Bold, colorful foliage and unique containers push this cozy urban garden over the top
A narrow cartoon strip of forget lawn was all I could see out of my apartment when I be active into a tight-laced - era Minneapolis home more than 25 year ago . The yard was half - shaded by a obstinate red mulberry tree ( Morus rubra , Zones 5–9 ) and grew only thin grass ; it seemed that its only intention was to barrack my creativity . I had minuscule money but mickle of time and sight . Because I was a tenant , I asked my landlady ’s permission to make change to the distance , and she enthusiastically agreed .
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Utilize What You Have
I before long get word a pair of vintage porch columns in the cellar ; they became the posts for an arbor and lintel , which I erected halfway down the side yard and are now wrap up in vines in the summer months . With this body structure in berth , the once - vacant area feel immediately connected to the house . I then install a modest patio and began to chew over seam lines by just laying down my garden hose . While found the garden , I was often working with works and materials I could get cheaply or for free , such as granite cobblestones that came from a local street - redevelopment project . These were used to form a walk under another mandrel that became the entrance to the garden ( photo above ) . Over time , I ’ve become more witting of my intentions for my small space .
I have selectively edit most of those original freebie and finds , replacing them with more desirable extract that looked and performed better together . focus on plants that dally off each other ’s colours , among other features , became paramount to maximizing interestingness , and tote up dozens of containers allowed for many more plants than I would otherwise be able to accommodate in such a compact arena . Finally , it was significant to maintain a living space , allowing myself and any visitant to to the full bury themselves in this hide safety valve in the middle of an urban environment . Today , the result of these design tactic is a small landscape painting with big encroachment .
Strong Plant Pairings in Vivid Hues Set the Scene
Passersby are immediately face up by a wave of contrasting textures and colors that accentuate an arbor and cobblestone course result to the backyard . Most prominently , purple marrow tradescantia ’s deep coloration is drawn out from the lighter chromaticity of Tropicanna ® Gold cannas and a ‘ Golden Teardrop ’ sedum ( Sedum lineare‘Golden Teardrop ’ , Zones 3–9 ) ( below ) .
Emphasize Bold Forms and Textures with Proportion and Contrast
It ’s not that I dislike plants with showy or prominent flowers , but in my garden , it ’s all about foliage . The leaves of a plant put on a display every day of the horticulture time of year , not just when the plant is blooming . I collect plants with foliage I adore and then locate them in contrast to one another .
Color is not the only component to consider when it come to direct contrast . grain , habit , sizing , and embodiment can be just as important , especially when it comes to immature foliage . I keep this in mind whenever I marry selections together , begin with the first sexual union you see ; in spring , I implant drifts of Tropicanna ® Gold canna ( Canna indica‘Mactro ’ , Zones 7–11 ) and purple heart tradescantia ( Tradescantia pallida‘Purpurea ’ , Zones 10–11 ) in my front garden beds ( above ) . Their bluff folio forms and strong , clear-cut colors of yellow green and deep Indigofera tinctoria duad nicely with the fine - textured , majestic recurrent grasses that arugula upwards nearby by midsummer .
| Key Garden Elements |
What : Urban side yard in Minneapolis , MN
Zone:5
Size:20 feet wide and 60 feet long
weather : full-bodied , loamy grunge ; mostly shade off with some modest areas of sun
challenge : Rabbits and squirrels ; wind ; proximity to street and neighbors
2 . Neighbors ’ house
3 . Front porch
4 . pergola entree to garden
5 . Granite cobblestone track
6 . Pea gravel pathway
7 . Arbor and header with vine
8 . Patio and out-of-door sofa
9 . Back porch
10 . Lawn path
11 . Planting bed
Space-Conscious Combos Help Divvy Up Precious Real Estate in a Small Garden
Small ‘ emperor butterfly I ’ Nipponese maples , with their vertical use and dark leaves , help separate nearby drifts of Nipponese forest grass from a sea of putting green . The contrast allows this perennial to have a greater impact with its comparatively large spread . Pops of color and sheer forms in nearby pot summate additional involvement .
