Gardening whizz Alan Titchmarsh reveals why you should NEVER declutter your small garden & how to make it bigger
IF you are lucky enough to have a garden, no matter how small, you probably want to know how to maximise the space.
It can be tricky to know what to do though, which is where gardening guru Alan Titchmarsh steps in.
He’s previously addressed exactly this topic in his show Love Your Garden, where he gave some surprising advice. According to Alan, clutter is exactly what you need in a small space, as stripping it out can actually make it look even tinier.
He explained: “When the curtain goes up at the theatre you see backdrop and you see wings to the side which fools you into thinking it’s much grander because it interrupts the view.
“That is the way they give you depth on the stage, the same trickery – illusion – you can use in the garden.
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He showed off a tiny garden and explained leaving it uncluttered would be problematic as that immediately shows its actual size… small.
“If we bring the sides of the garden in a bit, and then the one beyond it and then the one beyond that you’re forced to look around things to see to the very end,” he said.
“We create the illusion of depth and the illusion of width and suddenly you have a much more theatrical and exciting garden.”
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Among the star’s tips is to use to use raised planting beds on either side of a path.
Chunky timber was also brought out and had a handy dual purpose of creating space and also providing a seat to enjoy the space.
Alan explained that to make his ‘oasis in the city’, the team had to ‘greenify’ the outskirts of the garden.
A great way to do this is to use climbing plants that will grow upwards such as jasmine, which also adds a pleasant fragrance.
As an added bonus they don’t take up much precious floor space at all as they can grow flat to the walls.
For more gardening stories, check out what your garden REALLY says about you and it’s bad news if you’re into fake grass
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