Lush, expansive gardens are a dream – but not everyone has the luxury of a large outdoor space. The good news is that with a bit of know-how, even the tiniest corner can be transformed into a vibrant green sanctuary.
Jo Thompson is someone who knows possibly everything there is to know about getting the best out of a garden – no matter the size. Widely considered one of UK’s best garden designers, Jo has a portfolio that spans countless green spaces – from grand estate ground to compact city gardens.
Renowned for her love of roses, her designs weave a touch of horticultural magic. She’s a multiple gold medal winner at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show – most recently honoured for the Glasshouse Garden, created for a women’s hospital.
Now, Jo is looking to pass on the wisdom she’s earned over the past two decades. In a debut video course with Create Academy, she shares the fundamentals of garden design. With her course available now, we took the chance to ask the designer about her top plants for a small garden…
1. Climbers
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Pink roses and purple clematis climbing a trellis
Jo’s top tip is using climbing plants in smaller outdoor spaces. “Always think about the verticals in the small garden. You might be limited on ground space, but you have walls, fences, which allow you to grow climbers,” Jo tells Country Living.
She recommends pairing a clematis, like ‘Étoile Violette’, ‘Emelia Plater’ or the early-blooming variety ‘Frances Rivis’, with small climbing rose varieties, like the ‘Generous Gardener’ or ‘Blushing Rosette’.
With the clematis growing up amongst the (repeat-flowering) roses, you’ll get at least two sessions of flowering, which will keep your garden nice and colourful for a longer period of time.
2. Hardy geraniums
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Down on the ground, where space is limited, Jo recommends opting for hardy geraniums: a beautiful groundcover plant that will give you a carpet of delicate blooms in gentle hues that don’t overwhelm the space.
“In a small garden, you want to keep to soft colours. Bright colours jump out and make the space feel smaller. Geraniums come in such a lovely range of pale blues, pale pinks, whites and so on,” Jo says.
Avoiding visual clutter and helping the space feel larger and calmer is not the only benefit. “Hardy geraniums really give a lot of good value because once they’ve finished flowering, just cut them back and they’ll often flower again,” Jo says. Plus, some varieties are tolerant of partial or full shade.
3. Verbena bonariensis
photography by Ulrich Hollmann//Getty Images
When it comes to a small garden design, it’s important to exercise restraint. Too many different plants can make the space feel busy. Instead, Jo recommends sticking to three to five varieties, depending on how small the garden is, and repeating them throughout.
A great choice to mix in and layer with your hardy geraniums is Verbena bonariensis, a twiggy, purple-flowering plant. “They don’t take up much ground space. They’re tall but they’re very thin, so you can see through them, which is lovely in a small space,” the garden designer says.
4. Bulbs
Photos by R A Kearton//Getty Images
While a restricted plant and colour palette is vital to open up a small space, this can also make it a little tricky to give your garden enough variety and colour. This is where bulbs can do a lot of the heavy lifting, and you can really “go mad” with them, says Jo.
“From snowdrops to crocus through to daffodils and tulips in pots – that gives you a lot of flexibility,” she advises.
Bulbs come in all shapes and sizes. By planting them in pots and containers, you can add splashes of colour to awkward patches or less-used areas and regularly refresh your space with the changing seasons.
Looking for more? Jo Thompson’s online video course, ‘The Fundamentals of Garden Design’, is available now from Create Academy.
16 great books for gardening and indoor plant inspiration
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RHS How to Create your Garden: Ideas and Advice for Transforming your Outdoor Space
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Adam Frost’s practical, no-nonsense approach will help you plan and build a garden that works for you. The Gardeners’ World presenter takes you step by step through the whole process, from simple garden design ideas to a full garden makeover.
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Modern Container Gardening: How to Create a Stylish Small-Space Garden AnywhereCredit: Amazon
Isabelle Palmer shows you how to make the most of every little space with a series of projects for small gardens, singular containers and window boxes, that can be completed in a day or weekend. Perfect for novice gardeners, Modern Container Gardening offers beautiful photography and clear step-by-step instructions.
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National Trust School of Gardening: Practical Advice from the Experts
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The National Trust employs over 500 gardeners with an extraordinary wealth of expertise. And now, in this in-depth guide, they pass on their wisdom and provide the answers any new and seasoned gardener is looking for. This book is intended to give you inspiration and confidence to make the most of your garden, without being overwhelmed with unnecessary technical detail.
