Think about period movies, like Jane Austen novels for instance. Remember the acres of rolling lawns and forests and hills that feature in all those mansions? Large, well-kept gardens were a status symbol back then, a sign that the owner could afford plenty of people to maintain said rolling lawns.
These days, most people prefer to have how to lay synthetic turf, Melbourne, Sydney and other such cities have little to no space within its metropolitan area for every dweller to enjoy garden space. So what little is there is usually compact. Here are some of the benefits of having a compact garden:

Easy Maintenance
As mentioned earlier, people are all about being low maintenance these days, so if the garden is not too big, they will have Sydney synthetic grass carpets to simulate the real thing. This makes it easier to care for because there will be no insects and no necessity for watering, weeding or any other gardening chore. Even if the grass is real, having a compact garden means not having to do any of the above chores too much. A couple of hours should be enough to finish off all the grooming.

Easy Changes
Having a small garden means that you can change its appearance without too much fuss. If you are suddenly into tropical plants, then you can simply bring in some large colourful flowers and plants in a pot and then make sure that the soil retains moisture. If you want to go all Zen, you can buy a bag of gravel and transform it yourself. A smaller area makes for easy change and if you take it seriously enough to change the plants according to the season, then it will still be easier to plan and do than a full sized garden.

Easy Removal
If you suddenly wake up one morning and decide that you no longer need a garden but want an extra room to your house (or would prefer a yard instead), then once again, a compact garden can be easily transformed. After removing the top layer of soil, you can pound the floor smooth, get in the foundation and simply start to build. As for a yard, the floor would benefit from concrete blocks or some form of eco-friendly matting so you can safely have a barbeque grill etc.

Easy On the Eyes
A small garden usually means that you live in a congested area where space is at a premium. Having a garden would be a luxury and having a small garden within eye reach is a sight for sore eyes. Science has proved that the eye relaxes upon spying greenery, and when surrounded by a concrete jungle like in any big metropolis, it is good to have a small patch of green in our houses.