Maximising Your Inner City Outdoor Space

There are many great aspects of life in a vibrant city like Melbourne. With great bars and restaurants, fun activities and always something new to see or do, living in the urban centres has a lot of plus points. However, one element you may compromise on to live in the inner city is your outdoor space. As a general rule, the closer you get to the hub of any urban sprawl, the smaller the gardens get. But a small garden can still be a beautiful, stylish and enjoyable space. You just have to get the right landscape designer to work their magic.

Small gardens are often neglected as people don’t know quite what to do to make them user-friendly. Here are our top tips on how to get the most out of your outdoor space:

  • Built in seating – this saves space and often offers more seating for more people as well as keeping the central space clear to give the illusion of size and creating a larger area for people to gather if you’re entertaining.
  • Create two or more separate areas – add paving or lawn to offer a distinction between two areas. Contradictory to what you may imagine, this actually makes the space look bigger.
  • Living walls – these are great for when you’ve got limited ground space but love plants
  • Simplify your planting – don’t try to do too much and allow your garden to mature for at least a year before planting more. We also recommend a condensed colour choice – too many vibrant colours dominate a small space
  • Make it multi-functional – add features such as shading or lights so that you can use your garden 365 days a year.

We are proud to be certified providers of Weinor shading structures. Customised to suit your needs, these structures can shade you from the hot summer sun or keep you dry on a damp evening. Entertain come rain or shine with your bespoke shading structure. These units attach to the side of your property and are completely retractable, saving you precious space by not requiring any permanent structure. They are ideal for inner city gardens where space is a premium.

Ross Goodman Design specialise in inner city gardens. We pride ourselves on making small spaces not only beautiful but also highly functionable, with an aim to allow you to use your garden all year round, come rain or shine. In fact, we like to think of a garden as an extension of your living space. An additional, leafy reception room where you can relax in the evenings, entertain friends and enjoy some fresh air after the crowds of the city streets.

Interested in what we could do for your garden? Contact Ross today or check out some of the gardens we’ve crafted in the past which have been featured in landscape design magazines.

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