How to create big impact in a small garden

The Australian way of life is synonymous with outdoor living, and nowhere is this more prevalent than in the home: Think alfresco entertaining, lush gardens, summer barbecues and poolside fun.

Yet as high-density living becomes the norm in inner-city areas, we're seeing a shift to smaller, lower-maintenance gardens.

Adam Robinson, who launched his own landscape design business precisely to cater to this shift in the market, goes by the philosophy 'better garden, bigger life' for all his projects.

In his view, bigger gardens aren't always the best.

Hardy plants, such as succulents, are a great choice for exposed, small space gardens. Picture: Tamara Graham

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When Adam first began his career in landscape design, after starting out in construction, he noticed an irritating pattern emerging within the landscaping world.

"I was seeing a real disconnect from interiors to exteriors," he explains.

So it was back to design school for Adam, this time studying interior design. This education allowed Adam to apply his landscaping design skills with a new focus, merging interior and exterior design principles to create wholly functional, useable and inviting outdoor spaces.

"It's important to draw colour tone and texture from architecture and interiors and blend these elements into your outdoor space," Adam says.

For smaller urban spaces, this concept is especially important, as there's often no lawn, pool or bridging divider between the indoors and outdoors. In such cases, a balcony, rooftop or courtyard really becomes an extension of the home, another room in the apartment or house.

Take a look at one of Adam's latest designs in inner-city Sydney:

Gallery (6 images)

How to create big impact in a small garden

So, how do you carry the interior connection through to an outdoor space?

First, you need a seamless flow. Large sliding doors or floor-to-ceiling windows looking onto your courtyard or balcony will do the trick, Adam says.

In the space itself, it's about creating the cosiness and warmth you've come to expect from your indoor spaces: "I believe it’s just as important to have good styling as it is a good design," Adam says.

3 things to consider...

Zoning

One surefire way to define a space, whether indoors or out, is with rugs.

"The new Armadillo and Co indoor/outdoor collection looks great in an exposed environment and it's made from recycled plastic bottles," Adam says. "I love using these as a base on any balcony or rooftop space."

Planting

Choose plants that are fit-for-purpose. If you're on a balcony high up in an apartment building, you'll need plants that are hardy to withstand the elements. Adam says succulents are a great choice as they store water in their leaves to carry them through drier times.

In small spaces everything is on show.

Other good options, Adam suggests, are:

• Olive trees
• Water gum
• Kalanchoe
• Aloe vera
• Carex
• Sansevieria

"There are so many great plants out there, it’s hard to select just a few," he adds. "In small spaces you want the plants to look great all year round. You don’t want to be cutting things back and looking at bare branches for six months. In small spaces everything is on show."

Texture

You can also create a sense of depth and texture through planting, just as you'd create texture indoors with your soft furnishings, rugs and furnishings.

Adam suggests choosing a variety of plants with varying foliage and blooms. For example, finer silver foliage looks great against larger format leaves, so think about colour, thickness and texture of plant leaves when planning your landscaping.