A major part of garden design is understanding how plants will grow and only using plants that will be happy in the conditions they are planted in. Light, soil type and exposure to either wind, rain or sun all affect the success of planting schemes.
However, if you are new to an area, it can be quite daunting working out where to start. The best thing to do is go and visit some local gardens or simply look at what is doing well in your neighbour’s gardens. When I first moved to Norfolk from Kent, I used to visit Bressingham Gardens www.thebressinghamgardens.com and Beth Chatto Gardens www.bethchatto.co.uk Here plants thrived in the dry conditions that East Anglia is notorious for. Bressingham gardens, which was developed by Alan and Adrian Bloom, is brilliant for learning about the plants as the different varieties are labelled and I used to take hundreds of photos so I could develop my planting schemes for my garden design business.
Twenty years later in Cumbria I have done the same thing, not only to develop my own garden but to also use in planting schemes for my garden design business in Cumbria. In March I visited Holehird Gardens in Windermere. www.holehirdgardens.org.uk Again I walked around the gardens and took photos of the plants and their labels, delighted to see that many of my favourites obviously thrive in Cumbria.
However, conditions in gardens can vary and it’s important to understand your own garden. To do this you need to look at the soil and understand its structure. How fast does the water drain away or are there areas where it pools. Having a new water drainage system put in our garden, meant we had to dig trial pits and have porosity tests done. This was great for understanding the free draining nature of the soil where I live in Brampton.
You also need to understand how exposed and windy your garden is. Simply looking at the trees on my boundary showed me the direction of the wind which blows across the fields, as the branches have been shaped over the years by the direction of the prevailing wind.
So if you are starting from scratch with a new garden, or looking to renovate your existing garden, then drop me an email at [email protected] to arrange a free consultation.
