Now, I don’t want to make everyone jealous, but as I write this I am sitting in the lovely warm New Zealand sunshine. Whilst I’ve been away, I have been visiting gardens and other such places of interest to pick up some new design tips. We can all do this when we’re away on holiday and then re-create the holiday feeling back at home in our own gardens.
One feature that I do like to include is dense planting as a backdrop. Another useful idea to make a small garden seem bigger is curving paths leading through tall planting. This obscures your view of the rest of the garden, enticing visitors to continue along the path.
The best products to use to make curving paths are Retro brick or Tegula setts. Because they are small, they don’t require as much cutting to make curves. Retro Heather bricks are quaint in their design and so they very quickly blend in with the garden, giving the feeling that they have always been there. Dense planting can be easily obtained using evergreen Fatsia japonica, which likes shade, and the bamboo Phyllostachus aurea. This bamboo is quite well behaved and shouldn’t become too invasive, but if you only have a small area and prefer to keep it contained, cut the bottom out of a large bucket and plant it in the bucket submerged in the ground. I always like to include ground cover plants as they reduce weeding requirements later on. Another plant which can be a bit invasive is the culinary herb, mint. Personally, I don’t mind that it is a bit of a thug as it can be easily pulled out, and it smells so delicious when you walk past. Also, being evergreen, you can nip out at all times of the year and pick a bit for sauce to accompany your roast lamb, or to add to rose wine cocktails.
At the end of the garden, why not create a little oasis with a bench seat? Even a small garden would have space for a semi-circle created from Retro Heather brick. Again because of its narrow shape, it is ideal for making curves and circles with the minimum of cutting. If you’re planning on doing it yourself, and you would like to avoid as much cutting as possible, a rectangular area would look good too. A bit of planting will soon soften the edges. Who knows maybe we’ll have another heat wave this summer and I’ll think I’m back in New Zealand!