Smoke and mirrors: create the illusion of space in your city garden

Garden pool
Add magic to your raised beds with a pretty pool
© Marks and Spencers

Ever wish you could wave a magic wand and transform your cramped garden into a sprawling, lush haven? So do we. Well, we don’t have a magic wand, but we do have the next best thing. Andi Clevely’s book, ‘City Garden’ is full of tips and trickery to create illusions of grandeur in the smallest spaces.

Playing with space

Organizing the space at your disposal may seem like a daunting, even frustrating challenge. Especially if it is long and narrow space, small and square, or triangular or awkwardly irregular in a corner property.Disguising limitations in size and shape depends on a combination of real and illusory measures. Introducing different levels can increase real space, especially for growing plants, but make sure this does not restrict opportunities for outdoor entertaining or recreation which usually requires a level open area.

Vertical surfaces can be used for plants, storage space and built-in seating. A raised bed could accommodate a pool, vegetables and trailing plants down the sides, together with seating along the edges.

Use mirrrors in your garden to create the illusion of space
© Graham and Green

Sliding doors from the house save ground space that might be useful for containers, and also allow the house and garden to blend seamlessly, without wasting the intervening ground. Whatever you decide, make the space work hard without thinking small.

To relieve an angular landscape and eliminate an awareness of corners and straight lines, why not introduce curves: a circular pool, bed or paved area is non-directional and focuses attention on its perimeter which emphasises space rather than the garden setting. A subtle play between horizontal blocks of walling and the vertical accents of clean tree trunks and solid sculpture disguises any limitations in a garden’s size and shape.

Tricks of illusion deceive by apparently altering horizons and proportions and by confusing boundaries, which always draw attention to themselves and immediately define the size of the garden. Concealing walls with plants and structures like latticework or panelling helps to disguise them. Mirrors can suggest secret places beyond and cunning use of colour can imply a sense of depth. For example, painting a far wall with a dark shade fosters a sense of distance.

Using mirrors

A shrewdly placed mirror can magnify space by reflecting part of the garden and suggesting it is larger than in reality. Although an unashamedly theatrical device, this can have a startling effect if you follow some simple guidelines:

1. Avoid positions at the end of paths, where any hint of a world beyond will be dispelled by the image of you approaching.

2. Key sites include boundary walls to suggest an entrance to a secret garden room, or at the far side of a pond to double its perceived surface area.

3. Make sure the mirror displays a general part of the garden: reflecting a prominent urn, statue or similarly significant feature can destroy credibility.

4. Disguise the edges of a mirror with trellis, a false door – and a window-frame or evergreen foliage to complete the illusion.

5. Combine mirrors or mirror tiles with glass brick steps and divisions to reflect more light into gloomy passageways and stairwells.

6. Keep the mirrors clean for convincing results!

This is an extract from ‘City Garden' by Andi Clevely