Gardening in Small Spaces: 12 Creative Solutions For You
Last Updated on November 26, 2021
From A Tiny Space To A Blooming Showcase.
Having little or no backyard space to deal with can prove challenging if you want a garden.
Whether you only have a balcony, a little patio, or a small backyard, this article about gardening in small spaces will help you transform your tiny area into a blooming little showpiece.
The trick to making small places work for gardening is to utilize your vertical space.
Your Available Space
The space available to you also depends on what you put in it, such as a table, chairs, or a bench, a spot for your pets, light fixtures, and more.
If a little garden is something you really want, there’s a way to make it happen.
Below I’m sharing some creative tricks, hacks, and downright smart usage of small spaces.
How Can I Garden On My Little Balcony?
A smaller space means making the best of your available surfaces. If you already have a seating area on your balcony then your space just got that much tighter.
Here are some creative solutions for gardening on your balcony.
Use a wire file organizer. Line it with jute or coconut fibers, and fill 
it with dirt and your favorite plants.
It will hardly take up any space and still give you that garden feel. Depending on placement, you could do more than just one.
Make sure that the plants in this creative gardening solution get the right amount of light. You don’t want a plant that requires direct sunlight to be in the shade all day.
Tip: If the mesh doesn’t seem to suit your space, spray-paint it a color that will!
You could also wire baskets with fiber liners many people have then hanging by their door, wooden planters are often used and painted different colors.
If you’re going to paint the planter, make sure to prime, undercoat, and topcoat both inside and outside for maximum protection.
You can easily use coffee filters to line your planters as well, making this project even more affordable.
Succulent Wall Frame
If those don’t suit you, try a succulent wall frame. Framing a little garden on the wall of your small space will give it a touch of elegance.
Plus, you can stain the frame to match the decor of your outdoor living space, and size it to fit wherever you like.
You can use a seedling tray to hold the succulents or you can use mesh.
Plant your succulents and then fill gaps and spaces with moss to ensure your sweet succulents won’t budge from their new home.
Watch how easy it is here
Tiered Hanging Baskets
If you love hanging things to draw your gaze, grow plants in tiered baskets.
Two or three would be most pleasing to the eyes.
All you have to do is take different sized baskets and string them so the smallest is on top and the largest on the bottom.
Hang them against a wall or in an open space. The plants will be heavy enough to ensure your mini garden isn’t swinging around too much.
Don’t forget to line your baskets with plastic so they don’t get water damaged.
How Can I Make My Limited Patio Space Look Beautiful?
A patio is a great way to extend the space of any home. For someone in the city, a small patio garden can make all the difference in the urban jungle.
Here are some creative solutions for gardening on your patio.
Save time and materials by sticking with the tried and true classic hanging baskets.
Okay, okay. It’s not exactly a creative solution. But how you hang them can be!
You can find hanging plants at most hardware stores or one-stop-shops (think Walmart and similar).
They’re filled to the brim with a variety of plants and colors to suit you and your small space.
If you don’t want (or aren’t allowed) to hang them from your house, you can always stick a wooden post in some cement in a barrel and hang them there.
Bonus, you can add more soil and plants around the post in the barrel. This way you could also easily move them anywhere on your patio depending on the weather, the number of guests, etc.
The Trellis
The trellis is another true classic when it comes to making the most of limited space. They’re easily available at any hardware store and most plant shops.
You can also completely customize your trellis if you’re handy or have someone you can bribe (that’s where you get to be creative with your own small-space solution)!
Simply stick your garden trellis behind some crawling plants and they’ll work their way up.
Another style for a trellis is to use “S” hooks to hang tin pots – I would suggest a wooden trellis for strength.
Each pot can contain a different herb or plant, or they can all be the same for a uniform look. For fun, patriotic garden décor keeps your tins plain, and find plants the color of your flag!
If you’re looking for something with a little more pizazz, colander planters are easy.
The beauty of this small gardening space idea is that you can find your colander at a thrift store or yard sale for extra savings. Spray-paint them any color you like too.
Besides your plants and soil, all you need is a thin rope or jute string. Wrap it around the handles nice and tight, leaving a long hanging string on either end of the handle (four hanging strings in all).
Bonus, no need to add holes to this planter, it’s naturally got excellent drainage!
Lastly, for a patio garden: tomatoes!
Tomatoes will grow wherever they’re encouraged to grow.
If you keep them in a small pot on your patio or balcony, they’ll grow up the small trellis often included with the plant.
You could choose the more creative solution in hanging them, then gravity pulls them down and they go with the flow.
How Can I Garden In My Small Backyard?
Any of the above small-space garden solutions could work in a small backyard, we’re basically moving from least space-consuming, upward.
A backyard is to be prized, it can be your retreat and sanctuary. Gardening does that too, it always feels good to get your hands dirty and be proactive in nature and around your home.
If you’re fortunate to have a small backyard at your disposal, here are some creative solutions for your garden.
Turn your fence into a dazzling garden
Make the most of and utilize your fence. With a sturdy fence in your backyard, your options for gardening have increased significantly!
Think of them like empty walls. Attach window boxes to your fence or nail large coffee tins into the planks (that’s two birds with one stone as you recycle and reuse).
Add your own artistic garden piece
If you like DIY and up-for a little challenge, then a 2-in-1, table, and vertical garden could act as a bar or a side table.
It’s an ingenious way to use cheap building materials such as cinder blocks – to make something useful for your garden.
You don’t need a lot of materials, and you can see a full tutorial on Hunted Interior.
If you prefer to use natural elements, and if you’ve got some logs lying around, then rejoice!
Would a tree-stump planter compliment your small garden space? Depending on how much space you have, you could use one tree-stump planter or a few.
Simply hollow out two-thirds of the stump and plant it up. I would suggest this more for ornamental plants than for an edible garden.
Another solution for a small garden is this:
A zero-waste trellis that could cost you zero dollars if you have access to a few branches and some twine.
It’s very easy to put together and would lend a rustic feel to your garden.
Simply take the twine and knot it onto each branch as you move up the trellis.
Lastly, leave a long lead for hanging and then trim once you’ve chosen where to showcase your DIY masterpiece.
How Can I Make My Small Space Feel Bigger?
Hang some vintage mirrors on your fence or the wall of your house.
They will reflect more of the sky and greenery around you, making it feel that much more spacious.
No matter how small or big your outdoor space, backyard, or garden is, you can always choose to dedicate one specific corner to gardening.
Even if it means one pot with various plants in it, a whole wall, or half of your backyard.
Do you want to sit out when the weather is good, so a table and chairs would be handy, and for those cooler evenings, a small portable propane firepit would be welcome!
Want to Grill Outdoors as well, they also come in all shapes and sizes check them out here.
If you want it bad enough, you can make it happen!