can look like once it has grown out for about 4 years.

If there’s room, throw ’em a curve

A slightly larger plot can be designed along the same lines, but with the addition of curves. The centers of all these gardens are left clear so there is no barrier to movement, but instead the creation of a sense of space. By laying out a bed in a sweeping arc you naturally ask people to explore. This curved flower bed can combine color and texture to make a garden more enticing. If you happen to prefer to be closely surrounded by plants, you could soon fill these open spaces, of course.

Some practical considerations should provide hints on how to start curving your garden. You may need a shrub to screen an eyesore or provide privacy from your neighbors’ windows. Another is elevation.

Elevated locations, such as the top of a hill where we can sit and enjoy a view, often require curved walkway approaches.

Perhaps you could make more planting space connecting to an existing tree. While these larger trees are already in the yard, adding smaller flowering rose bushes around each tree is a traditional landscaping idea.

Just trim the tree up on the south & west-facing sides, to allow for more sunlight getting to your new flowering plants, as seen below.

The resulting bed will draw your eye to the attractive effect on the tree and the whole new space. This tactic is common in commercial flower gardens that have been part of a remodel – like hospitals and other institutions.

Create a living fence holding wall mounted planters

In normal urban lots, we are often hemmed in by some sort of fencing.

Even if you have a modest fence or wall area, you can easily create a living fence using leftover pallets or a pipe ‘N’ wood rack as shown left.

As long as the structure matches, it’s a winner.

You can prevent the wood structure from becoming soggy from water by setting individual flower pots into each box, filled with low maintenance plants or trailing annuals like geraniums.

You can even paint the boxes any color you’d like or mix and match color and shape.

Then plan a seating or dining area next to it

Now that we’re outdoors more, we may spend more time outside, such as reading newspaper on the patio or exercising in the garden, so we will need to have comfortable seating more than ever. Cafe sets are a good solution for this and can be delivered from the stores via online ordering.

Or you can repurpose what you use less and less from the house. Several types of seating items, such as cushions from a soft sofa or chair, are comfortable enough for the small garden’s needs.

If those are available you can mix them into your new garden seating with some new structures.

For example, recycled pallets can be modified to make a sturdy structure for a chairs, sofa, bench, or other stylish outdoor seating. As long as they match & you can paint, you may have a solution at home already.

Filled with big pots . . .

Create a cozy patio by adding some miniature rose plants in large pots around your patio furniture.

Again, you could easily scale up or down depending on the space, but this type of revamping can be super simple if you’re using things you already have on hand or using things you are refurbishing.

More structure allows for more lighting.

Focal points often include a birdbath

If you add a small rock taller than the water, and place the birdbath at the corner of your patio in the sun, you can attract some the hummingbirds, & some butterflies.

Another kiddo favorite.

Another focal point can even be a bunch of old pots. Repaint them and add some of your favorite herbs for a potted herb garden mixed among the roses or on the patio. Lavender is a favorite for just this – or sage, oregano, dill, or mint. The cats would love some catnip too . . .

This works well on the steps leading into the house, and it spreads the scent as you walk through.

Have an old coffee table?

Add some colorful ceramic tiles to create your own rectangular mosaic outdoor side table.

Handy with some simple tools?

Get a kit tiled bistro table from the clearance section at the big box store.

They can be sized just right as end tables or small elevated dining tables.

How about broken pot shards? Add a fairy garden with the kids and set the finished product on a corner of the patio.

Sometimes, critters will stash food in these & then you can see them more, plus kids love to keep track of their work after it’s done.

It’s a great introduction to any kind of gardening.

Add some new LED lighting

There is so much you can do with outdoor lights these days. And since most of the outdoor lights you find today are LEDs, you can add a lot of “glow” without adding much to the electric bill.

This is a great way to decorate your front or backyard area and add a level of class and fun year round and they just always look great and are party ready at the flip of a switch.

I’ve had luck finding some at the thrift stores near the tools.

Add large stones or unusual driftwood

Utilizing large garden rocks is one of the easiest cheap backyard landscaping ideas you can find.

Instead of having to pay a hefty price for large plants, you can easily fill a lot of space by using smaller plants fitted around garden rocks or driftwood. Hey, the price is right . . .

There are so many choices out there to choose from that you can find virtually any color and texture that would work best with your setting. This is another common feature of commercial gardens.

Really stuck for space? Use the driveway!

If you don’t have a whole lot of space to work with, you can easily transform an already existing area into a backyard or garden area. If you have a driveway you aren’t using, you can easily add some ornamentals or edibles, fencing, and a seating bench to create the illusion of a backyard.

When the yard is a little too small, plant boxes on the driveway in gravel will come in handy to create some planting areas.

This will add a little layering effect on the asphalt, like below, rather than just a scattering of pots directly on the ground. And thy are often available as kits.

What about that garage? Outdoor room!

Have a garage you don’t use, either? You could transform it into a pretty great outdoor room or even a sort of dining area with large urn plantings. When the weather socks in, just roll down the door!

Add a south facing skylight to let in all that natural sunlight too. Winner!

Plant what you can manage easily

Of course, you may not be able to carry out all these desirable ideas, but one or two of them will at least fit with your rose patch.

In addition to planting only as much as you know you can keep up with, avoid high-maintenance companion plants that need frequent watering, or are susceptible to pests and diseases.

Instead, choose some no-headache plants with a long season of interest. Black-eyed Susans, daylilies, coneflowers, and even ornamental grasses like sedges or fountain grass, are excellent choices for much of the northern parts of both Europe and the U.S. The contrasts can be striking.

The above picture is a good example of a planting just waiting for roses to fill those gaps & climb all over the fencing. Look for these spots in your own landscape and add what you can. Beautiful!

Sources: Wikipedia, ARS, Home Depot,