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Does the garden feel vast and exposed or small and cramped?
Are you overlooked by neighbours, or have something outside of your garden you wish you did not have to look at? Are you sick of looking at the dilapidated ‘conversion project’ double decker bus the other side of your fence?
Can you hear road traffic, or just bird song? Does your neighbour listen to the football on the radio every weekend and you would rather not?
A north facing garden will mean a patio at the back of the house will most likely be in permanent shade and might be better located further out in the garden. The spot that gets the morning sun, would make a lovely spot for having a morning coffee. The evening sun a space for dining or entertaining. Midday sun might need some shade provided to make it more pleasant to sit in, whether a garden structure or a tree. A dark corner might be the best place for the shed.
Planting large plants which obscure boundaries can make small spaces feel larger and breaking up large gardens into smaller garden rooms can make large gardens feel more intimate.
If overlooked, face any seating areas into the garden away from the prying windows, it is a simple and effective way of creating a feeling of privacy. If you have the space plant a tree to help block the view.
To distract the ears from external noise, adding a water feature with a small fountain or waterfall and planting a dense hedge can muffle road noise once mature.
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Now you have your list of requirements, observations and some solutions to potential problems you might have, now is the time to get out the pen and paper and start planning your new garden.
Roughly mark where each area can go on a plan of your garden. Then ask yourself how am I going to move through my garden from A to B to C? Are you a straight-lined kind of person, or do you prefer to meander along winding paths? Draw these lines of movement onto your plan. The spaces in between the paths and garden features can then become lawn and planting areas.
JUNE 2021 - THINGS TO DO:
New Moon - June 10th 11:53am Full Moon - June 24th 7:40pm
Start successional sowing of cut and come again salad leaves every three weeks, for a never-ending supply of leaves throughout the summer. Feed your plants once a week to get the best out of your plants, ‘Feeding Friday’ is popular in social media channels and easy to remember, liquid seaweed is great, but tomato feed will work just as well.
PLANT OF THE MONTH – ROSES Roses once had a bad reputation for being prone to pests and diseases, but not any more. Breeders have so many disease resistant varieties for every situation which will flower from May until the first frosts. Types of roses can be confusing, but to simplify things you have shrub roses, which can grow to
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between 3’ and 5’ in height, climbing roses which are ideal for growing up walls, arches or obelisks with larger flowers and less vigorous than rambling rose which are great for growing through trees. Rosa Claire Austin English climbing rose Bred by legendary rose breeder David Austin, this is named after his daughter. A repeat flowerer this will grow in shade.
Garden case study Before
Finally, I think it is nice to add an aspect of mystery to a garden, do you really want to see the whole garden at once or would you prefer to discover hidden areas when you move through your garden? Mystery can be achieved by obscuring certain views by adding trees, shrubs and planting with tall grasses or hedges, screens, and decorative panels to break the view and entice you into the garden beyond.
If you follow these tips and tricks, you will be well on your way to creating a fantastic garden which you will love spending time in. The one thing I have not covered is how to deal with level changes or sloping sites, which is a whole article in itself and I will cover in the months to come, but next month I will be talking about how to redesign an established garden which may be new to you and doesn’t match your lifestyle, or one that has become overgrown and in need of a revamp.
Garden case study – Cheltenham town house with small, cramped garden, surrounded with high walls and fences and overlooked. The brief was for a private space to sit and relax, encourage wildlife, and have a Japanese feel.
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