When Stina Hasan moved to her East London home over 10 years ago, she dreamt of filling the garden with roses set within a formal structure. Now she has finally worked her way from the front to the back of this 25m x 5m plot, adding planting beds, themed zones and a greenhouse, as well as clearing out plenty of waste along the way. The garden is surrounded by large, mature trees, which create a green backdrop that makes you forget you are in the middle of the city. Stina, who is a fashion designer, enjoys the garden with her husband Simon and 10-year-old son Monty. She also shares her gardening journey on @thehackneygardener.
What was the garden like when you moved here?
Everything was kind of closing in on you - it was so dense with stuff that you couldn't really see what there was. You could tell it had been designed at some point, but not to my taste. It's 25m long, and it had that classic layout with two long beds either side and a corridor in the middle where you just walk up and down. At the back of the garden the previous owners had moved the fence forward so the last 10m was a no man's land, which had been filled up to shoulder height with rubbish. Excavating that was an absolute nightmare - we found things like power tools and paint tins that still had paint inside!
Did you have any prior gardening experience before you took on this garden?
This story is from the June 2024 edition of BBC Gardeners World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2024 edition of BBC Gardeners World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A new plot for tasty crops
Taking on a new allotment needn't be hard work. By simply following a few easy tips you can have bumper crops in no time, just like Alessandro Vitale
We love July
July is an island floating between the joy of June and the slightly fatigued month of August. It's a grown-up month: the year has shrugged off its adolescent exuberances, the weather is (hopefully) warm enough for ice cream to be one of your five a day, the sea should be swimmable without (too much) danger of hypothermia and thoughts will be of holiday shenanigans and family barbecues. School's out this month, the next tranche of glorious summer colour is washing across our borders and it's my birthday. Lots of reasons to give three rousing cheers for July!
YOUR PRUNING MONTH
Now, at the height of summer, Frances Tophill shows how to boost your plants' health and productivity with a timely cut
Hassle-free harvests
Flowers are out in abundance this month and for Jack Wallington, many of these blooms make delicious, low-effort pickings
Bite-sized bounties
Glorious doorstep harvests can easily turn into gluts, so let Rukmini Iyer's recipes help you savour every last bit
Upcycled outdoor living
Create unique and stylish garden features for minimal cost using reclaimed materials and simple DIY skills. Helen Riches shares four step-by-step projects and more inspiring eco tips
Secrets of a COLOURFUL GARDEN
Buildings and landscapes can play a vital role in supercharging your space, as Nick Bailey demonstrates
Greening up a city balcony
Looking for sustainable, small-space gardening ideas? Take inspiration from Oliver Hymans' transformed balcony garden in north-east London - now a lush, green haven for humans and wildlife
The dry and mighty garden
As we adapt our gardens to a more volatile climate, Alan Titchmarsh reveals how to create a drought-tolerant plot and picks his top plant performers
Nature knows best
Carol Klein explains how to choose plants for specific growing conditions, based on what has naturally adapted to thrive there
