2 landscapers - 2 oposing opinions - who is right?

[jaabaar]

Hi

Have had two landscapers and on garden designer come to my backyard small garden for quotes.

I asked them the same question:
Which patio layout makes the garden look bigger?

e.g. big slabs? mixed sized slabs? a circle in the middle or no circle?

one said the circle makes it smaller the other says it makes it bigger!

I love the circle and believe having a circle makes it bigger as it gives a focal point without taking space and makes the space more interesting??

Who is right?

thanks .... a lot!

J

friend has circle in tiny garden and looks great

It may be that they had different sizes in mind? If you think it will be nice why not mock it out with something and see what you think?

Funnyperson and monsterchild
Thank you both for your replies!

Currently the garden has a circle in the middle which i really like! But since one pointed out that it makes garden smaller i was considering his advise.

I will go for circle as it also gives more character instead of a plain square garden.

What you think about fencing type regarding visually bigger garden: horizontal or vertical lines (feathered)?

Thank u again

I think with fencing the trick is not to be able to see the boundary, ie to blur it with plants. This matters more IMO than whether the fencing is vertical or horizontal. On balance, vertical might be better because it will help to draw the eye upwards, but the main thing is not to be able to see it too clearly.

Before the plants grow up, if you paint the fencing in a dark colour, it makes it recede (ie seem further away)

Would it be easier to forget about making the garden look bigger, and concentrate on making it look interesting?

There are some interesting designs for small gardens on Floral & Hardy, including
this one. (I'm always recommending F&H . . . I don't have any connections with them, honestly)

There are all sorts of fancy tricks you can use to make your garden look bigger. The main one is to use an ellipse ("squashed" circle) instead of an actual circle. Your brain will interpret this as a circle in a longer garden.

Also, if you have miniature items (mini-trees, statues, etc) at the far end, you'll think they are full size, but further away. Mirrors might be useful to create more depth.

Thank you all for your ideas and time to reply! I really do appreciate!

Concentrating on making it more interesting is a very good different approach! I am checking the squashed circles lay out however have not yet found any slabs sold in this shape. Will also speak to gardener about it.

I just do not want to spend so much money on the garden and having made mistakes due to not being knowledgable enough.

Thanks again!

Will you have your circle in the middle or at the end? Is there a path leading to your circle?

A circle makes it easier to blur the boundaries with plants, as you get a larger planting area on the outside, than with a square/rectangular patio.

As for fencing, I always recommend a close-board fence, with gravel board on the bottom and where the poles are concreted in. This will make your fence more durable. For light and texture, trellis on top, not tall trellis, just 30-40 cm.