Making the most of your garden

When you look out at your garden, what do you see? Is it an unkempt wilderness, with long grass and overgrown brush with the odd discarded piece of some plastic junk sticking out? Or a vision of a neat lawn, with attractive borders with bursts of colour in the flowerbeds? Whatever it looks like, your garden speaks to everyone who sees it about you and your personality. Its unavoidable; your garden says as much about you as do your taste in clothes.

A neat and beautiful garden can seem like an impossible task to achieve. The landscaping work, planning what looks best where to create the theme you want can be confusing and time consuming. You may think that’s work best left to people with “green fingers” and you can’t even grow a potted cactus indoors! If you’re in Greater London, not to worry, you can easily get professionals who will promise to ease your burden by providing consultancy, equipment and labour.

Home Garden provide affordable, professional, friendly and hardworking gardeners who will discuss the effect you want to achieve and offer advice on all aspects of any garden, large or small.

Here are some of the features and other aspects you may want to consider:

1. Landscaping

Landscaping is the process of shaping the surface of the ground for aesthetic effect. Before even planting the lawn, it is important to decide on the lay of the land. The effect of landscaping can probably best be seen on golf courses, especially when it comes to the fairways, bunkers and hazards. This is the stage when the overall layout of the garden is planned and laid out.

2. The Perfect Lawn

The lawn is the main feature that establishes your garden’s overall ambience. Kept healthy and well mown, the grass gives a soft carpet-like setting. The lawn doesn’t have to be rectangular either, it could be oval, circular, or have an irregular shape. It is important that the edges are well cut so the shape is clear. The edge could be lined with paving for further enhancement.

3. Paving and Ornaments

Black, grey, silver, white, brown or gold paving stones, laid out creatively, contrast beautifully with your choice of flowers. Different colours have varying effects and the choices and combinations are endless! Creativity is the key here.

Ornaments require deeper consideration. Gnomes seem to be popular, but if they’re not your cup of tea, you could have statuettes or simple pedestals or water features.

4. Flowerbeds

Flowerbeds should be a minimum of one metre deep. Evergreen ground-hugging plants are a good foundation, interspersed with colourful flowers. The evergreens reduce soil erosion and provide a background for the flowers to contrast with.

5. Plants and Contrast

You will have noticed that the word “Contrast” keeps appearing. This is because it is the whole idea when you are creating a garden. How does it look like compared to the surroundings? Different colours create a visual effect that can either be pleasanter shocking. Always keep this in mind when creating a garden. As always, it is always advisable to consult an expert when starting off for the best effects.

6. Planting for the Seasons

Different plants grow well in different seasons. This is a fact of life. Being aware what does well when gives you the benefit of having a lively and beautiful garden all year. A garden is a labour of love and you should be ready to tend to your all the time. The payoff is well worth it.

7. Boundaries 

Your garden’s boundaries are part of your garden and should be taken into consideration. They could include walls or hedges. Walls can be whitewashed and have trellises attached to support climbers. Climbers also do well with some hedges. Again, attention to detail is important here.

8. Wildlife in the Garden

Your garden will obviously attract different kinds of living thing, from insects to birds. Perhaps some hedgehogs would like to spend time there, too. You can discuss with neighbours about establishing hedgehog corridors for them to scurry through. Most colourful and fragrant flowers will attract bees and butterflies.

9. Seating Space

If you do enjoy al fresco meals, it is well worth your time to create some space to sit and enjoy your meals. Let your friends and family admire your work. There has to be enough space for everyone to sit comfortably and push their chair out without hitting anything. Plus, you must be able to walk around the table with everyone seated. Therefore, space is the major consideration.

10. Gardens for Kids

Where space is available, create space for the kids to play. Remember that your kids’ friends will probably want to come over and play in your garden. Playground equipment that blends with the garden’s theme is available aplenty and careful choosing will be required. A side note here; you will want to be good at making sandwiches and other snacks – play makes children hungry!

In Conclusion

A garden, big or tiny, is a labour of love. As the word “labour” implies, it takes work and dedication. Properly done, the rewards are well worth it. Apart from creating beauty and harmony, it is good for the environment and your mental and physical health. So go for it!