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Hi I am Rachel Mathews from Successful Garden Design. And this is the second part in our
series on small space gardening. So in today's video we're going to look at what you can
do with small and really, really tiny spaces. So if you've got an awkward corner, or somewhere
that's just so small that you don't even think it's even possible to do anything with
then this video is for you.
So in the small space on the stairs, as you go down the breakfast
room at Casa Aire De Lecrin, they have this little grouping of geraniums both in pots
on the floor and hanging from the wall, but what makes this work is actually the structure
they've put in. The pots and little features bring it all together, so that it is not just
the plants. So as simple as this is, it's not just a few plants been plant down. There
has a lot of thought go into it. From the monochromatic colors scheme right down to
the ornaments and structure that provide the interesting backdrop to the planting, and
then when you get down to the breakfast area even the tiniest of corners like this one,
have a group for planting. And what makes this work is that there is different levels
within the planting. So there is layers, and because it's going up, it draws the eye
up. And again very subtle colors here, but they're not just relying on the plants.
You'll notice that sort of wrought iron gateway and also the driftwood behind the
planting that, solid structure does create a nice amount of interest. And then as we
look around the breakfast area, and the poolside bit you can see again, whenever there is a
group of plants, there is structure there in layers and just taking the eye up makes
all the difference as you can see here. And even on the ground in this very small garden,
this mosaic draws the interest, and the very tiny pieces within it make that little space
look much larger. Whenever you use smaller materials, you need a lot more often to fill
the space, so your eye will automatically think, ahh lots of something makes the space
big, so it's very good way to create the illusion of space. Now in the first video
I asked you a bit of a trick question, what is it about this planting that I wanted you
to notice? Well, the answer is look how few plants have been used in this garden. There
is what, we got one, two, three, four, five, six in pots and just sneaking out we can see
a vine. So that's seven plants. How many gardens do you know that can look this good
with just seven plants? So that's what I wanted to draw your attention to. How important
design elements are. The plants are the finishing touch, the icing on the cake if you like.
You know in so many books and magazines and blog articles all you read about is plants,
plants, plants. Now I am not saying they are not important, of course they are very important,
but if you take into account the design elements, first and foremost, and then add the plants
that's when the real magic happens. And that is my mission at Successful Garden Design,
to get you thinking further than just the plants and starting to think about design
and the impact it can make in your garden. Cause I absolutely promise you if you think
about the design elements and not just the plants, it makes a tremendous difference.
And actually it makes creating a beautiful garden so much easier. But I'll show you
much more tips and tricks on how to incorporate design into your gardens in future videos.
So for now, let's continue now with our _ (3:38) tour of the small gardens in Southern
Spain. And moising on out from the Casa the next door neighbor has an even tinier garden-
and this balcony garden, as you can see it's absolutely crammed full of geraniums and again
they've been very clever by using a limited color palette and that has created that abundant,
glorious look and it has the impact because they've just gone for one or two variations
on the same color. And that's been a very clever use of such a tiny space. Now going
a little further a field, the city of Cordoba is well known for patio gardens where as you
can see people just litter their walls with brightly colored plants. Again very compact
color scheme, and again this works well because it leads the eye up. So you're really thinking
the space so much bigger because of the vertical element. And they're very cunning. You'll
notice there is no marks down the walls. They have the pots, there is a little wedge behind
them where they keep them away from those lovely white walls. And they're watering
them very precisely. Apparently, they have an albeit bean can or something on the end of a
bamboo pole. So each pot gets exact the amount of water in each, and therefore there is no
wastage or no masses running down the walls. And moving onto the narrow streets of Frigliana,
they have loads of gardens. Well in fact, people have no gardens, they just use the
street as you do. And again collections of pots and it looks beautiful- so you can have
as little or as many you'd like. So hope today's video has inspired you to do something
with your small space. And that you can see that size doesn't really matter it's what
you do with it that counts. And if you have any suggestions for future videos, do drop
me a line on the contact form at the SuccessfulGardenDesign.com website.