Tag: garden design

Gardens for Good

by Fen Ryan gardener and designer at Bloomingplaces

Early signs of spring and what’s in bloom now

February is well on its way and the signs of early spring are already appearing day after day all around us, with the appearance of snowdrops, daffodils and the sprouting of muscari bulbs. Now is the time to give the neglected garden some love.

For a border that performs all year round, alongside spring flowering bulbs, you can also plant winter flowering shrubs like viburnum, skimmia, helebores and corms such as cyclamen. Now is a good time to get these in if you want to develop a garden to attract pollinators and one that is full of life and interest throughout the year.

A well planned garden will result in a continuous succession of blooming plants that will perform year upon year attracting pollinator and insects.

What you choose to plant and where you plant it contributes to creating a garden with great bio diversity and a pleasing aesthetic that is resilient and sustainable.

What to Plant now

It is not too late to get some instant spring interest into your garden as this can be done with the addition of seasonal planters and window boxes filled with frost hardy plants. As the season moves the bulbs and plants can be moved to the borders and with thoughtful positioning will continue to perform year upon year. There is also some time left to plant trees, winter shrubs and move mature specimens

Seasonal jobs for now

The birds are about in abundance, singing their hearts out to attract a mate to settle and nest with in Spring. Now is the best time to get larger shrubs, trees and mature climbers cut back so as not to disturb the nesting once it begins. Add a bird box and bath alongside some feeders to the garden to attract the birds in.

  • cut back mature shrubs, trees and climbing plants
  • plant root ball hedging and trees
  • plant winter shrubs
  • plant flowering spring bulbs
  • cut back ornamental grasses
  • add in a bird box, bath and feeder

What to plan now

If you are thinking of planning or developing your garden this year, or wish to simply enjoy it during warmer days, planning ahead is important. Getting the right jobs get done during dormancy ensures the least disruption and offers maximum potential for developing a garden to enjoy all year. Starting now means you can

  • Develop a functional layout with minimum disruption
  • Plant up the evergreen structure for all year round interest
  • Develop layered planting schemes to develop bio diversity in the garden
  • Plant already in bloom winter and spring plants to add seasonal interest
Patio garden

Now is a good time for planning space and adding structural evergreen planting

layout for a small patio garden

It all begins with a seed

THE IMPORTANT THING IS SOMEHOW TO BEING

CONTACT

Transformation with a little imagination

by Fen Ryan, gardener and designer at Bloomingplaces

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, gardener and designer at Bloomingplaces

Create a sense of seclusion in the garden

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

by Fen Ryan, gardener and designer at Bloomingplaces

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

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.

Pretty as a Picture Patio

by Fen Ryan, gardener and design at Bloomingplaces

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. Covering the wall and giving an immersive experience whilst you are seated.

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.

shake off those winter blues

Well the garden is pretty quiet this time of year apart from the snowdrops dainty pretty heads bopping about, and the “how does it do it in the middle of winter” hellebore blooming it’s head off interspersed with the occassional early appearance of a primrose. It’s also an exciting time of year thinking about what lies beneath and what is to come.  With winter dormancy comes a chance to clear up, trim up, think of the big picture and sort out the detail with the future envisaged.  Where do those spring and summer bulbs need to be popping up from and what would look fabulous where.  Sketch it, draw it, write it down for later.  Next autumn is when you can get your bulbs in for the following year or pop a few ready grown bulbs where required in place for this spring.

Hellebore                                                                          

Snowdrop

 

 

Plant them in until you are brave enough to go out!

read on for some magical inspiration………

In the fairy garden
“If you believe in fairies then what you see here is real, If the sight of one eludes you just stop, stand still and feel
the gentle breeze as it goes lapping past your eyes, the soft damp dew upon your nose, it’s fairy dust did you realise

Smell the air it’s always full of sweet perfume you know, its left behind lingering around by fairies as they go
close your eyes imagine the magic they can do, then jump right up go on your way and know that you can too”     fen – inspired by my little niece Isabelle 2010