You don’t have to call Versailles home to design a stunning outdoor space. Even with a petite patch of green, these creative planters, patio decorations, and unique ideas will make your small yard or garden fit for a king.
Flower-Filled Planters
Instantly boost your home’s curb appeal with bright blooms on each side of your front door. Expecting guests?
Steal these tricks from our home team: add stems from a supermarket bouquet for extra fullness and mint for a fragrant burst.
Potted Fruit Trees
If you’ve got a tiny patio or balcony, you can grow a fruit tree. Calamondin orange or fig trees especially do well in pots at least 1 foot in diameter and 1 foot deep.
Just watch out: Choose a variety that can survive at least two zones colder than where you live, because planters will freeze faster than the ground.
Fairy Garden
Think small – really small – with this adorable project. Outfitted with a mini birdhouse, rustic stones, and teeny-tiny accessories, this planter is the perfect thing to make with kids.
Potting Table With Storage
With roomy cabinets underneath, this red cedar piece doubles as a mini garden “shed” for storage. Plus you can hang tools up top so they’re right at hand when you need to do a little repotting.
Square Foot Gardening
This highly efficient method divides raised beds into a grid. Vegetables then get planted in one or more squares at a density based on plant size (e.g., you’d plant about 16 radish seeds per square, but only one tomato plant).
Dwarf Trees
Averaging about 15 feet tall and wide, many ornamental or dwarf tree varieties can handle tiny spaces. Crowd-pleasers like dogwoods, camellias, crepe myrtle, and crabapples offer both flowers and foliage too.
Trained Trees
You can actually prune certain types of fruit trees to grow against a wall, a process called espalier. Start with a 1- or 2-year-old tree and attach two supple branches to the wire about 18 inches off the ground, advises the Oregon State University Extension Service. Then take time as the seasons go on to prune your tree carefully.
