13 Argos buys to transform your small garden with minimal effort, from £12
Micro-zoning is the low maintenance design trend to know about this summer

Creating a green idyll for soaking up the sun this summer doesn’t have to mean hours of back-breaking work or acres of space. Even the smallest gardens and balconies can be transformed into colourful and comfortable places to relax and entertain.
According to The Argos Outdoor Living Report, the biggest trend for small gardens in 2026 is the ‘botanical bento box’, aka micro-zoning your garden into lots of little spaces, much like a bento box separates different foods into neat compartments.
To style the perfect bento box, Mark Lane, one of the UK’s leading gardening experts, suggests planning out “distinct spaces for dining, lounging and working to make the space feel more intentional.”
Small buys can make a big difference. We're talking mounted planters to transform blank walls, ambient lighting, and trellises for climbing plants. By drawing the eye upwards, it can make a compact space feel much larger and more dynamic”, explains Mark.
Investing in multifunctional furniture, such as storage benches and fold-down tables, can also make a smaller garden work harder without extra effort. So, to help you make the most of your outdoor space this summer, we’ve rounded up the best low-maintenance, affordable and considered buys at Argos for maximising square footage and creating your very own botanical bento box – starting from just £12.
Megan is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s senior homes and lifestyle writer. She loves diving into the latest product releases to find the very best buys on the market and has written hundreds of product reviews on everything from the best vacuum cleaners and coffee machines to the best ice cream makers and robot window cleaners.
When she’s not writing about the newest gadgets and gizmos for your home and garden, you’ll find her running every distance from 5km to 100km or relaxing at home with her cat – there really is no in between.
Megan has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously written for Stylist, Glamour, Women's Health, TimeOut, SquareMeal, and YOU magazine. You can find Megan on Instagram @meganlouisegeall.

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