SMALL GARDEN design ideas 🌱 Garden Tour 🌱 DIY Small Backyard Ideas | Behind the Garden Gate

Join me for a garden tour of DIY gardener & plant lover, Steven Wells’ small garden. His DIY small garden design ideas are incredible and they’ll leave you so inspired on what you can achieve in small backyard! This great garden design celebrates small spaces, the importance of gardening as a form of restoration and the shear joy of gardening in Australia.

Stepping behind the garden gate of this small garden, you’ll find yourself in a botanical haven that transcends the ordinary. Steven Wells, the mastermind behind this green oasis, has carefully designed a private front garden that serves as a prelude to the rest of the clever small garden design ideas within.

This garden, a testament to Steven’s creative skills, unfolds as a captivating journey rather than a mere destination. As you walk the meandering paths, it becomes evident that this is not a space dominated by flamboyant blooms; instead, it’s an exploration of foliage and form. The carefully chosen (mostly) evergreen plants serve a dual purpose, ensuring visual appeal year-round and fostering a sense of seclusion and privacy.

Vertical growing spaces are used heavily in this garden. Walls are strategically positioned for privacy, double as canvases for more greenery including bromeliads, agave, spider plants and donkey tails. Mirrors are strategically placed to create a trompe l’oeil effect, adding a touch of illusionary grandeur to the compact space.

Repurposed fryer baskets become unconventional yet aesthetically pleasing plant pockets. The slope of the terrain is embraced, transforming the garden into a miniature rainforest, an unexpected surprise at every turn.

Diverse garden rooms reveal themselves as you meander through this small garden – shaded retreats adorned with clivias, elevated decks perfect for lazy summer days or hosting a winter fire pit. A the playful addition of a slide is a load of fun for ALL ages!

The outdoor dining space includes strategically placed maples in oversized pots, crushed rock underfoot and more timber walls that are adorned with pots. This wall also hides the garden shed space, behind a very beautiful door.

Since 2005 when Steven bought this property – the garden has transformed from a dusty, life-less space to a lush and private garden space. Which was your favourite spot? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to like and subscribe for more inspiring garden tours! 🌻

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GARDEN DESIGN & LANDSCAPE CONSTRUCTION
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Behind this entrance is a small garden  that’s full of fun and functionality   I’m Chloe from Bean there Dug That  – let’s go behind the garden gate. And stepping away from the chaos of suburbia  is as simple as closing this gate. This garden,   the owner tells me, is his place for respite and

Restoration. We’re in Eltham a  leafy outer north-eastern suburb   of Melbourne and the owner, designer and  creator of this garden is Steven Wells. Behind you is Steven’s front door so  this is the entrance to his garden and   also his home – he’s chosen plants  in here that are lush and evergreen  

Because they look good year round and they  provide that screening protection and that   cosseted feeling that he needs as  he steps into this private oasis. This front garden gives us a  glimpse of Steven’s creativity   and his passion for plants but there  is plenty more to explore come on! This garden really is all about the journey and  the reveal of what is beyond and everywhere you  

Go there is little things to look at and  explore. I have been to this garden many   times but every time I come I spot something new,  unusual or something I’ve never even seen before. For a small garden it was really important for  Steven to have lots of places to sit and relax   he was really adamant that the garden was all  about calmness and restoration. I also really   love this boardwalk beneath us here these are  Cypress pine sleepers sitting on a treated pine  

Base and they really encourage us to come on down  and explore further. You’ll notice throughout the   garden that the surface beneath our feet changes  a few times and that’s a great way of just keeping   things interesting particularly in a small  space. Now behind you I can spot the very  

First big green wall in the garden so let’s look  at that further before we move on and explore. We have to make mention of this really  lush green wall and this is not the last   green wall we are going to see. This  one Steven has built here deliberately  

Because it’s the view from his kitchen  window and he wanted the plants to be   framed almost like a picture of greenness  these plants are actually just growing   in plastic pots that he’s built into the  wall and as you can see they’re thriving.

This side corridor is the only way that Steven  can access his backyard so it needed to be wide   enough that it would allow him to carry  materials but of course it doesn’t need   to be bland and as you can see Steven has used  every possible space – outdoor bath tub on one  

Side and a really clever use of a timber  framing that almost creates a bookshelf   appearance and this you will see repeated  throughout other parts of the garden it’s   a great way of storing your collections  and to add a little bit of personality.

