How to make garden look longer

[MrsAlwaysRight]

We've extended and now the garden isn't very long. We're hoping to re design the garden next year and I wondered if anyone has any tips to help take the focus away from how shallow the plot is? Thanks in advance 🙂

We extended and now have a small garden I think you just have to try & embrace it! We've gone upwards so raised beds on 2 sides, plant pots on top of the raised beds and attached to the fence.
Also try and use all of it, we have a bench incorporated into one raised bed, a corner sofa and outdoor table & chairs. We use it all in the summer. It's like an extra room.

Don’t have dark/strong colours at the end, use pale yellows/pinks etc rather than red (for example)

Have you got space for mirrors? They can work really well

Can you post photos or a diagram? It depends a bit on what you have there/what is beyond your garden. Mirrors and clever planting can make it look like your garden extends beyond the boundary so it feels larger but that isn't always possible. Other things that help are curves rather than straight lines, distinct "rooms", light coloured planting, using vertical space etc

I think dark colours work very well to lengthen a garden. I had two large clematis etoile violette at the end of one garden, and the deep dull purple was able to blend into the distance in a way that sharp white or other darker shades may not have. Aubergine is good. Avoid bright or vivid colours at the end-red, orange, yellow, vivid whites, bright pinks. Conversely, these do well as a foreground colour to distract the eye.

Statues or huge pots or a small tree can work to deceive the eye too. Place slightly to the side not central. Experiment with a bike or similar.

Some people use trickery to great effect-a door frame with a door sized mirror, slightly angled so that garden greenery is reflected, works wonders to suggest that the end of the garden is a half way point.

Personally, I don’t think you can really.
No matter what colours you use, what plants, what hardscaping etc, if the garden is small it’s going to look small no matter what tricks you use.

I too was going to suggest a huge mirror at the end.

Thanks very much for the suggestions - much appreciated!

Not only a mirror, but some trellis around it designed so that it looks in perspective. iYKWIM. There will be examples on Pinterest. This would make the eye think there’s something beyond.

Something similar to this

Thanks beebumble2