Do you dream of rolling acres of parkland, a formal French parterre and a walled kitchen garden? Is the reality more along the lines of a handkerchief-sized patch of grass and two weed-filled flower beds?

Don't despair. With a little sleight of hand you, too, can have your own perfect oasis of calm. It's all in the planning...

An all-singing, all-dancing barbecue area is great for those hot summer days but, in a small garden, you may have to settle on a spot for a portable barbecue and then work out where to keep it when it's not in use during the long, cold winter months. Anyway, if you have children you'll need all the space you can get for a play area. Taking paving the full width of the garden will create an optical illusion and give the kids room to move.

To keep a lawn looking good requires a lot of work. Do you really want one? If you do, make sure there is a way of walking down the garden without having to step on the grass when it's wet or frosty.

There will be plants that you love and ones that you can live without. Be brutal; make a list of your favourite flora and then be realistic about which you have room for. Console yourself by choosing a focal point in the garden and planting one unique, flamboyant plant that calls attention to itself.

Make the garden more inviting to explore by laying stepping stones through plants in the central space and setting up sunny and shady sitting areas at either end.

Incorporate diagonals, angles and asymmetry into the design and create the illusion of depth by placing half-concealed mirrors among the plants.

Introduce variety by having changes in level - old railway sleepers are an easy construction material and don't usually need foundations.

Small gardens and containers go together. You can choose just the right soil, the right exposure and the right cultural conditions and put them exactly where you want!

Much as you may lust after that walled kitchen garden you can still feast on the fruits (and vegetables) of your own labour by planting up some of the many container-grown varieties that are now on the market.

The real beauty of a small garden is that you can keep on top of maintenance and still have time to sit and enjoy your very own estate.