Small gardens are not only found in the cities and town centres, they seem to be getting more common no matter how far out from the centre you travel. Maintaining a small garden is just as important as maintaining a large garden. Technically speaking, it should be easier as there is less space to cover and get messy. However, you need to carefully decide what and where you are going to have plants, flowers, ornaments, furniture etc as it needs to be arranged in the most space effective way. Getting a balance of scale, proportions and dimensions will be vital to you as you transform an odd little plot into an intimate garden room.

Top tips to arrange a small garden

• You need to decide on a style in which you wish your garden to look. There are quite a few different styles so it is best to have a look at them all before making a decision. Try not to dabble in them all.

• There is obviously no way that you can cram all your ideas into a small garden so you need to make a list of everything that you would like, then slowly cross-off the things that you can do without. Think about what you would like in it carefully as detail matters.

• Once having decided the vitals, you need to come up with a plan that will enable your garden to allow you space with contrast and texture.

• Depending on how small your garden is, you may have to treat it as an outdoor room. Just as you may use a mirror in the house, you may be able to use a mirror in the garden to make it look extended. Mirrors help reflect light giving the illusion there is more space.  If you choose this route then make sure you buy a heavy-duty outdoor mirror. If you really want to splash out, then perhaps getting a dull wall painted with an image which can be looked at come rain or shine.

• If your garden is small, you need to remember this when buying plants and flowers: less can be mor.  If there isn't enough space to have a huge selection, keep your selection limited, it will appear that you have more space as well as giving a more harmonious outlook. Don't use large trees as this will shadow the garden further and prevent possible light. It is better to have potted plants such as miniature fir trees or miniature rose trees.

• Climbing plants can play an important role in a small garden. You can use them to climb up the vertical walls, giving more texture to the garden and brightening up the walls as well as having them grow over archways (however big or small).

• If you decide to keep a lawn then you will also need somewhere to store your lawn mower. Any flowers, plants or small trees that you have will need maintaining so you may need to have a few gardening tools. Can you keep these within the house or would you need a shed?