Author: Fen

tinybloomingplaces was set up by Fen, designer of sustainable and naturalistic small outside spaces, to spark your imagination and inspire you to get stuck into the garden to create your very own piece of paradise giving you endless hours of therapy, pleasure and escapism from the pressures of modern life in a big city. The ongoing legacy of a beautifully designed garden will be yours to enjoy for a lifetime. Discover the healing power of nature. If you don't know where to start and just get in touch, I offer full design service and design your own garden workshops. The important thing is somehow to begin. Full design, plan and build service available.

Getting the garden in gear for the forthcoming year

February 2025

  • summer blooms
  • outside dining
  • relaxation zone
  • textured planting
  • evergreen shading
  • spring scents

We’ve all done it, looking endlessly at the garden during a balmy summer day and wishing it could look like the place you see in your minds eye. You may have an aspiration for your garden but it may need aligning with the possibilities of the space. Taking up a consultation with a designer will allow an assessment of your site which will pull together a brief that will ensure you end up with a functional, beautiful design, bespoke to your space, making your dream a reality. Dream the design now design that dream.

  • colour scheme
  • layout
  • textures

To get the garden to its best possible end result, during the consultation the designer will look at all the elements that need to come together to give the structure and functionality that go towards developing a lush, evergreen, usable space. Hardscaping in the right places, created with carefully chosen materials, alongside plants, that will be chosen for their suitability to the site as well as their structural form, contrast shapes as well as scent. A mix of perennials and evergreens will take the garden through the seasons giving it a vibrant, lush outlook throughout the year. Soft flowers against an evergreen backdrop creating a space to enjoy from day into night.

  • ferns
  • spring colour
  • scent
  • winter interest
  • spring colours primrose
  • skimmia
  • movement

Your garden may just need some tweaking to get it where it needs to be and February is a fantastic time to set the scene in the garden for what is to come for the rest of the year. Its the right time to move existing shrubs/plants whilst they are dormant, putting in bare root perennials for later in the season and popping in sprouting spring perennials bulbs for spring scent and colour. Its the perfect time to either start on maintenance and cleaning up your existing garden before spring bursts forth or to get the wheels in motion to get design layout plans started for early building and plant planning so the garden is ready to enjoy as soon as the warmer months arrive.

Get your garden in gear, don’t leave it for another year.

Autumn Borders

by Fen @tinybloomingplaces September 2024

A feathery autumnal touch for the borders; grasses and self seeding perennials

Time to plant

Often the garden starts to tire as September approaches but it is not the time to “give up”. With our milder weather season extending well into September and beyond there are still many moments to be enjoyed from the garden. September is the perfect time not only to move existing plants to a different location, if required, but it is also a great time to add autumn colour to the border, whilst stock is available, extending the season and enjoyment for the months ahead. It is a window of opportunity not to be missed.

Layers of textured foliage and subtle colour make for a beautiful autumn border

Perennial plants that have not fared well can be moved to a different location before they disappear into a winter slumber. This is the best time for them to establish their roots in a new location so they will perform better the following year. Plants offering autumn interest can also be added to extend the garden display late into the year. Autumn is the perfect time to alter, adjust and add to borders, whilst bearing in mind next years performance.

Deep purple hues from foliage with deep pink flowers contrast wonderfully with light green foliage and lime flowers. All set against a feathery orange tinged background

Choosing Plants

Choosing perennials that will come back year upon year will ensure the garden matures and performs annually giving remarkable displays for every season.

Choosing a small selection of plants, considering texture, colour and height will give a desired look and feel to the border. Planting en masse will ensure an eye catching and effective display. Make sure you take on board the orientation of the border before choosing plants

Planting en masse for a naturalistic feel

September is not the end of the gardening season. It is a great time for getting ahead of the game. Planning and planting borders in September and October ensures plants can be acquired that are giving a great display at that time of year and on into late autumn/winter. It also allows consideration for and inclusion (or moving/removal) of existing plants within the border to ensure an aesthetically pleasing planting scheme is achieved. It is by far the best time to plant up a garden to ensure interest and longevity across the seasons.

Window boxes are not just for summer

Having spent lots of years and endless money on plants to add seasonal window boxes, to dress the front of the house, I finally decided enough is enough and went about creating the perfect window box that would require, minimum maintenance yet give all year round seasonal interest, and give relief from the task of having to re-plant window boxes every season and every year. The tinybloomingplaces signature window box was born.

The base plant for the box consists of a winter hardy, trailing evergreen, yellow flowering sedum with wonderful glossy green leaves that grow and spill over the planter. the sedums perform all year flowering prolifically from early spring through to summer.

Sedum: Yellow flowers in spring, all year round green glossy leaves

The glossy leaf sedum forms a lovely backdrop to the next arrival, the yellow narcissi, which will pop through in February and stay through to early spring.

