Whether you have a garden for the first time, are taking up gardening as a hobby, or are just looking to do more with your outdoor space, here are some tips to help you create and care for a beautiful garden where you’ll love spending time.
Planning Your Garden
When it comes to gardening, planning is key. You need to consider the space that you have to work with and important factors such as the amount of sunlight your garden gets and which way it faces.
You might want to design a themed garden, for example, with a tropical or Mediterranean feel or you might want to stick to a certain colour or seasonal palette.
The layout of your garden will determine its success, and how easy it is to care for and maintain, so think carefully about the placement of borders, pathways and seating areas, to maximise the ways you can use your outdoor space in a way that will work best for you.
Selecting Plants
Knowing what to plant as well as where and when can be one of the trickiest things for beginner gardeners. The first step is to think about whether you want perennials or annuals.
Annuals will grow for one season, and die off in the winter. Perennials, however, will keep coming back year-on-year, each spring/summer, with some perennials continuing to bloom for around 3 or 4 years, and others still going decades later!
You’ll also want to consider when your plants will bloom, as this will affect the overall look of your garden at any particular time. Ideally, you want to create a garden that has something interesting to look at all year round by planting flower bulbs that have similar bloom times together.
What plants you choose will depend on the theme or colour scheme you’re trying to create in your garden.
A tropical feel, for example, is best achieved by lots of lush greenery, broken up by occasional pops of colour and exotic-looking flowers. Whereas a Mediterranean aesthetic involves more shaded areas, with patios, flower pots, and interesting features such as cobblestones, tiles, or water features.
You could also consider plants by the colour of their flowers. For example:
- Red: Roses, Tulips, Poppies
- Orange: Marigolds, Zinnias, Daylilies
- Yellow: Daffodils, Sunflowers, Coreopsis
- Green: Hostas, Ferns, Heucheras
- Pink: Peonies, Begonias, Phlox
- White: Daisies, Gardenias, Snowdrops
Soil Prep and Maintenance
The first step to soil preparation is understanding what type of soil you’re working with. Knowing this will make it so much easier for you to care for your plants and ensure that all your hard work pays off with healthy plants that flower beautifully.
Root rot can be an issue for gardens without proper drainage (where the soil stays wet after the ground is saturated, for example, following heavy rain.) This can be tackled by creating raised beds, using bark chippings or mulch to absorb excess water, or by leaning into the conditions in your garden and planting species that will thrive in boggy conditions, like marsh marigold and hosta.
Some gardens have the opposite problem, with dry soil and in that case, you’ll need to read the care tips for each plant and ensure you stick to a regular watering schedule.
Additional Tips
Some plants grow better together. Companion planting is a natural way of balancing out your garden and the needs of your different plants. It can help your plants grow better as they help one another. For example, strongly scented French Marigolds can deter white fly from laying their eggs on tomato plants grown nearby. While lavender attracts pollinators such as butterflies and bees, making it an excellent companion plant alongside a vegetable patch.
Don’t forget that there’s more to a beautiful garden than just plants too! Adding garden ornaments, winding pathways through your borders, or interesting features, like upcycled planters, a seating area, or a pond can transform your outdoor space, and make it feel like a true extension of your home.
