Plant in bulk

In a small garden, you need plants near the windows that draw the eye as you look out. Thompson favours perennials that create airy veils you can look through; think plants with naked stems such as salvias, verbenas and rudbeckia.

The classic mistake Thompson always sees in a nursery or garden centre is people with 20 plants in their trolley, but only one of everything.

“However hard it is, restrict yourself to fewer varieties, but more of them,” she advises. So instead of one lovely flower or plant, have five of them. “Put three of them together, and then two of them a little bit further away,” says Thompson. “Then repeat nearer the house, so you’ve got that sense of harmony and the eye isn’t zigzagging about.”

Have fun with bulbs

Bulbs are great for small gardens, where you can plant tiny ones into pots and have them near your kitchen window.

“Have things like Iris reticulata and muscari on a bistro table – the flowers that you’re not necessarily going to see if they’re at the end of the garden,” says Thompson.

“You can chop and change, and move things elsewhere from season to season.” And then, of course, you can plant the bulbs out in your beds: “There’s an allium for every space.”

Plant a rose

Roses are plants that Thompson returns to again and again, for their beauty. She is sure there is a rose for every garden. “They’re not as high-maintenance as people think. They can cope with hot weather, especially if they are in the ground and have sent their long tap roots down,” she says.

Blush Noisette is a small climber that doesn’t get higher than 8ft or 9ft. “It’s a great rose for a small space.”