Start by measuring the space you actually have

Most small patios in Somerset are asked to do a lot: a place to dry the washing, somewhere for the dog to sprawl, and the only spot to sit outside on a warm July evening. Before you buy anything, spend ten minutes with a tape measure and a mug of tea. Note where the sun falls between six and nine in the evening, which corner catches the wind, and where the drain runs. A patio that is two and a half metres by three behaves very differently from one that is four metres square, and knowing your numbers stops you ordering a table that leaves you shuffling sideways to reach the back door.

Mark the sunniest sheltered corner with a spare plant pot. That is your evening retreat. Everything else on the patio has to work around it.

Choose pots that earn their keep twice over

The trick with a tight space is to plant vertically as well as horizontally. Upright pots give you height near the house wall, while trailing plants soften hard edges and hide the dull bits — drain covers, uneven pointing, the join where slabs meet gravel.

• Trailing plants for height: trailing lobelia, bacopa, ivy-leafed pelargoniums and nasturtium all spill happily over the rim. A single trailing fuchsia in a tall pot will flower into October in a mild Somerset autumn.
• Something scented near the table: night-scented stock, nicotiana or a compact lavender. Evening scent matters more than daytime colour once the light goes.
• Foliage for bulk: a small bay, a clipped box ball or a hardy fern gives structure in winter when the flowering things have gone over.

Group pots in threes — one tall, one mid-height, one trailing — rather than spacing them evenly along the wall. Clustering makes a small patio feel generous and makes watering one job instead of five. Raise the tallest pot on a couple of spare slabs or an upturned crate so the planting sits closer to eye level when you are sitting down.

Keep the planting alive without a daily routine

Terracotta dries out fast; glazed or plastic pots hold moisture far better. Whichever you use, make sure there is a drainage hole and a layer of crocks at the bottom, and stand pots on feet or bricks so water can escape rather than pooling under the base.

Fill with a decent multi-purpose compost mixed with a handful of slow-release feed, then top with a gravel mulch. The gravel does three jobs: it slows evaporation, stops compost splashing onto the slabs in the rain, and makes life harder for slugs, which are a genuine consideration in a damp West Country garden. Water in the evening rather than the morning so less is lost to evaporation, and use a water butt if you have one — plants prefer rainwater and it saves dragging a can through the house.

Deadhead weekly. Ten minutes with a pair of scissors on a Friday keeps trailing plants flowering for months longer than they otherwise would.

Layer light instead of flooding it

Solar lighting has improved enormously and needs no wiring, which matters when you are renting or simply do not want an electrician round. The single most common mistake is placing panels where they never see direct sun — they will glow faintly for an hour and then give up.

• Warm white, not cool white: look for 2700K to 3000K. Cool white light makes a patio look like a car park.
• Three heights of light: stake lights low in the pots, a couple of lanterns on the table or a wall bracket, and a short string of festoon lights along a fence or the eaves above.
• One soft focal point: a single hurricane lantern with a real candle on the table beats six competing solar ornaments.

Charge panels on a south-facing windowsill or fence rail during the day if the patio itself is shaded. Bring portable lanterns inside over winter so the batteries last, and give the panels a wipe with a damp cloth once a fortnight — a surprising amount of grime builds up on them in a West Country summer.

A table that folds away when it is not needed

A wall-mounted drop-leaf table is the single best purchase for a genuinely small patio. It fixes to the wall at a comfortable height, folds flat when not in use, and gives you somewhere to put a glass without occupying floor space. If drilling into the wall is not an option, a round bistro table at around 60cm diameter seats two comfortably and can be tilted and leaned against the shed.

Pair it with folding chairs that hang on hooks in the shed or on the back of a door. Stackable stools double as side tables and plant stands when you are not sitting on them. Keep a lidded plastic box under the table or bench for cushions, a citronella candle and matches, so setting up for the evening takes a minute rather than a rummage.

Finish it so you actually use it

Add two cushions, a throw in a basket and a small outdoor rug or mat by the door — soft textures are what make a slabbed corner feel like a room rather than a yard. A folding screen or a tall pot of bamboo against the windiest side will keep a candle lit and make the space usable an hour earlier in the evening.

Then set a small ritual: sweep the slabs, light the lanterns, water the pots and sit down for twenty minutes before the washing-up. A patio of six square metres, used properly, is worth more than a lawn you never sit on.