Many gardeners feel challenged by the length and width of their gardens. Having a long, narrow garden is a common complaint. I’ve worked on a number of designs for gardens like this over the years.
Like any garden, long, thin spaces have both their advantages and disadvantages – with permaculture design – with the right approach – you can overcome the challenges and make the most of your space.
Design Tips for Long, Narrow Gardens
If you need some help with your own narrow garden space, reach out. I’d be glad to help you with a design for your space.
Some of the best ways to utilise a long, narrow garden involve creating a series of different spaces, or garden rooms, that break up the space, improving its feel by giving the sense of more pleasing proportions.
Breaking up the view along the longest dimension, creating a journey through the space, and making sure there is a reason to make your way into the part of the garden furthest from the home, are other things that can help you make the most of the space.
It can also help to plant so as to break up and disguise the side boundaries – blurring the edges of the space with natural vegetation.
A Wildlife-Friendly Woodland Garden
The above is my design for a client in Pennsylvania who wanted to turn their garden into a natural space, good for wildlife, with a tranquil woodland feel.
My concept design aims to create a space for human relaxation and enjoyment, while also catering for native birds and other wildlife and aiming for as rich a biodiversity as possible.
The idea involves the creation of a series of ‘garden rooms’ traveling between the home and the shed at the end of the space. I suggested linking these spaces together by means of a pathway of natural stone pavers (ideally reclaimed) with native groundcover plants between them.
The first ‘room’ is a semi-circular wild lawn or wildflower meadow surrounded by attractive native planting.
The second ‘room’ is an intimate circular lawn/ meadow area with a bird feeder/ garden artwork structure at the centre. This area looks over the wildlife pond to the south. Ultimately, a hammock slung between trees here or a lounger, would create a relaxing area.
The third ‘room’ is a more open glade within this ‘forest’ or woodland area, with a naturalistic stream with river rocks looping out from the wildlife pond, powered by a solar pump.
As you may be aware, a wildlife pond is one of the best things you can do for native birds and other wildlife.
So the client and his wife could sit and watch the wildlife, I suggested a large curved bench here for relaxation, made from reclaimed wood.
The fourth ‘room is a hidden away wood-chipped space under native trees – a shady retreat, perhaps, for hot days.
Finally, at the end of the garden space, is an existing wooden shed. I have suggested adding wood decking and creating a reclaimed wood pergola to clad with native shade-tolerant climbers.
If anything above has inspired you to tackle your own garden, I hope to hear from you soon!
EWSP Consultancy 