Creating a new garden doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch. It’s better for the budget and the planet to work with what you have to give your garden a facelift
1 SURVEY YOUR SITE
Begin by assessing the garden thoroughly. When making over an existing garden (or, indeed, starting with bare earth), knowing your site well is the best way to avoid costly mistakes such as digging into a drain or putting barrow loads of plants in the wrong spot.
If you can, get hold of a professionally drawn, scaled site plan of your property (often held by council); otherwise do a rough measure of boundaries, the house footprint, paths etc yourself. Draw these to scale (1:100 normally) then mark it up with areas that are windy, sunny, boggy or have good soil, along with the plants you want to keep, the location of services such as electricity cables and sewer pipes, and changes of level.
2 PLANTING PLAN
Take a good, long look at the existing plants in your garden before you make any changes. Waiting a few months, or ideally a year, lets you see how they perform at different times of year.
If given a good prune, that scruffy tree might actually flower beautifully, provide shade in summer or produce fruit. You may not especially like those daylilies, but they could cover that hot bank along the driveway. Think laterally. If there is only one mature tree on your site, is it worth keeping it and building the deck or terrace around it?
Keep any plants with potential in pots (large trees will often survive for months if their root ball is wrapped well in sacking and kept moist) until you decide where they could fit on your new plan. If they don’t, give them away.
3 FLOOR PLAN
Bu hikaye Your Home and Garden dergisinin March 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Your Home and Garden dergisinin March 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
GET MERRY
Everyone will go crackers about these festive dinner favourites and the delicious trimmings
A brief history of...The Lips sofa
How to straighten up and free yourself from negative behaviour patterns
BREAKING BAD HABITS
How to straighten up and free yourself from negative behaviour patterns
MOMENTS of JOY
Sue Pat's whimsical stationery cleverly captures the wonders of Christmas
GIFTS of the EARTH
An excerpt from garden and interior designer Michael Mansvelt's longawaited book Everyday Opulence
All WHITE NOW
A fresh, coastal take on the classic white Christmas starts with a backdrop of relaxed vintage style. On top, layer shades of white from rich cream to crisp snow, offset by foraged shells and coastal flora also spray painted in white, then worked into wreaths and other essential festive decor elements.
COASTAL CHRISTMAS
A writer is all about enjoying a cruisy, coastal celebration with family and friends
Happy place
A shed on the garden's edge became healing renovation project
ALL IS BRIGHT
Colour is key in Kip&Co co-founder Alex McCabe's vibrant home over the holidays
BOLD & ECLECTIC
In an excerpt from The Makers, writer Pandora Sykes' home is a cosy and chic statement in fearlessness with colour and patterns