Instructions

Many people think that in order to create your own secret garden you need to have a lot of land or money. This is not true, you can make a great secret garden on a budget and with whatever space you have. Below are some aspects of how you create a secret garden that you will need to consider. As there are many ways to create a secret garden and because no two secret gardens are the same, you will have to use your imagination and creativity to work with the space that you have.

Steps to creating your own secret garden

1. Decide on a location - The first step in creating a secret garden is deciding where your secret garden will be. Find a place where you believe you can create the secret garden environment that you are looking for. Envision where you can create dividers or walls to make the garden less noticeable to outside onlookers. This may also be a place in your yard where you already have a lot of plants growing or where birds and butterflies like to come to.
2. Create the illusion of space and seclusion - The whole point to having a secret garden is to make it secluded from plain sight. The appeal of a secret garden is that you can remove yourself from the outside world and enjoy being alone with the sights and sounds of nature. You want to create a "room" for your secret garden. You can do this by using lattice and climbing plants as a wall and doorways can be created out of arches or even inconspicuous holes or openings in the lattice or shrubbery. You can further create the illusion of a spacious garden by trying to preserve views of the landscape from your garden. If you can remove yourself from a view of all things that are ordinary you can really help yourself to relax and enjoy your garden getaway.
3. Landscaping - Landscaping is what is really going to set a secret garden apart form your everyday garden. Adding a rocky landscape is one way of making a secret garden feel more enclosed. Much like climbing plants and trellises can make your garden seem more like a room of its own, the landscaping and adding of unique furniture can make the interior of the room feel decorated by nature and can further add to the comfort and feel of your secret garden. A fountain or water feature is a great addition. Allowing plants and vines to grow partially over your garden accessories gives them a look of age, sort of like the things that you put in your garden have been there for ages. Also, a flagstone path leading to the secret garden adds to the feeling that you are entering your own special place. With the addition of some comfortable chairs you can have a comfortable and secret place all your own.
4. Plant options - The plants that you choose to use in your secret garden are obviously very important in creating the feel of your garden. One of the most popular plant choices for secret gardens is ivy. Ivy and other plants that grow up and over items (such as creeping violets) help to enclose your space and fill in the holes through which the outdoor world can be viewed. Lilies of the Valley, morning glories, honeysuckle, or sweet peas are good choices for beautiful plants that can fill spaces closer to the ground. Hawthorn and Alpine currant are excellent choices for a hedge. Both of these hedge plants provide flowers in the springtime and berries in the fall which attract the birds. A Boxwood plant will provide a sweet scent year-round.

The fun of making a secret garden is making a place that is unique to you. You are the one who gets to choose what your garden will look like and what kids of plants you will help to grow. With patience and time your plants will grow in and fill the spaces of your secret garden allowing it to become even better with time.