Narcissi: early spring colour, flowering every year

These are closely followed by the purple hyacinths for late spring.

Muscari: or grape hyacinth, spring flowering every year

Next there is the arrival of a deep red geranium coupled with purple lavender and this lets me know we are truly into summer.

Geranium and Lavender: the perfect summer couple, flowering year upon year

Once the summer flowers fade some pretty white cyclamen are ready to take their place, centre stage, and bloom from autumn right through to early spring. The Cyclamen with their white flowers and silvery green leaf make a lovely winter scene, set against the remaining silver leaf of the lavender (this remains all year after the purple scented flowers have gone) and the green glossy leaves of the sedum (that remain throughout the year). They have a long flowering period and are perfect for keeping the momentum going until the arrival of the narcissi again in Spring.

Cyclamen, flowering from autumn into winter

The combination also looks great in larger containers and planters that can be added to the front garden to give joy and keep flower and plant interest going all year round. The choice of colour can also be changed to suit individual taste. The container has been developed specifically to be tolerant to dry periods and not droop on a hot summer day, give all year round interest and repeat flower year upon year.

All of these plants and bulbs are put in together in one box or planter to give an effortless, low maintenance all year round display.

Transformation with a little imagination

Before & After

An almost empty border, a low fence with a view directly into the neighbours house meant the owners of this south west London garden called for an immediate resolution. With the rest of the garden already planted and very mature, the legacy of the previous owner, and the new owner wishing for low maintenance, as they knew very little about looking after plants, I had to find a resolution for the border with planting that would work with the rest of the already planted garden. I felt the resolution had to be one using mature and semi mature plant specimens that would grow into their space but would also make an instant impact, they would also need to be hardy and evergreen to provide screening and once fully matured, be happy with minimal maintenance.

The planting was done in staggered layers to give depth to the border. This also ensured that all gaps would be fully covered up as the plants matured. Planting in a straight line just doesn’t look aesthetically pleasing

The contrast of leaf shape and shade gives interest to the space.

The larger mature laurels to the back made an instant impact on privacy

And just like a fine vintage wine this border will grow and mature and become even more impressive as the years go by.

A few pretty, easy to maintain pots with all year round interest popped on the patio adding a splash of colour

An another empty corner filled with evergreen, flowering and scented shrubs to give spring and summer joy as well as all year round interest.

Happy days, the garden is summer ready!

Garden Design Ideas for a small space

Fen Ryan,

14 April 2024

Create a sense of isolation in a tiny garden space

The home & garden should compliment each other. So connecting design elements, from the architecture of the house and the style of its interior, with the garden is key to creating a designed look and feel to your garden. This can be done using colours, patterns, plants as well as form or lines and will ensure a successfully designed garden individual and unique to your home.

Unify with colour

These elements can be introduced through the correct selection of hard and soft landscaping, plants, furniture, pots, fences and ground surfaces. A unique bespoke feel can be enhanced by connecting the colour of different elements of the house such as downpipes, windows and doors to garden to the garden hardware such as furniture, fences and pots. The choice of materials for patios and surface covering in the gardens can also be connected to the house interior and chosen to compliment and contrast.

The overall looked can be enhanced by mixing and matching textures, using materials or tones to create textural interest. Texture is key to making a space feel characterful, rich and unique.

Introduce textural interest with planting

Introducing plants with interesting leaves helps bring lots of texture into the planting. Knowing light levels soil and consideration of looking after plants in the longer term are all important things to consider when making plant choice in order to ensure longevity of a garden that looks good. Surroundings and environment should be taken into consideration to ensure a garden will thrive in the longer term.

Small City Gardens

Having a small garden doesn’t mean you have to think small when it comes to plants

Fen Ryan January 20th 2024

Space is often limited in London gardens but they don’t have to feel small or tight if you plan them well.

The owner of this London garden inherited a mess, it measured just 15sq metres, with mixed boundaries and was covered in a mix of paved concrete slabs and a shabby lawn. The owners, a young couple who loved plants, wanted a green, multi-functional space to entertain and relax in.

INCORPORATING LARGE PLANTS HELPS TRICK YOUR MIND AND EYE INTO BELIEVING A SMALL GARDEN IS LARGER THAN IT IS

Despite having such a small space to work with I decided to go big with the trees and managed to squeeze in quite a number of large trees.

Four evergreen Magnolia grandiflora, chosen for their interesting large, dark green, glossy leaves and beautiful spring flowers, flank the dining area. They provide privacy as well as the ultimate feeling of being immersed in nature whilst dining outside. I also chose a selection of large specimen, evergreen shrubs and trees, with varying leaf shape to add interest and all year round foliage. A selection of large pots were also planted with flowering plants to give seasonal interest and a sheet of gently cascading water was added as a feature to the back wall, adding soothing sound to the urban garden.

