Gardening tips for small garden

[WannabeWriter1988]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some help on making a small concrete and gravel garden with very little sunlight beautiful and able to attract nature.

I would like birds, butterflies, bees and insects to come to the garden if possible. I can water the plants but the neighbour buildings obscure a lot of light.

Any tips welcome 🙏 thank you!

There are loads of beautiful plants that will cope well with shade, but I think itd be better to get rid of concrete. Or do you want only pots and containers in your garden?

Loads of different hostas in pots!

It's a rented house so unfortunately we can't change the concrete or it'd be gone!

get a few BIG pots - the biggest plastic ones you can afford. Fill with earth mixed with clay cat litter - it helps drainage and retains water for drought.

plant with lavender / sage / salvia for summer colour + clematis to grow up the walls. you can get an evergreen clematis that will still look good in the winter. Also some ferns or even a camellia which will flower in the winter and look great.

and make sure you have a nice colourful chair / table to sit outside and enjoy your space.

Thank you, these are great ideas. I've found a garden centre nearby to look at, so hopefully I can get started ❤️

Could you get a pond - like one of the ones in half a barrel? If so you can put some plants in it and ponds are just great for birds and insects as well as water creatures.
Also plant lots of spring bulbs in pots.

Lots of big pots - the bigger the better. Much less watering required. (not sure about the cat litter suggestion above - not one I'd heard before).

Big pots are quite often available on FB marketplace or local giveaway groups. I used old recyling boxes when I was doing something similar - already had holes in the bottom. And disguised them with split bamboo screens.

Look on FB for people giving away plants. Also supermarket and B&M have plants - often cheaply that can be rescued. It would be a shame if you put a lot of money into a garden and the next place wasn't suitable for them.

Next year plant morning glory or nasturtium seeds - lot of coverage for very little money.

Trough planters as big as you can find all around edges, get the ones with trellis attached. Look for shade happy clematis, I'd probably put Ivy in one too, but a slow growing one.
Then in front of troughs lots of cheerful pots, always options on sale in garden centres, fb marketplace, ask friends too, ive always spare pots to give away. In big pots id go for a few Japanese maples, theyll do ok in your conditions, brunnera, hosta, ferns.
A self contained water feature or pond would be great too.
And definitely lots of bulbs in pots, but look for shade happier types, lots of bulbs do much better in sun.

For bees, astilbe ( love the white types for shade ) and foxgloves.
For scent, Lily of the Valley.
Be prepared to feed often and top dress / change compost in pots every few years maybe more.
I'd probably have some large pots of mint too because its cheap, grows so fast and smells so gorgeous when you brush against it...

Do you get ANY sun and if yes what time of day?

Do you have sturdy fences you could get planters that hook over the top do the fence? You could do colourful sun loving flowers in those as they would be higher and perhaps catch less shade?

Pots need a LOT of watering so as pp said - bigger is better.

Ive had good luck with rosemary, thyme, parsley and mint in shadier conditions. It’s fun to grow edible plants. All attract insects. Sage - beautiful foliage and flowers but mine likes at least some sunshine. Lavender wants to be drenched in sunshine in my experience!

I’ve also been lucky with a patch of agapanthus that just gets a few hours sun late morning - they do well on pots as they like feeling crowded. After a few years they are brilliant , gorgeous foliage and showy flowers on long stems. I grew mine from a packet of half price bulbs but you can buy them ready grown if you’re happy to pay!

We usually get a bit of a square in the middle around lunch time for a while