Getting the garden in gear for the forthcoming year

by Fen Ryan, gardener and designer at Bloomingplaces

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.

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.

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.