Tag: garden planning

Getting the garden in gear for the forthcoming year

by Fen Ryan, gardener and designer at Bloomingplaces

  • 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. And remember a well planned planting scheme is key too creating a garden with all year round interest.

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

For a free initial consultation call Fen on 07769651599 or email fenryan@outlook.com

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.

Design for a London garden

by Fen Ryan, gardener and designer at Bloomingplaces

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….

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.