4 Pretty Plans For Mini Gardens

15 September 2015
 Categories: , Blog


A mini garden makes a charming focal point in your backyard. A well-constructed mini garden can serve as a destination or a pretty tableau to enjoy from your home. Creating a pretty mini garden involves starting with a centerpiece, surrounding it with attractive plants and finishing with a border.

Water Garden

For a water garden, a pool is the natural centerpiece. The pool doesn't have to be big, and it can even comprise a large water container such as a trough or a rain barrel. Place the pool in the center of your space, and add water plants. Better Homes and Gardens suggests lotus, pitcher plants and swamp lily.

Next, design the area around the water feature with water-loving plants that add both color and texture. For instance, plant an elephant's ear, with its big leaves near the pool. Cluster a papyrus plant nearby, and fill in the space with water lettuce and water hyacinth. Finish off with a stone border.

Shady Nook

If you enjoy lounging in the shade, consider creating a nook near a tree. The centerpiece of this plan is the tree, of course. Either utilize a tree already in your backyard, or consider an ornamental tree such as a Japanese maple.

Place your seating near the tree, and design the garden around it. Place a larger plant, such as a rhododendron or and azalea plant, at a corner opposite the tree for additional shade and privacy. Fill the space around your seating with your favorite perennials. Finally, finish off with a border of thyme so that your trip to and from the lounge area is filled with fragrance.

Rose Garden

The most classic of all gardens is the rose garden. For this plan, start with a trellis or arbor, and select a climbing rose to train up the lattice. If using a trellis, plant a climbing rose on either side so they can meet in the middle of the structure.

Next, place a shrub rose just off-center from the climbers. Select one or two more varieties of roses to cluster around the front of the structure. Consider a miniature variety so the front bushes don't take away from the roses in back. Finally, finish with a border of lady's mantle or lamb's ear. Either plant creates a distinct profile different from the roses.

Romantic Garden

If you'd like to create a little corner of romance in your backyard, consider some of the flowers characteristic of English gardens, such as rose, daylily, daisy, black-eyed Susan and phlox. Start with a romantic centerpiece such as a statue, fountain or birdbath.

For a romantic garden, you want to encourage visitors to walk through and perhaps pluck a bloom. Arrange your mini-garden so that a small path winds between the plants. If desired, set a few natural stone pavers on the path. Use natural stones as a border around the edges.

Add beauty to your backyard by creating a charming mini garden.

For more help with landscaping projects, contact a professional such as Design Scapes of Manasota Inc.