Category: Garden trends & design

Indoor outdoor plants are plants you can grow in winter as house plants, then move out onto your terrace or garden when the warmer weather comes. If you don’t have a greenhouse but want to grow plants that won’t survive your winters, then plants you can bring indoors when the weather turns are not just beautiful.…

This post will explain how to design a garden if you’re not a garden designer? Not only do you want the most beautiful garden possible, but you also need to avoid making expensive mistakes. A good garden designer can really make all the difference to your garden. But if you want to try it yourself or you…

An evergreen garden looks as good in winter as it does in summer. And taking that all gardens need maintenance, it’s also relatively easy-care. I’ve just visited a beautiful evergreen garden in Norwich, which also has some brilliantly clever touches that would suit any garden. It belongs to Roger Lloyd and Stephen Sendall. And it’s also a…

The jungle garden look takes the contemporary, lush layers of today’s houseplant-filled interiors out into the garden. This style of garden is a foliage-based green haven, with layers of plants and different leaf shapes. And you don’t have to live in a tropical country. It can be achieved in cool climates. Philip’s own garden is in South…

I’ve asked top gardeners Steve Edney and Louise Dowle for their tips on how to create an outstanding perennial border. They’ve just created one of the longest herbaceous borders in the UK – from scratch. It was a field two years ago. Now it’s a stunning, harmonious display of beautiful perennials and annuals. And they’ve experimented with grouping plants…

A rock garden was once a quintessential element in both grand and smaller British gardens. Then, like so many popular trends, they became neglected or created without any real thought or understanding. Until recently, the rock garden – or rockery – had almost disappeared from the garden designer’s palette. But a few years ago, garden centres began…

When Natalie and Mike Newman first saw their house, they were attracted by the neglected garden almost more than the house itself. It was probably laid out in Victorian or Edwardian times. At one side, massive overgrown conifers crowded into each other around a side lawn. Then there was a walled garden directly behind the house. Once…

Many of the most successful garden designs link indoor and outdoor space by using colour, materials and even furniture to create a seamless transition. Sometimes it’s called ‘blurring the boundaries’ between house and garden. Both Francine and Lisa are part of Whitstable Open Gardens, so you can see their gardens in person. They’re among the 12 Whitstable Joy…

Naturalistic planting design is based on choosing plants that grow well in your area, then repeating them to create a natural rhythm. Because the plants grow easily, it’s low maintenance gardening. And borders are based on structure and texture, rather than colour, so the garden will look good for months on end, including during the winter.…