Transformed ideas for compact patio designs, delivering significant enhancement
Transforming Small Patios into Intimate Outdoor Rooms
Creating a serene and inviting outdoor space on a small patio is achievable with thoughtful planning and clever use of space. Here's how to maximise your patio's potential.
Smart Furniture Choices
Opt for multi-functional furniture like a custom corner bench with hidden storage, waterproof storage cubes that double as seating, or a single large statement piece such as an outdoor rug to visually expand the area.
Maximising Vertical Space
Install trellises, vertical garden panels, or living walls made with climbing plants such as passion vines, yard-long beans, or Malabar spinach. These plants provide greenery, shade, and edible harvests while preserving floor space.
Container Gardening
Container gardening is an essential element for any patio. Grow high-yield, easy-to-grow crops like cut-and-come-again salad greens, herbs, chili plants, and peas in repurposed containers like galvanized buckets or wooden crates. Containers can be moved to optimise sun exposure and fit into shaded areas.
Privacy Solutions
Create privacy and intimacy by adding shrubs or fast-growing plants (e.g., bamboo in containers) along fences or walls, or using natural privacy screens such as willow wicker fences or lattice panels to support climbing vines.
Adding Depth and Greenery
Draw the eye upward with multi-level plant stands, hanging planters, and green walls to make the patio feel larger and more enclosed without crowding floor space.
Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grass makes excellent edging plants for patios, adding a rich tapestry of colour and texture to a garden. They soften the hardness of paving materials and can be used to create a soft, natural border around the patio.
Flowering Plants for Privacy
Flowering plants for privacy can make a patio feel like a secret oasis, providing colour and fragrance. Fast-growing shrubs for privacy, such as bougainvillea, hibiscus, and rosemary, can provide quick coverage and also flower.
Deciduous and Evergreen Shrubs
Deciduous flowering shrubs die back in the colder months, while evergreen shrubs, such as camellia, cherry laurel, and California lilac, offer year-round coverage.
Container Gardening for Trees
Growing trees in containers, such as dwarf conifer trees, boxwoods, container orchards, and dwarf Japanese maples, is a flexible solution for small yards.
Creating an Immersive Oasis
Adding a pergola or archway to a patio allows vining and climbing plants to grow up and overhead, creating an immersive experience, adding shade, and providing privacy.
Using Mirrors in the Garden
Using mirrors in the garden can make the space feel larger and lighter, reflecting both greenery and light to create a more open and airy feel.
By following these key strategies, you can create an intimate and efficient small patio outdoor room that is low-maintenance and inviting.
Container gardening, alongside choosing multi-functional furniture, can help maximize your small patio, allowing for the cultivation of high-yield crops and edible harvests, such as cut-and-come-again salad greens, herbs, chili plants, and peas, in repurposed containers.Vertical space can be utilized for growing plants like passion vines, yard-long beans, or Malabar spinach, which will provide greenery, shade, and edible harvests while preserving floor space, thus contributing to the creation of a serene and enclosed outdoor room.