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Veg in One Bed: How to Grow an Abundance of Food in One Raised Bed, Month by Month
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Veg In One Bed explains how to build your bed and grow from seed, as well advice on planting, feeding, and harvesting. YouTube gardening star Huw Richards shows how to guarantee early success by starting off young plants on a windowsill and suggests what to grow in each part of the bed.
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DK The Complete Gardener: A Practical, Imaginative Guide to Every Aspect of Gardening
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Monty Don offers straightforward gardening advice in this book, revealing the secrets of growing vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs, while respecting the needs of the environment by gardening organically. You can also enjoy a tour of his Herefordshire garden, including his flower garden, herb garden, kitchen garden, and more.
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DK RHS Practical House Plant Book
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The Practical House Plant Book by the RHS contains a dozen step-by-step projects to help you assemble an eye-catching terrarium, create a floating kokedama ‘string garden’, or propagate succulents. Complete with 175 in-depth plant profiles, this is an essential practical guide for indoor gardeners.
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Ten Speed Press Small Garden Style: A Design Guide for Outdoor Rooms and ContainersCredit: Amazon
A small garden space – an urban patio, a tiny backyard, or even just a pot by your door – doesn’t have to sacrifice style. In Small Garden Style, garden designer Isa Hendry Eaton and lifestyle writer Jennifer Blaise Kramer show you how to use good design to create a joyful, elegant, and exciting yet compact outdoor living space.
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No Dig Garden Charles Dowding’s No Dig Gardening: From Weeds to Vegetables Easily and Quickly: Course 1Credit: Amazon
Charles Dowding, innovator of no dig, teaches you everything you need to know about this method of organic gardening. With 19 chapters, you’ll learn how to use no dig on different soil types, recognise and massively reduce the different types of weeds, know the difference between soil and types of compost, and grow an abundance of vegetables using the no dig method.
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Kyle Books In Bloom: Growing, harvesting and arranging flowers all year round
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Get all the inspiration you need for planting cut flowers, and fill your home with colour and the gorgeous scent of the garden year-round with In Bloom. Clare Nolan reveals her secrets for growing a bountiful harvest as well as styling spectacular homegrown displays in this beautifully designed book.
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DK RHS Complete Gardener’s Manual
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Bloomsbury Wildlife Wildlife Gardening: For Everyone and Everything
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Do you want to attract more bees, birds, frogs and hedgehogs into your garden? In Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything, Kate Bradbury teams up with the Wildlife Trusts and the RHS to help you discover how you can make your garden, balcony, doorstep or patio a haven for garden wildlife. You’ll find handy charts, practical projects and fact files.
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DK My House Plant Changed My Life: Green wellbeing for the great indoorsCredit: Amazon
Gardener and TV presenter David Domoney is a firm believer that indoor plants can make ‘a practical and emotional contribution to our wellbeing’. In this book, David explains the hard science behind the positive effect of the humble houseplant on wellness, and provides expert tips on how to keep your plants thriving, plus shares his top 50 life-enhancing houseplants.
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DK RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Design: Planning, Building and Planting Your Perfect Outdoor Space
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If you’re looking for new garden ideas, the RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Design will guide you from planning to planting, such as choosing the correct materials for your structures and assessing your drainage, to laying patios, making ponds, and planting perennials.
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Lorenz Books How to Create an Eco Garden: The practical guide to sustainable and greener gardeningCredit: Amazon
This planet-friendly book is filled with ideas for creating your own eco garden on any scale, from a small courtyard to a large garden or allotment. Discover organic techniques that improve biodiversity, learn the value of using recycled and reclaimed materials for landscaping, and take on simple projects such as making a pond and a wildlife hotel.
Plants book
DK RHS Encyclopedia Of Plants and Flowers
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Drawing on expert advice from the RHS, this best-selling reference book – organised by colour, size, and type, rather than as an A-Z directory – will help you select the right varieties for your outdoor space.
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Frances Lincoln Publishers Ltd Build a Better Vegetable Garden: 30 DIY Projects to Improve your HarvestCredit: Amazon
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Wanda Sachs is the Daily Writer for House Beautiful and Country Living, exploring the latest in interior design, home trends, property news, wellbeing and sustainable living. With a keen eye for style and a passion for storytelling, she previously served as an Associate Editor at The Berliner in Berlin, where she launched and led the magazine’s monthly style vertical, covering emerging fashion trends. Wanda holds a combined BA in English and German from Goethe University Frankfurt.