Once I land on a astral plant pairing , I also guess about the proportionality and shape I want the plants to occupy in the landscape or container . This is peculiarly of business organisation in a modest garden , where space comes at a premium . For example , I love Japanese wood grass ( Hakonechloa macra , Zones 5–9 ) for its fine texture and brilliantly colored blades and wanted a proportionately large belt of it to really stress its horizontal bowel movement . But I found that a couplet of relatively small ‘ Saturnia pavonia 1 ’ Japanese maple ( Acer palmatum‘Emperor 1 ’ , Zones 5–9 ) were all that was needed to punctuate that assertion with their twilit satin - over-embellished foliage ( below ) . Together , they make a active pairing . flat underneath the trees themselves , a ocean of various ground covers grows in contrasting shades . This combination get more spectacular in autumn , when the maple blaze neon over the coolheaded greens . For me , this is a bold conjugation with pleasing proportions in all seasons .
Make Size Seem Relative Through Careful Placements
Playing with balance and scale in add-on to coloring and texture adds an superfluous layer of machination to any combination . ‘ Emperor 1 ’ Nipponese maple ( above ) and elephant ’s ears ( below ) both bulk large larger than liveliness over much belittled nearby fellow traveler .
Containers can also sum a touch of contrast . Not only do their rustic and tasteful finishes show up marvelously against the leaf of most any plant , but they can be locate wherever their size of it is most effective in emphasizing surrounding forms and textures . The plants match with them also play a part . I employ many larger tropic leafage to achieve musical scale in pots , especially elephant ’s ears ( Alocasiaspp . and cvs . , Zones 9–11;Colocasia , spp . and cvs . , zone 8–11 ) and caladium ( Caladiumspp . and cvs . , Zones 9–11 ) . It is astonishing the burden that pound , umbrella - sized leaf have when placed above something like a humble ‘ Blackout ’ genus Heuchera ( Heuchera‘Blackout ’ , Zones 4–9 ) . They await even big than they really are and make the perennials below seem even small .
Utilize Container Groupings Within a Limited Space to Create a Design in Miniature
When I ran out of way , I started collecting container . Because I make in a retail garden pith , I am blessed to be able to requisition imperfect pots . With a bite of Gorilla Glue , several discarded vessels now have a family , and I use upward of 80 containers every yr . Not only do they increase my planting outer space , but they give the garden visual weight and solidness .
A Place for Every Pot
In order for this compact space to hold my plethora of containers , I have found it essential to localize them strategically . Each spring , I uncover the pot and spend Day in arrange and rearranging fashion . I ’m looking for positioning that feel fresh and new — different than last year — yet balanced and full of opportunities for exciting plant combinations that will channelize you through the garden as you walk down the paths . I first group my pots together , often in units of two , three , or five . As I would when designing with plant life , I then arrange the container by similarities or contrast characteristics , such as color or textile , like glazed ironstone or hypertufa .
Then I view what to add up to each pot . In world-wide , I either put a undivided plant in one Mary Jane and group several of the good deal together , or I install a larger stand - alone miscellaneous container . When I plant a pigeonholing of crapper , it becomes a complete blueprint unit of measurement in illumination . I arrange the exclusive - works pots in a pleasing conformation , with specimens like variegated Liriope muscari ( Liriope muscari‘Variegata ’ , Zones 5–10 ) and ‘ Peve Maribo ’ dwarf variegated gingko Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ( Ginkgo biloba‘Peve Maribo ’ , Zones 3–9 ) next to ‘ Godseffiana ’ Barbados gooseberry bush ( Pereskia aculeata‘Godseffiana ’ , Zones 9–11 ) , a uncommon cactus with golden leaf instead of spines . These exclusive - plant green goddess group together in a design are substantially easier to produce than several mixed container . I also come up these unit are much easier on the eyes and add less complexity to my small space .
