Not every owner of a country property can boast of spacious possessions. And if earlier for many all design of a small country site was reduced to distribution on what bed that will grow this season and where to put a greenhouse, now landscape design including not only a kitchen garden becomes more and more demanded.
If you have a small plot — do not worry. With proper planning, even a small piece of land can become a beautiful garden, and in the chamber and miniature has its own charm.
Look, for example, at the cottages in the center of the Swedish capital Stockholm — horticultural colony Tanto Södra, this year celebrates its centenary. Familiar to us small plots of land in 6 acres for gardeners Tanto Södra-an unacceptable luxury. Most of the houses, according to the rules established in the colony, have an area of 6-8 m2, and buildings with an area of as much as 14 m2 in Tanto Södra only a few, and they are considered luxury cottages.
Nevertheless, residents of Stockholm who want to rent one of these small plots, more than enough: the queue for membership in the horticultural colony is painted for a quarter of a century ahead.
Small plot: design difficulties
The main problem in the planning of a small area is to find the optimal balance between the ambitions and desires of the owner and the area of the site. Treat sensibly to what you have:
- Do not try to grasp the immensity and place something that does not fit.
- Prioritize: do you really want to build on your site all the buildings from the list on three and a half sheets?
- Remember what the Little Prince said: “… if the planet is very small, and there are many baobabs, they will tear it to pieces.” Do not put on a small area baby. However, other large trees, too, not worth.
If the cottage – a place of rest, and you dream of a garden, it is not necessary to clutter the entire plot of buildings, even if it is very necessary bath or garage. When you decide for yourself these 3 issues, the design of a small area will not be difficult.
Small plot: design features
You can find a lot of recommendations for the design of a small area. In some strongly advise to abandon the regular planning, in others, on the contrary, the owners of small plots are strictly forbidden to arrange a garden in a natural style. In fact, everything is possible. And the only really worthwhile limitation is the principle of necessary sufficiency: know the measure!
“Less is better”
The theorist and practitioner of Marxism formulated a concept that perfectly describes the design features of small gardens.
This applies to everything: and country buildings-do not make them a lot and disproportionately large in relation to the area of the site; and landings — large trees take up a lot of space, require a large area of food and create a shadow for all other plants.
Tricks and ideas
In fact, you are not able to increase the area of the plot, but there are many ways to change the idea of your garden. The human brain is a strange organ. Man, possessing not too good eyesight, unimportant hearing, and very weak sense of smell (compared to some living organisms), not to mention the lack of perception of electromagnetic, ultrasonic and other waves, has a developed imagination.
What we do not see, do not hear or do not feel, our brain easily “thinks out”. This is our quality and worth taking advantage of.
- Careful planning is our everything
Little space-this means you need to consider the use of each centimeter: the owner of a small plot can not afford wastefulness.
Consider zoning the site to be able to allocate space for the garden, recreation area and just a lawn. The selection and visual delineation of functional areas will create the illusion of a spacious garden.
- Container gardening
As part of the previous paragraph on the use of any free space is widely used in the design of your garden containers, flower boxes, pots, pots. They can be placed in any available places: set on the terrace, on the railing or window sills, on the steps, on special shelves, arranged directly on the wall of the house or fence.
- Vertical gardening
Planters with ampel plants will not only provide additional space for plants, but also add to the garden diversity.
- Layering of composition
Have you noticed how an artist on a completely flat canvas can create the appearance of perspective and volume? Exactly the same can be done in the design phase, especially in contrast to canvas, a garden in itself, a three-dimensional object. It is only necessary to emphasize and deepen this three-dimensionality. And the technique used here is the same as in painting: the construction of the composition in three plans.
- Accents
Monotony kills the interest of the audience, making a boring look around. Therefore, it is appropriate to place accents: with the help of a high vertical plant, a bright flower, an object of small architectural forms.
The combination of different textures and colors — another tool to combat monotony.
- The rule of three
When composing a composition, do not forget that if there are more than three elements in it, it becomes overloaded and poorly perceived by the viewer. The same applies to the use of different textures in the finish.
In the photo above-a good example of a combination of three textures: brick, gravel and green grass.
- Avoid shortest distances
As you know, the perpendicular is the shortest distance between two objects. In garden design avoid the short way: take the winding paths, the garden place various objects on the diagonal. Let the visitor to your garden a long time coming from the house to the gazebo: his brain is “smart enough” that if a long time coming, so the garden is large.
A small garden is profitable
If your site is a little more than a box of shoes, you have a lot of options for its design. A small garden has its benefits. For example, mowing the lawn will not take you half a day. In a small area it is easier to maintain perfect order, easier to care for plants-because every green pet you know not only “in the face”.