Maximise your small garden

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In Summary

Not everybody has masses of acres for gardening. Zuurah Karungi’s article tells of how one can work wonders on a small space.

Not everybody has masses of acres for gardening. Zuurah Karungi’s article tells of how one can work wonders on a small space.

Everyone’s joy is having a nice looking compound regardless its size. A good looking compound enhances a home’s look, creates beauty and brings comfort. A small garden can achieve a good look through use of flowers, grass, boulders, pavers and materials.

Setting the compound
John Wandera, a florist on Kololo Road, says the compound set up depends on the owner, while some people love grass; others will go for pavers or other materials.
Partition your compound on how you want it to be “some may go for an expert to help them out but we have worked for clients who do it themselves and it comes out perfect,” Wandera says.
While some people prefer pavers that have grass in between instead of cement, others just put in cement.

Grass
Joy Atugonza, a florist based on Bukoto Street, says if you choose to use grass, you have to put a few things in mind.
You need to put a pavement most especially if you have a car because the car will put tyre marks that will make the compound look shabby.
Check the type of soil in your compound. Whether the soil is sand, loam, clay or water-logged if you have poor soil, then you will have to add red soil to make it suitable for grass growth.
She says knowing the temperature of your area is also vital.
“Some lawn grass will grow in low temperatures while others in high temperatures,” Atugonza says.

Atugonza shares the different lawn types suitable for a small compound. Buffalo grass also known as pemba grass works better in hot areas while carpet grass works in water-soaked areas with poor nutrition. Zimbabwe grass, on the other hand, is great in places with too much shade.
However, Joy advises that grass such as Arabic grass and buffalo grass can be best for a small compound because they creep on the ground and don’t grow tall. “Arabic grass will stand even after daily play from children and other damage” Atugonza says.

Planting flowers
Betty Nakityo, a florist advises that you pick out the side where you want the flower garden to be. Is it in the centre, right or left of your compound? Afterwards, determine how big the garden should be.
“Since the compound is small, the flower garden shouldn’t be too big because it will cover up the whole compound,” Nakityo says.
Atugonza says before you buy a flower, you need to know how it grows to avoid disappointment. “Some flowers look small when young and enormous when grown, yet a small compound needs relatively small-sized flowers. Some people buy trees thinking they are flowers,” Atugonza cautions.

Nakityo says a small compound may not need trees because a tree will occupy the whole area. However, there are some trees that don’t grow tall once shaped constantly.
Atugonza lists some of the flowers suitable for a small compound such as agapanthus which bears purple coloured flowers white ginger flowers normally with white flowers, Jolanta flowers which bear flowers with various colours and ground orchid flowers that also have multiple coloured flowers or sulphur purple.
“You don’t really need much in your small garden; only two flower types can be enough to bring an amazing look,” Atugonza says.
She says that using agapanthus or sulphur purple and ginger white can bring out the best art in your garden.

“If purple meets ginger white and the green grass, it will pull out a wonderful look in the compound,” Atugonza says.
She argues that people should not just buy any flower they come across but consider the effect it will have on the compound. She says using multiple colours in the garden will affect its beauty.

Fence around the flower garden
Wandera recommends use of fence flowers which will help protect the flowers from damage or heavy rain. He says you can small boulders around the garden or pavers.

Grow vertically. There is a whole other dimension that is often forgotten, even in very small spaces – the vertical one. You can introduce a mass of climbing plants on fences, wires and passageways.
Plant smart. Use containers in different sizes to create a sense of perspective. Place larger ones nearer your house and arrange them so they get smaller the further away they are.