A pocket garden may be small, but it can make a mighty impression due to its versatility. It’s attractive, yet functional. For example, a pocket garden can provide edibles, such as herbs, vegetables and fruit. It may serve as an alternative landscape that replaces thirsty turfgrass.
Or it could benefit the local ecosystem by providing food and nectar for pollinators.
Pocket gardens are much more than a design technique for small spaces. They sometimes occupy a niche in an even larger garden or landscape. The concept is simple; plants may be added in small, unexpected ways and tucked into almost any space. Pocket gardens generally serve a specific purpose and the plants in the space must serve that purpose. Examples include lining a sidewalk, hiding utility boxes or attracting hummingbirds.
Pocket gardens allow gardeners to brighten underutilized or spare spaces with pops of color and texture. For instance, planting flowers instead of grass in the “hell strip,” which is the overheated narrow space that runs between a sidewalk and the street.
Just like any other garden space, a pocket garden may include containerized plants, creative accessories, lighting, water features or hardscape elements, such as walkways. Included elements should be sized appropriately to the garden’s scale. The idea is to enhance and support the garden, not to overpower it.
Countrywide, pocket gardens are being increasingly utilized by homeowners in neighborhoods with small lots where the front yards are valued real estate worth reclaiming. They are also a notable trend in towns with tight water restrictions. These waterwise gardens are often planted with native plants including wildflowers, ornamental grasses and perennials.
Pollinator gardens are also in demand, but homeowners often struggle to find the right place for nectar and host plants in the typical lawn and foundation style landscape. Pocket gardens are the perfect solution to this dilemma. To start, carve out a small section of lawn and replace it with milkweed, native perennials and nectar-producing annuals. You may accomplish this by extending an existing foundation bed, adding a “floating island” or expanding an existing mulched bed that surrounds trees/shrubs.
A kitchen garden is suitable for pocket gardening. First, identify an unused area easily accessed from the kitchen. Create a square foot garden (2×2, 4×4, etc.) by removing turf and weeds and improving the soil. And then tuck in a few favorite herbs and veggies. A trellis or tomato cage will increase your crop capacity by adding vertical space. Learn more about square foot gardening at squarefootgardening.org.
Almost any garden hobby can be practiced in a pocket garden. Do you love creating fairy gardens? Collecting succulents? Cultivating exotic tropicals? Creating floral bouquets? The possibilities are limitless while your commitment is limited. If your interest wanes, the space is easily converted to some other type of gardening space.
On the contrary, if space is not an issue, a pocket prairie can be rewarding. It is an area devoted to native prairie plants, such as grasses and wildflowers. The “pocket” is a large area that is integrated into a bigger space, such as a large backyard. Learn more at wildflower.org.
Written and Photographed by LGMG Phyllis Webster
