Lifestyle
Does your garden need a refresh this spring? Have you got some blooming great ideas in mind that you’re not quite sure how to put into action?
Landscaping can come with a hefty price tag. So why not give it a go yourself ?
Grab your gardening gloves, a bright tin of paint and let your creativity go wild – your green space will thank you!
Q& A WITH… MARTIN FITTON
Transforming his garden into a Japanese-inspired haven all by himself, Martin started from scratch. But now he’s here to share his landscaping wisdom.
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1. When deciding on gardening plans, how can you really make the most out of the space that you have?
Look to achieve balance. Pay equal attention to all areas to avoid one part looking busy while others look empty. Choose features that suit the space. If you have a small garden, use ‘dwarf plants’. If you put a big plant in a small garden, you will swamp it and not achieve balance.
For big gardens, use big plants and give space around them so that the sun and air can get to it. It will also give the balance that your
Put your pen to paper and draw your dream garden out first. You can plan it out garden needs to create a wonderful view.
2. What’s the easiest landscaping design that anyone can achieve?
To create the easiest Japanese landscape, all you need to do is create a Japanese courtyard.
This contains a stone lantern, a water basin, stepping stones and a few plants.
3. How did you achieve your dream garden? How long did it take and how did you plan it?
My garden took seven years, from 2009 to 2017. Then, in 2017, I started again for another seven years.
I carried out all the work myself to save money while on a budget.
I planned my garden by starting in one area at a time. By doing this, it will give you the focus for what to do next.
4. Can you landscape on a budget? What are your best tips?
Yeah, that’s the beauty of gardens – you can create what you want!
Always look out for plant sales as you can pick up a bargain by going to your DIY retailers. Garden centres can be on the more expensive side.
Try to transform your garden yourself – there are plenty of videos on YouTube.
5. Do you have any easy step-by-step guides that we can follow?
If you want to create a Japanese style garden, there are three main elements – stone giving structure, water giving structure and plants that will give colour throughout the seasons.
Using white gravel as water, mound soil in the middle with ground to cover plants. Add rocks, Acer, dwarf pine, fern and a stone lantern, too.
Create afocal point for your garden –this may be aseating area o
