Garden designer Tabi Jackson Gee shares the easy tricks garden designers use to get colour into gardens – all year round
With changing climates and lifestyles, many of us are expecting more from our gardens than ever before. From wintry fireside gatherings to spring alfresco lunches, they need to work harder to look good all year round. With that comes a new set of gardening jobs to think about, as well as new plants to acquaint yourself with. But, never fear, we have rounded up a whole host of tips to make this stress free – and none should add much to your to-do list, either. This is about achieving year-round colour without having to break the bank or spend hours in the garden every day.
We are used to gardens being a summer thing, but we need to consider the rest of the year too. How do you design a garden that looks alive, and full with colour all year round? From evergreen shrubs to seasonal bulbs, here, we’ve outlined the many ways you can have a colourful garden from January to December.
Getting started
When doing anything in your garden, it’s best to start with the essentials. There are certain conditions that need to be observed and noted over time, in order for us to get the most out of our gardens. The key ones are: light, weather conditions, temperature and soil type (see Know your soil type!, p90).
Next, be realistic about how much maintenance you can (and want to) do. For your garden to thrive and with a succession of colour all through the year, you will probably need to put aside a couple of hours a week in spring/summer to take care of it. If you have less time, choose fewer, bigger plants that have long seasons of interest. When you’ve made a note of all of these factors, it’s time to start planning your garden. Take a piece of paper and jot down existing plants, where the sun goes throughout the day, where any wet patches or dry patches are – and get ready to start scheming.
How to plan
It may be useful to draw up a calendar when planning your year of colour, then you can start to plot into that calendar which plants you like and research when they will flower. If you are particularly fond of spring, for example, then maybe you want to go big on cherries and other spring blossoming trees, as well as bulbs such as narcissus, tulips and alliums.
You’ll notice when you do this where some plants cross over, either when their foliage starts growing or flowers bloom. The key is to think about the succession of the plants in your garden – they will be appearing and flourishing