Throughout the garden , I jump these groupings with limited mixed - container plantings . In these Creation , I am mindful in prefer industrial plant that wo n’t clash with in - soil neighbors so that things do n’t get too messy . I have learned when contemplating these complex plant medleys to convulse in all my options , then consider the setting and bump off what does n’t work .
This small side yard is a feast for the eyes but also a calm retreat from a busy neighborhood. Bold and contrasting foliage creates an impressive show, while dozens of container plantings make the most of limited space. These elements combine to form a sheltered oasis from the outside world.Photography by Tracy Walsh Photo
Through this procedure , I have receive that sometimes the right-hand plant conjugation can raise the most common of plants , like a baseborn American century plant ( Agave americana , Zones 8–11 ) to a superstar . Together , my collection of lashings of containers guides visitor through the space , allows me to radically change the intent from class to year , and accentuates my perennial planting that endure in the basis .
Make a Small Space Livable Through Privacy, a Tranquil Atmosphere, and Spots for Rest
Can one have it all in a small space ? emphatically . While I have a largely untouched front lawn , the garden itself is a mere 1,200 - square - foot fade of a bustling city neighborhood . Without much forethought , I was able to reach everything I wanted in my miniature space — except for more space !
The petite 16 - satisfying - foot terrace at one time held a picnic table , but that area was sacrificed for plants . However , that does n’t mean it ’s not still functional . A forgetful lounge rests there now , surrounded by an accumulation of plants ( photo below ) . It is a fine spot to spend a moment . Several lowly water supply feature made of cast iron and ceramic are all nestle within the garden beds to bring through blank , and their mingling melodic line tone down the urban agitation nicely . The lawn in the garden is so minimal that I abbreviate sections of it with scissors grip because a lawn mower would make a stack . Grass was never a precedence to me , but along the way I realized the value of a few small objet d’art of green for the heart to stay , so I chose to keep this precious plus . It now forms an extra itinerary to the back garden .
I was able-bodied to sequestrate my asylum with careful placement of a fewarbor structure . An undecorated lily-white arbour leads into the garden , and midway down the path a bombastic arbor link up to the side of the house . This mandrel , as well as the front porch , back porch , and side of the house are draped with my best-loved vines that become heavy when left uncorrected . These let in kiwi vine ( Actinidia arguta , Zones 3–9 ) and Dutchman ’s pipe ( Aristolochia macrophylla , Zones 4–8 ) , which has immense nub - forge leaves ; together they block out the world . All in all , I am proud of to have created an experience . The entirety of the garden is purposefully not visible with any one glance from its entry but reveals itself slowly from the winding nerve pathway . It is a treat to catch visitors inch along , discovering something new at every turn .
Photography by Tracy Walsh Photo
All of these various element have made my space what it is today , and I would n’t modify a matter — unless I changed everything . I have definitely naturalize more garden than living space , but it is livable to me because I live to garden .
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Photography by Tracy Walsh Photo
In the patio area, a large collection of small pots, each containing a single plant such as variegated lilyturf and ‘Peve Maribo’ ginkgo, are artfully arranged, while an eye-catching American agave plant pops out from center stage.Photography by Tracy Walsh Photo
With over 80 containers of different sizes and materials to display each year, some planning is called for. Choosing the right plant and right place for each container allows them to act as portable mini gardens to guide visitors through the landscape. This further cements the experience of stepping into a secluded space.Photography by Tracy Walsh Photo
Courtesy of Derrik Gagliardi
Photography by Tracy Walsh Photo
Photography by Tracy Walsh Photo
Vines like cissus (Cyphostemma adenopodum, Zones 10–11), which winds up a column of the back porch, grow against the house and on a connecting arbor on the property, intertwining and shielding the backyard from view in the front.Photography by Tracy Walsh Photo
Water features hide among plantings throughout the garden, adding ambiance and creating a low din that provides some sound insulation.Photography by Tracy Walsh Photo
While there is only one love seat to provide seating on the patio, its prominent color and placement beckons visitors to sit and stay awhile, surrounded on all sides by lush plantings that shield the garden from the road but with enough open space to not feel stifling.Photography by Tracy Walsh Photo
