Our old house had a humongous backyard and deck. We knew when we moved to Germany, we’d be giving that up.

Here’s how we make the best use of gardening space in our small yard and patio.

We have a tiny backyard with a goldfish pond and cute little patio.

Before:

After:

I cleaned it out a bit and added a Japanese maple and some azaleas. I want to get rid of the bamboo border and add bricks or stones and some pretty gravel inside.

And look what I found! Frog eggs. Mama frog peeked her head out of the water at me.

We have this fun grill and oven that I want to try out.

So, we don’t have much space for the kids to romp.

But they have a lovely playground park a block away now. We have to learn to container garden on our patio and maximizing space.

I realize with my small space, I have to get creative. I go vertical instead of horizontal.

Herbs in pots for culinary adventures

I have thyme, rosemary, lavender in pots on my stairs. We just had a cold snap that killed my basil and cilantro.

I have oregano, parsley, two kinds of mint, and sage that went dormant but is perking back up. They’re not pretty. I need to get some rocks and gravel for here too.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers for cooking and canning

We used to have a large vegetable garden and lots of romping space and an arbor with grapes. I will miss having fresh beans and squash but there’s just not enough room. I might consider one of those teepees for beans back by the shed but I don’t think it gets enough sun there.

I don’t really miss cutting the lawn, weeding, or the extensive yard maintenance. It’s a nice break since we don’t have to hire anyone to babysit our plants or worry about a loss of our vegetables if we travel.

Pretty flowers on windowsills and railing

Of course I have to have pretty! The kids loved helping pick out flowers for the railing and hanging plants for our hooks. We have several geraniums still to plant.

Bird Watching

I love these little birds that come to my feeders. They sing so sweetly and drive my cats mad. We also got a bug house and we will see. The bees are a-buzzing and I love the sounds of spring!

I found this lovely bistro set (at the BX!) and we fell in love with Ranunculus when we visited Keukenhof so there they are, in a pot by the table for me to enjoy with my beverages in the mornings and evenings.

A pretty new rug by the door.

I had to have this lantern. It was on clearance and now I have the perfect spot for it on my new bistro table! I need to get a candle for it. But don’t you love it?

I love how it’s coming along so far.

Other Changes to Make

I need to pretty up this shelf.

I got this fun daisy tree and I need a pretty pot for it.

I need to get something tiered since floor space is a premium (I could put the geraniums in a fun plant rack).

I’ve seen some lovely pallet gardens and I think I will look for one to use along the fences and railing.

Our biggest concern are the slugs and snails. I learned last year they don’t care for oregano or rosemary but they devour basil and most flowers. I experimented with coffee grounds around the pots and plants and that helps.

We look forward to caring for a smaller garden for a few years and experimenting with more container gardening.

Inspiration:

• My Gardening Pinterest Board
• White Walls Patio

Linking up: An Oregon Cottage