And how’s this you’d think it’s a window into  an even bigger garden beyond but it’s not it’s   actually a mirror! The French call this “trompe  l’oeil” or the trick of the eye and using a mirror   in a small space like this helps to reflect the  garden and make it feel even bigger. [Music]

Even a space that’s only 10 cm wide here  can – with a bit of creativity – be turned   into something that’s both fun and functional  this is a bug hotel and I can see it’s very  popular!

Welcome to the red pod Steven has hand built  this space to create both a seating area and   a privacy screen and the green wall is  covered in plants we’ve got bromeliads,   spider plants, agave and more and the  thing I love about the seating options  

In this garden is at this time of the day  I can choose here and bask in glorious full   sun but if I want some dappled shade well  I only need to head a few metres that way.

This timber wall is a new addition since last time  I visited and Stevens put it here for a couple of   reasons most importantly is privacy – behind  me is a two-storey development which if people   stood in that top floor they could overlook into  his garden so this strategically positioned wall  

Is going to provide him the privacy he needs  when this development is inhabited the great   thing about these vertical walls is more space  for plants and you can see here that Steven’s   used old fryer baskets they’re rusted and gnarly  and they add some great age and texture to the  

Space he’s not planted directly into them he’s  just popped the plants in and he tells me that   this space is going to be a little bit of a trial  and error – he’s not used some of these plants in  

The garden before or in these vertical spaces so  he can have a bit of a play and see what works. From here the garden dramatically slopes  down – now if you were here back in 2005   when Steven bought the place and before he’d  done any gardening you would not recognise  

The view over here, it was a dust bowl the only  plants in this space were the two big gums that   surround us now Steven’s really embraced this  level change in his garden and it’s something  

I encourage anyone to do if you have a sloping  spot in your garden – this area creates a space   that feels even more cossetted and enveloped  it’s almost got a rainforest vibe to it and   it feels really lush down here. And here’s  another garden room this one is a shady spot  

With the clivias surrounding it and to create  that sense of a completely different room we’ve   got the change in surface and the bamboo  screening the pops of yellow help as well. Those steppers lead us onto another deck  and here it’s dappled shade and so much  

Cooler than the sunnier spots of the garden so  it’s the perfect spot to sit on a hot summer’s   day but if we were here in wintertime instead  of a table there would be a roaring fire pit  

In here. I think the thing I love most about  this space in the garden is that it feels so   private you can’t even see the house or the other  parts of the garden from here so it’s like we’re   in a completely different world and we’ve been  transported to a completely different garden.  

Speaking of transportation how’s this for a  fun way to get to the bottom of the garden! All right that was fun but  now let’s go and check out   the outdoor dining space which  is right outside the back door.

How’s this for an outdoor entertaining space the  back door is right there so it’s easy access if   you need to come out with a platter or to sit  down and enjoy a cup of coffee I also love the  

Addition of these two huge maples in big pots  these weren’t here last time I was here and   I’m loving the fact that they add structure  and height to the space as well and their   vertical canopy that comes over the table gives  us some much needed shade as well you’ll notice  

Also that the crushed rock underfoot helps to  define this as a different zone in the garden. There’s a subtle use of plant repetition  in this garden which helps the different   spaces and areas feel cohesive and connected  with each other but there’s also repetition  

In the types of pots used there really  is only three different styles of pots   he uses there’s the up-cycled and the quirky  there’s the big chunky heavy pots and then   there is a really eclectic mix of terracotta  pots and they stand out really nicely with  

Their orange pop of colour against the  dark treacle paint in the background. Now every gardener needs that space  where you store away the things you   don’t need you know the fire pit and the extra  chairs or umbrella that you might need and I  

Reckon that this has got to be the fanciest  garden shed door in the whole of Australia! Flowers are definitely not a huge feature  in this garden instead Steven is using   foliage and form to create interest  I mean just look at that Euphorbia.

I’ve watched this garden grow and evolve over the  last eight years and Steven has really taught me   the power of DIY and what any plant lover can  achieve. As I leave now I’m making taking a   mental note to create some more comfy spots to sit  in my garden and I’m leaving thoroughly inspired.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this garden tour of  Steven Wells place please let me know in the   comments below what is your favorite part of  his garden also please make sure you like and   subscribe because I have plenty more garden  tours coming your way see you next time…