Gardens come in all shapes and sizes, whether small, large, urban or rural; just like our personalities, gardens are completely individual.
As you spend more time in your summer garden, you become aware of areas that need improving or redesigning to make your space work better. But, before you start surfing the internet or pushing a trolley round your local nursery, stop, think and take time to plan. Think about how you want to use your outdoor space and how you want your garden to look? Start a Pinterest mood board to collect style ideas and remember to factor in your budget.
Consider proportion, balance and scale; what feels right? Acknowledge accessibility and how you will reach each part of your garden. Do you need to install pathways or add lighting or do you want to minimise light pollution for star gazing.
What plants and hard landscaping will feature? Do you want to grow your own food or entertain? Do you have young children who need a play space? Or do you want a little bit of everything?
Grab a pad and draw out your ideas to scale. Reuse, reduce and recycle your way to your ideal garden design. With some careful planning and thrifty ideas, you can have it all. Save money; see what you already have that can be repurposed. Test your soil then add colour, contrast and texture using plants.
Here are five aspirational garden styles that will get your creative juices flowing.
Wildlife garden
Transform a blank space into a bustling, colourful wildlife haven. Private gardens can support numerous different habitats for wildlife to live, breed and overwinter.
Plant a diverse variety of flowers, shrubs and trees to attract a wide spectrum of insects to your garden, to provide a food source for larger creatures further up the food chain like bats, birds and hedgehogs. Reduce or stop using pesticides which destroy the delicate balance of nature and harm wildlife.
Seek out peat-free plants at nurseries or save money and sow seed, propagate plants or swap plants with friends. Install a water butt to catch the rain run-off from roofs. Sow a wildflower border of pollinator-friendly flowers and grasses and if you have space add a native hedge. Planting bare root whips in autumn is cheaper than buying established hedging.
Hold the mowing! Leave patches of lawn to grow long; you will be surprised what plants have self-seeded there. Long grass supports many insects and provides a safe space for small mammals to move around. Pile up dead wood, this will create a wonderful home for mini-beasts and fungi.
Install a pond. Recycle a large watertight container, fill with rainwater and pile up stones to make access points in and out of the water, then add some suitable plants and wait for the wildlife to move in.
Although all gardens need an element of managing, wildlife gardens thrive on minimal input. Leave the soil alone, no dig will ensure precious worm and wild bee tunnels are left intact and mycorrhizal fungi can work their magic, boosting plant health.
Let me entertain you
Gardens can be social spaces; a natural extension of our homes. When the weather allows there is nothing more uplifting than leaving the confines of four walls and having a meal outside, alfresco style.
Select a sheltered spot and create an inviting den. Clever planting can separate a dining space from lawn and borders without the need for hard landscaping. There is something enchanting about spaces not being revealed in one look, but where the visitor needs to walk through the garden to find the seating area, creating a secret garden.
Define the eating area with a contrasting floor surface. Permeable paving, gravel or slate set on soil will allow rainwater to drain, but if you already have a patio add planting to soften hard surfaces.
Potted plants can really make a difference. Pots are portable so utilise tropical plants in summer knowing you can move them to a greenhouse for protection in winter. Look out for pots at charity shops or local community group websites.
Gardens take on a whole new meaning in the evening. Increase the amount of time you can spend outdoors when the sun goes down with outdoor lighting. Solar lights are a great way to add sparkle to your space but without needing an electrician to install them; charge them up in the day and bathe in light at night.
There are endless possibilities for dining area styles and if budget allows you can shop around to find the outdoor dining set that suits your design but if funds are limited buy secondhand; keep your eyes peeled on websites like Preloved, eBay or try Freecycle. It’s much better to repurpose furniture saving it from landfill.
Kitchen garden
Food is the fundamental foundation of our existence, we cannot live without it, so growing your own at home is not only satisfying but a necessity.
Turn a patch of grass over to fruit and veg beds and transform a small space into high yielding crops. Raised beds can be made from reclaimed wood but if this proves a stretch then simply cut out beds directly from the turf.
If you do not have a garden try to grow edibles on a balcony or windowsill. Many plants thrive in pots from salad leaves and tomatoes, strawberries and peppers, spinach and kale, to beetroot, carrots and even potatoes!
Grow herbs, not only do their flowers and foliage look, smell and taste divine but they are incredibly beneficial to pollinators. Perennials like sage, mint and thyme are easy to grow or sow some annuals like basil and coriander from seed.
Swap seed, plants and produce with friends and family. Eating homegrown food reduces the use of plastic packaging, saves food miles and you can choose to ensure your food is organic.
Garden sanctuary
Nature is renowned for its healing properties and ability to calm and relax our minds, reducing our stress levels, so design a quiet space that can be your personal oasis of tranquility away from hectic modern life.
Create a calm seating area, a snug to relax in the shade, without being overlooked to enjoy a book and cuppa in private surrounded by fragrant uplifting plants like rosemary and lavender.
Green is the easiest colour for our brains to process, so incorporate plenty of leafy foliage. Select a muted palette with a minimal colour scheme to stop your eyes racing from one plant to the next. Plant a tree, this will provide natural shelter, shade and depending on the variety, potentially all-year-round interest.
Humans are attracted to fires as moths are to light so add a fire pit for family and friends to sit round at night. There are endless styles to choose from or make your own from a recycled washing machine drum.
Mediterranean garden
Transform your garden into a Mediterranean garden haven. Drought tolerant plants like salvia, llychnis, phlomis, stachys and tamarisk are a good choice as our ever-increasing dry summers have us day dreaming of southern France, Italy, Spain and Greece.
Sun drenched gardens need shade so plant trees, nature’s natural protection from the elements. Evergreen olive trees, Italian cypress, Cupressus sempervirens, European fan palm, Chamaerops humilis, and Canary Island date palm, Phoenix canariensis all cope well with the UK’s mild climate or try a fruit tree such as orange, lemon or fig; all will add a holiday feel to your design.
Plant aromatic, hardy herbs like rosemary, mint, lavender and bay to bathe your senses in scent to create a sensory experience evoking calm and wellbeing. Introducing a soothing water feature will offer another element to your garden – sound.
Ditch needy lawns for a gravel garden. Apart from a little weeding, low maintenance plants such as euphorbia, santolina, nepeta, rock rose and gaura will just need watering and the occasional cut back but make sure the area has good drainage or roots may rot.
Group together terracotta pots brimming with bold, colourful pelargoniums against brightly coloured walls and escape into sun-shielded dens for some alfresco dining.
Tackle your new garden design one step at a time and you can create the perfect garden haven for your needs.
