Top 5 tips for redesigning your garden

When it comes to gardening, the Brits know how to make a small patch of grass into a wonderful burst of colour, space and exotic plant collection for many to admire. From prime time TV shows to the BBC even having it’s own dedicated websites to the subject, gardening is just part of the British way of life.

From garden gnomes to news stories of people spending more time in their shed than in the company of others It should therefore come as no surprise that the Brits have an affinity with gardening. But to a new generation of homeowners, where garden space is limited and gardening skills not quite up to previous generations standards, the thought of transforming that patch of land into something extra has become a bit of an ordeal.

Luckily, top garden exterior experts, YourGazebo are on hand to provide some tips about styling your garden to look fabulous for 2016.

1 Plan your space carefully

When you’re building an outside area, and more commonly nowadays as an extension for entertaining, you want to think of total space per person rather than of the grounds itself. So think, take on average however many people you think will be in your garden on average when entertaining and then give yourself about 4 feet per person; 6 people, 20 feet.

Remember, if you are entertaining, think about outdoor furniture and accommodate for that as well. You want to be looking at 3 square feet per piece of furniture.

2 Look up to the sky

If you’re outside a lot you want to consider the views above and around you, but you also want to shield yourself from the elements (something a gazebo can do fantastically). However, if you also want to use any structure that is specifically built for the outdoors for additional landscaping of your land, give yourself plenty of room.

Think about the height of the feature, 7ft would be sufficient but if you had any kind of plants that you wanted crawling against the posts and blossoming into bright colours, you may want to think bigger to make them stand out.

3 Grass or artificial grass

OK, most people today would still go for the natural grass option where at all possible. But maintaining your garden can be labour intensive. Hours can be spent every weekend trying to keep things looking in good working order, so have you ever considered astro turf? No, not the kind that you find adorning hockey pitches or 4G soccer stadiums, but actual artificial grass that wouldn’t look out of place in a gardening competition?

Yes, it will cost a bit more to start with but the maintenance cost and time is considerably less, plus with the finishes and ease of installation, it will look like you have a freshly mowed lawn all year round.

4 Think about your plants, growing

One of the biggest problems that people face when it comes to creating a garden space is that they don’t consider how large the newly potted plants will become. When selecting your garden plants, consider all aspects of plant growth, from how tall they may get to how much foliage may start to grow in and around the planted areas.

5 Note everything down

When it comes to planning your garden, one of the best things you can do is to actually plan your garden on a piece of paper, how you will want it to look and feel. Think about the colours you want, where you would want an entertainment area and so on. Once you’ve made the decision to create a space that you want to live in, take a sketchbook and try your best to sketch out the ideas; from there you will be able to see what is achievable and what isn’t.

These are just some tips to help when it comes to redesigning your garden, but, what do you think are some great ideas to make that dream garden come true? I would love to know.