Garden
Choose all-year-round green ground cover Creeping juniper, or Juniperus horizontalis, will add visual interest to the garden throughout the year. The plant is often seen in municipal planting areas due to its low-height growing habit, making it good for covering large bare areas. A good choice for the garden would be Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’, which has steel-blue foliage and turns a purple colour in colder winters. Alternatively, look for Juniperus horizontalis ‘Blue Chip’ with fine silvery blue foliage. Juniperus prefer full sun and dry conditions, otherwise they can be susceptible to blight. For a variegated evergreen leaf, look for the vigorous Euonymus fortunei ‘Harlequin’, the dwarf spindle bush, whose young white shoots turn into variegated silver-green leaves. Come winter the leaves turn a lovely pinkish-red, which will brighten up the garden.
Vinca minor (lesser periwinkle) will brighten up a shady spot and often flower – from spring well into autumn – where other plants won’t. Choose ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ for a pure white form and for a variegated leaf with violet-blue flowers, opt for Vinca minor ‘Ralph Shugert’. For a lovely deep-purple flower, opt for Vinca minor ‘Atropurpurea’. For a very vigorous larger variety, choose Vinca major ‘Variegata’, which has big blue-violet flowers and ovate leaves margined with cream.
Using sweet-smelling creeping thyme as a ground cover will help to attract bees, as well as create scented mounds to brush past. For a white form, opt for Thymus serpyllum ‘Snowdrift’. For a good bushy thyme often used in cooking, look for Thymus ‘Silver Posie’, which has white-margined leaves and pale-pink flowers. Thyme thrives in well-drained, dry, sunny positions, so make sure it doesn’t become waterlogged.
The idea was that the space should provide as much fruit and as many vegetables, herbs, soft fruit trees and cut flowers as any allotment, but that it should look like a beautiful garden. Hayward designed a parterre formation, divided by York stone pathways, with beds edged by Victorian-style rope-top edging. Beds contain plants including hardy, low-growing herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano. Seen growing over this metal arch are French and runner beans.
Because Orchard removed an old lime tree he had to add a new one to comply with The Dulwich Estate guidelines. The tree he chose, an Amelanchier lamarckii, is like a multi-stem umbrella and makes a pretty decorative statement at the front of the garden. “This tree is often referred to as ‘the garden designers’ favourite’,” says Orchard. “And with good reason, as it produces abundant blossom in spring, a nice dappled light in summer and will also provide autumn colour.”
The no-dig method ‘Fewer weeds in no dig’ is the mantra of this trend, which is championed by, among others, Charles Dowding who is considered the no dig guru, and has produced a books on the topic and runs courses from his home in Somerset. Organic gardening methods have long used the no-dig method and, in 2017, this is set to become more popular. Digging the soil is said to disrupt its structure and ecosystem, while the theory is that leaving the soil uncultivated means it grows fewer weeds. To start a no-dig bed, you can cover grass with horse manure, then cardboard, then coffee grounds, repeating this process until you have layers of organic material. As you don’t dig, any weeds are controlled by shallow hoeing and mulching and, as there’s little soil disturbance, no weed seeds are brought up, meaning they’ll decline. This method of gardening is especially beneficial for those with heavier soils.
Come to a compromise Small gardens often provoke a tough choice: paving or grass? With limited room, and the need to use what little outside space you have for drinks and alfresco meals in the warmer months, paving, tiles or decked floors often feel like the only way to go. A small patch of lawn seems like a luxury you just can’t fit in, as do large beds, which only encroach on the already limited floor space. But how about this idea – a mainly paved garden with a verdant patch growing in the middle of it? Surely the best of both worlds!
Think big You may have a pocket-sized outdoor area, but that doesn’t mean you need to treat it as such, with teeny furniture and diddy potted plants. Get some grandeur going on! This little patio in the sky has the attitude of a large and smart suburban garden – that clipped box hedging, the confident trio of pots and the matching trees elevate this space into something very stylish.
Consider the detail Once you’ve decided on materials, it’s important to consider other aspects of your patio design. For instance, think about the colour of the pointing between the slabs or bricks and the width of the joints. Also try to match new flooring with existing features. Here, the paving slabs chime with the original stone steps to create a seamless connection with the rest of the garden. Detail is key!
Grapevine ppergola Create a Mediterranean feel by extending some rustic poles from the house to grow some grapevines. In a good year, you may be able to reap the fruits of your labour, too. Good varieties for growing outdoors in Britain and Ireland are ‘Phoenix’ (green), and ‘Pinot Noir’ and ‘Regent’ (red). Make sure you locate your pergola in full sun and, as grapevines are very greedy, allow them rich, deep soil and lots of feeding.
Contemporary Patio by Stefano Marinaz Landscape Architecture Stefano Marinaz Landscape Architecture SaveEmail A row of five tall planters, handmade from clay, line the left-hand side. “They act like punctuation points along the jasmine wall,” says Marinaz. He also chose them for their height. “They are 1.2m tall,” he says. “The idea was to break up the height of the wall a bit.” So rather than go from the top of the wall to the ground with nothing to look at, there are stepped focal points, from the planters, to the sofa and then to the planting at ground level. “It’s more pleasing to the eye,” he says.
Best in full sun and grown in pots, as they like their roots restricted, these bold, architectural plants, look very at home in small urban gardens as well as in larger spaces. There are deciduous and evergreen varieties. The longest-flowering ones are the deciduous and hardier species: ‘Northern Star’, ‘Midnight Cascade’ and ‘Headbourne Hybrids’. The best evergreen is ‘Peter Pan’, a more compact variety with sparse flower heads more suited to a small container or a front of the border position; it may need winter protection.
Best in full sun and grown in pots, as they like their roots restricted, these bold, architectural plants, look very at home in small urban gardens as well as in larger spaces. There are deciduous and evergreen varieties. The longest-flowering ones are the deciduous and hardier species: ‘Northern Star’, ‘Midnight Cascade’ and ‘Headbourne Hybrids’. The best evergreen is ‘Peter Pan’, a more compact variety with sparse flower heads more suited to a small container or a front of the border position; it may need winter protection.
Japanese anemones These plants really come into their own in September and are especially good in the more shady areas of the garden. The classic white single variety ‘Honorine Jobert’ will naturalise over time and is one of the few varieties that don’t have to be staked.
looking for a shrub and burst of blue in your garden in late summer, look no further than Ceanothus ‘Autumnal Blue’. This is a reliable, upright, medium-sized evergreen plant with glossy, dark green leaves and compact oblong trusses of mid-blue flowers. ‘Autumnal Blue’ is also ideal if you want to train it across a wall or fence in a sunny position. Underplant with the pale pink semi-double Anemone x hybrida ‘Königin Charlotte’ for stunning, late summer colour.
Arbour
Trained plum trees
Lush planting on the left
Reduces overheating
Small space, controlled beds.
Curved stps add interest?
View of small hard thpe garden
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