Materials were chosen to compliment the fabric of the house and its interior. The natural limestone paving used to develop the interlinking patios complimenting the brickwork of the house and the horizontal panelled fencing acting a a contrast to soften the space and create a retreat into nature.

The simple colour palette of light wood, green and natural limestone blend with the house making it a unified space.

There is space for a table and chairs large enough to entertain at, surrounded by trees giving a feeling of seclusion and privacy rare in an urban space where gardens are so often overlooked.

There is a space to lounge, set amongst the shade of evergreen specimen plants, that also act to give seclusion.

Big plants, bespoke items, different textures and bringing the plants close to the house and seating areas, all contribute to the overall success in creating this urban garden, making it feel unique to its owners, individual in design and a tranquil and relaxing space to enjoy all year round.

Design for a London garden

The right design for a garden will deliver a well planned layout, creating areas that are tailored for use that works with lifestyle. Gardens can be both functional and stylish and are now firmly established and known as the outside room. A garden provides a house with….

Let There Be Life

                                                          THE WINTER GARDEN

alternative christmas baubles

SOLANUM Pseudocapsicum planted in pots and containers. Starting as a tiny white flower turning to an orange ball, will add some lovely colour to a sheltered spot in hanging pots or containers.

 

“Anyone can be a gardener this time of year” a friend of mind once said this to me as I helped her choose some plants for her summer garden. “but the difference is you know how to be a gardener all year round”  These kind and generous words still resonate with me almost twenty years later as I help plan and design outside spaces for others.

No need for the garden to be a dank, grey place to look upon this time of year, there doesn’t need to be a break from great flower displays.  The winter garden, if planned correctly, will delight us just as much as the summer garden and here is a few ideas about how you can achieve this.

 

IMG_3937

THE SNOWDROPS HAVE ALREADY RAISED THEIR HEADS THROUGH MY GARDEN LAWN

SNOWDROPS
Planting Idea: At the end of spring plant snowdrop bulbs in close groups of three to our into the lawn. Space out each group by about six to eight inches covering the entire area. Your reward – a carpet of white covers the lawn from mid January to mid February every year.

 

CYCLAMEN
Plant in clusters underneath trees or to carpet woodland areas in your garden. They also look pretty in containers, beneath a bay tree or other small tree and will come up year after year.

 

HELEBORES
This plant produces beautiful big flowers, plant outside in abundance to create wonderful winter borders.

 

 

frosty winter scene

WHITE HEATHER in a terracotta pot on the patio

Prune winter heathers back to green (never to the woodu stalks)  in spring to produce more flowers the following winter

 

 

 

Pretty as a Picture Patio

pretty as a picture patio

Pick a corner, any corner of your garden and create instant interest and the perfect place to sit and here’s how:

 

Step one

Take a wall hanging basket and fill it with flowers of your choice, add trailers to the front of the wall hanging basket. They will drop down to meet the main feature plant growing up from the large planter placed below this.

hydrenga and hanging basket

 

Step Two

Place a large pot of the prolific blooming hydrenga, shown above, or another large pot of flowers or flowering shrub of you choice beneath the wall hanging basket

alium family

Step 3

Add smaller pots, so as not to overshadow the main feature plant, to each side of the main feature pot.  Plant these up with tall growing flowering plants such as this Allium above. These will help cover/conceal the wall/fence backdrop and give you a sense of being immersed in the garden.

 

hydrenga patio

Step 4

To create another layer add smaller pots to the front of the arrangement.

hydrenga patio and garden

 

Step 5

Add in your garden furniture, a couple of chairs, a bench, a small side table whatever you have room for.

 

And there you have it in five easy steps your perfect summer patio planted up. Now you can really get amongst it and enjoy summer on the patio.

Living is easy

painted rocks.jpg

 

Living is easy when you apply some simple rules…………….  So many of us believe we are lovely, kind nice human beings.  We mainly apply this way of living to our lives, until that is we come across another human being we don’t agree with.  If each one of us applies some simple basic rules to our lives and follow the rules about what we say we believe in I can only imagine the world being a much pleasanter place to live in.

Add some love to your garden by painting some simple messages about what you believe in and pop them into your patio pots placed in your front porch.  Food for thought for every friend or stranger who passes your way.

Flutterby Butterfly

butterfly5

Its nearly the end of November but in the height of the midday day sun I spotted this beautiful creature in the garden.  So not expecting this on a winters day but so delightful to see.

butterfly6

 

 

 

Flutterby Butterfly

Into a field of buttercups

Soak it up

have your sup

Drink it in fill your cup

Enjoy enjoy on an up

Radiate the colour

Pass round the joy

Everything surrounding

Feels like it can fly

Harmony it resonates

And puts us in a higher place