Garden storage solutions

We always seem to have more things to store than spaces to store them in. Garden equipment, handyman tools, mowers, hoses, ropes, wires, pots, bags of fertiliser or manure, stakes, pool equipment, bikes Unless you're one of those lucky ones with oodles of space, and you can dump everything in a big shed and tuck it away out of sight behind the butler's quarters, it may well be time to get smart with your outdoor storage solutions.

"The smaller the space you have to work with the more creative you need to get with your storage options," says landscape architect John Burgess. "It becomes a matter of designing the space properly, of siting the storage facilities carefully, and considering the spaces left over once those facilities are in place."

In other words, if you've got a smallish yard you probably don't want to just go plonking an ugly grey shed in the middle of it. It will be hugely intrusive, and won't leave you with much residual space to work with afterwards.

So consider installing smaller storage spaces such as cupboards or lockers along one edge of the yard. These might be long and narrow or tall and slim, with several shelves at different heights. It's a case of trying to fit as much storage capacity into as small a space as possible. Other locations for storage, if you're really struggling for space, include underneath surfaces, such as bench seats.