Go for designs that are patterned on both sides, so you can flip them over if they start to discolour in the sun. Here, an old freestanding kitchen unit has been transformed into a place to repot plants with a few easy modifications. Start with a lick of paint, and maybe look to changing the worktop – here, a surface with a lip stops soil dropping all over the floor. Add hooks to the side so you can hang trowels and other tools for easy access. Inside, you can stash compost, pots, seeds and more, freeing up space in your shed.

  • You can buy shades like this at B&Q, or get creative and make your own garden shade ideas out of an old sail or sheet.
  • Once you’ve registered you’ll be asked for a garden name and its dimensions.
  • Audit or research would allow staff to evaluate the impact of the gardening activities, measuring it against the desired outcomes included in each resident’s individual care plan.
  • Where you can try your hand at DIY to ensure whatever you are updating is cost-effective.
  • InSmall Garden Style, garden designer Isa Hendry Eaton and lifestyle writer Jennifer Blaise Kramer show you how to use good design to create a joyful, elegant, and exciting yet compact outdoor living space.

And whatever garden furniture you buy, don’t forget to accessorise with outdoor cushions for extra comfort. Plants include verbena bonariensis, eryngiums, euphorbias, lavender, achillea, ballota, miscanthus nepalensis, pennisetum, verbena and thymus. Ensure you use permeable surfaces to allow water to be released naturally into the ground. If you don’t have room for metre-deep beds, you could place climbers at the back of the border so you can still get height in the planting.

The trends to watch from this year’s Chelsea Flower Show

Look out of your window at your garden and the biggest shape you’ll probably see is your lawn. If it’s a good, strong shape, it will set the entire garden on the right track. And remember, it doesn’t have to be a rectangle – try an oval, circle, square or oblong shape. Last year saw a rise in searches for nifty robotic lawn mowers and ride-on mowers, with the Flymo Easi Glide 300 Electric Mower being a best-seller, as revealed by price comparison service PriceRunner. “Incorporate fragrant plants such as star jasmine, sweet peas or mock orange, depending on your scent preference. I personally adore lemon-scented roses such as Rosa ‘Charles Darwin’ or Rosa ‘Vanessa Bell’.

He goes on to demonstrate how you use the 1p coin to scrape away a small patch of the bark on a branch, to determine the health of the plant. If it’s brown, it’s dead and if it’s green or white it’s still alive and well. This simple garden hack instantly tells you which plants are alive or dead. Don’t just chuck out old plastic guttering once it needs replacing, but use it as a cheap container for growing strawberry plants instead. Attach the guttering to the wall of your house or garage and arrange in lengths sat on top of each other. Not only will this make an attractive display, it will also save you from having to bend over low flower beds, and makes the plants more accessible to pick once ripe.

The gardens at Everdon Hall: How an abandoned walled garden was turned into a secluded oasis of outdoor beauty

How come the paint job it needs never lasts as long as we hope it will? So, if you’re looking for garden fence ideas, why not treat it a bit differently next time you give it a coat of wood paint. A tray of Tagetes or Antirrhinum will add instant colour to your front garden and bloom throughout the summer. Be sure to feed them weekly with tomato food in the summer keep them well watered in the heat – snip off any dead flower heads to keep them looking top notch. Simple but hugely effective, this easy make costs just a few pounds but is a smart way to bring colour to a dull wall.

Environmentally friendly gardening

In this book, David explains the hard science behind the positive effect of the humble houseplant on wellness, and provides expert tips on how to keep your plants thriving, plus shares his top 50 life-enhancing houseplants. Monty Don offers straightforward gardening advice in this book, revealing the secrets of growing vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs, while respecting the needs of the environment by gardening organically. You can also enjoy a tour of his Herefordshire garden, including his flower garden, herb garden, kitchen garden, and more. Kids love going out in the garden for some playtime but zoning an area is key, as small family gardens can often be dominated by play equipment, leaving little room for anything else. While you would need to have a large garden to install a slide or playhouse, for more restricted spaces, sand tables or mud kitchen play sets in a corner will work great, and it will entertain kids for hours. Mirrors are used to make the space feel bigger and a ‘ceiling’ created by the canopy of long-stemmed bamboos focus attention within the space and create a more intimate atmosphere.

Attach any hooks or peg rails you have lying around the house to a fence or wall to create the perfect spot to hang solar powered lights or tea light holders. To add an extra touch of style, and make it feel less budget, paint the seating area in the latest on-trend colours. Add a coffee table and outdoor lighting to welcome a touch of ambience to the sociable space. If your garden fencing is bensonfarmersmarket.org in need of repairing or painting, or your garden edging seems overly messy it can impact upon the whole space. Breathing new life into your back garden, or front garden, for that matter, doesn’t always require a landscape gardener and huge costs– as these brilliant budget garden ideas prove. Adam Frost’s practical, no-nonsense approach will help you plan and build a garden that works for you.