Ilse’s Small City Garden: A Green Outdoor Room with an Exotic Touch (50 m²)

A 50 m² garden, little sunlight, and plenty of views into it from the surrounding apartments: it’s not the easiest starting point for a garden. Yet over the years, Ilse has transformed it into a charming garden that suits her perfectly. With exotic plants, diagonal lines, and a keen eye for styling, the garden has developed a unique character of its own.

Ilse is an interior design blogger and the founder of InteriorTwin. On her website and Instagram, she shares inspiration for making homes more inviting and personal. That attention to atmosphere, color, and details is also reflected in her garden. She created a green outdoor space that feels just as personal as her interior. At the same time, the garden is always evolving: every year, something changes—whether it’s new plants, colors, or small adjustments.

The Garden at a Glance

📏 Area: approximately 50 m²
🏡 Type of garden: small city garden
🌥️ Location: northwest (plenty of shade)
🌿 Garden Style: Green and inviting, with an exotic touch
✨ What makes this garden special: slanted lines, an exotic atmosphere, and personal styling
🌱 Biggest challenge: Little sunlight and a lot of visibility from the surrounding apartments

Why This Small Garden Feels Larger Than It Is

As soon as you enter, it’s immediately apparent that this is not a standard rectangular city garden. Thanks to its diagonal lines, various nooks, and sightlines, the garden feels larger than its actual size of approximately 50 m².

The garden’s layout was originally designed by a landscaper. The slanted layout, in particular, was an idea that Ilse and her husband wouldn’t have come up with on their own, but one they’re still happy with. The lines give the garden a playful character and create several cozy nooks.

Over the years, they have gradually adapted the garden to suit their own tastes. They added more flower beds, more greenery, a pergola, and a green roof on the shed and the canopy. As a result, the garden has come to reflect their outdoor lifestyle more and more.

From a parking lot to an additional patio

One interesting detail is that the garden used to be smaller than it is now. Behind the garden was a parking area that belonged to the house. Since it was hardly ever used, Ilse and her husband decided to incorporate that space into the garden.

Unfortunately, because of the heavy concrete slabs underground, it wasn’t possible to plant directly in the ground at this spot. That’s why they opted for a composite deck. This created an additional seating area and gave the garden a more open, airy feel.

A shade garden calls for the right plants

The northwest-facing location makes the garden a challenge. Because of the surrounding apartment buildings, relatively little sunlight reaches the garden, and for four months of the year, no sunlight reaches it at all.

That’s why choosing plants can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. Not every plant thrives in this spot, but over the years, Ilse has gotten better and better at figuring out which varieties actually do well here.

Ilse’s Favorite Plants for a Shady Garden

🌿 Camelia (Camellia japonica)
🌿 Bellflower (Campanula)
🌿 Periwinkle (Vinca minor)
🌿 Hellebore (Helleborus orientalis)
🌿 Shoemaker's Plant (Bergenia cordifolia)
🌿 Ferns
🌿 Finger Plant (Fatsia japonica)

The combination of these plants creates a variety of leaf shapes and results in a garden that remains interesting even without much sun.

Creating Privacy in the City

In addition to the limited amount of sunlight, privacy is also a key consideration. Because the apartments surround the garden, ensuring privacy from view was a challenge. Planting and clever design solutions have been used to create more privacy. A cherry laurel and a globe catalpa provide height, while the overgrown pergola and canopy create a pleasant, sheltered spot to sit.

Ilse especially enjoys spending time under the canopy. From the lounge sofa, she looks out over the greenery, and the garden feels much more like a peaceful outdoor room than a city garden near the center.

An exotic atmosphere in a small garden

Although the garden gets little sun, it has a warm feel to it. Ilse and her husband love plants with an exotic touch, and that’s clearly reflected in the landscaping.

The Chinese fan palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) is a real eye-catcher. Next to it are a fig tree (Ficus carica), an olive tree (Olea europaea), Tuscan jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), and a grapevine (Vitis) growing over the pergola.

The garden wasn’t laid out according to a strict planting plan. Many of the plants were chosen simply because Ilse and her husband like them. After that, it’s mainly a matter of seeing what thrives in that specific spot. For them, that experimentation is truly part of the joy of gardening.

The Garden as an Extension of the Interior

For Ilse, styling doesn't stop at the back door. As an interior design blogger, she pays a lot of attention to the atmosphere in the garden.

For example, the fence and canopy were painted a warm beige color, and later the concrete blocks along the flower beds were painted as well. This gave the garden a more serene and cohesive look. The accessories also change regularly. Ilse makes the covers for the garden cushions herself, and over the years they’ve featured various fabrics and colors. With small adjustments, the garden looks just a little different every year.

A garden that's always changing

Ilse’s garden is never quite finished. That’s exactly what makes it so personal. Since it was first laid out, small changes have been made over time: tiles gave way to greenery, the plantings were expanded, pots were replaced, and new elements were added. She even found (just enough) space next to the front door for a (now) large Tuscan jasmine.

In the future, Ilse would like to replace even more paved areas with greenery. She also has a new project in the works: the ivy will be replaced by climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris). An earlier attempt didn’t work out, but Ilse now has much more gardening experience and has a better understanding of the conditions plants need. That’s why the climbing hydrangea is getting another chance.

This urban garden shows that even a small garden with little sunlight offers plenty of possibilities. By carefully assessing the space, choosing the right plants, and leaving room for change, you can create a garden that grows to better suit the people who enjoy it.

What Inspires Us About Ilse's Garden

Ilse’s garden shows how a garden gradually takes on a more personal character over the years. By experimenting with plants, colors, and styling, you can create a garden with a unique atmosphere. Here are some ideas from Ilse’s garden that you can also apply to your own small garden:

✨ Diagonal lines give a small garden a surprisingly spacious layout
✨ A subtle color scheme really brings out the beauty of green
✨ Trees and climbing plants provide more privacy
✨ Even a shaded garden can have an exotic feel
✨ A garden doesn't have to be finished all at once

You can find more inspiration at My Little Garden or view all Gardens up to 60 m²