Garden Planning

What is a Family Garden anyway?

How to hide ugly garden features

Simple design tricks and ideas to help you get the most from every garden – whatever the views!

Wouldn’t it be lovely if every part of the garden looked lovely, but sadly this is not the norm. Most gardens have an unloved area, a part of the garden you wished wasn’t there or an immovable feature that is just downright ugly. The trouble is as modern gardens are so much smaller, the ugly bits become even more noticeable. So here are some easy design tips and tricks to help hide ugly garden features such as paths, walls and fences!

Distraction – you can’t hide ugly objects in a small space. You just need to make them less noticeable.

Every garden has its bad bit, the problem arises when the bad bits become THE garden feature. So how do you reduce the negative visual impact?

With all these images, there is one common problem, one missing element that means all you end up looking at is the unattractive features. These could be concrete paths, bland paving slabs or lots of fence panels. So what is the missing element?

A ‘Look at Me Instead’ feature!

The problem with hiding large unattractive features is, what is doing the hiding has to be large as well. You simply replace one ugly element with a larger less ugly one.

Does adding a green ‘wall’ make the ugly less ugly? All that is accomplished is more attention is drawn to the one part you don’t want to notice. It becomes more noticeable because it is trying to hide something. Curiosity though, makes us look for the element that is hidden away.

A different approach is needed.

Distraction Technique Number 1 – Add something unexpected.

This is all about creating an ‘oooh what’s that’ or an ‘oh, that’s a clever idea’ response. Add something to the ugliness that is so totally different, it takes over from the ugliness behind it. And the best part is that this can be anything YOU LIKE!

Distraction Technique Number 2 – Make a big bold feature elsewhere

Now, this may seem blindingly obvious, but in a small garden, one big tall bright bold border or feature will shout and demand your attention. This is especially the case if you can add movement to the garden also. We watch things that move more than we watch things that don’t.

All you need is one small space that is just for you, where the world is ‘outside’ and you are surrounded by the things that make you happy.

So it’s all about language, if we stop trying to ‘hide ugly features’ and instead think of ways distract ourselves – we open up a world of interesting options.

Hiding the neighbour’s ugly garden wall

Whilst it would be lovely to look out of the window and see a beautiful view, the reality is that normally it’s not quite so stunning!

The remedy for many people is to plant a big dense green hedge to disguise the ugly view. The problem is that you get a dull view instead!

So let’s think a little differently, as most of you will probably already have the hedge or fence, you need to concentrate on making that more interesting. Consequently, you will not notice the hedge or the ‘neighbour’s ugly bits’ so much.

Similarly, you need to distract the eye from ugly images, by adding something interesting to look at. In the picture above, all you really notice is how tall the neighbour’s house is!

To counteract this, and to bring your eye line down to the stuff you want to notice. So now some trellis has been added that sits above the wall, climbers can then be planted to soften the harshness and dominance of the wall.

Tall planters try to re-balance the view (less brick wall, more nice wall), and then the planting is really quite bright and bold, so hopefully, you notice this much more than the house behind.

You may think why not a tree there, well, a tree tall enough to hide the wall will have roots big enough to crack the walls too – it would be too close to foundations and thus not advisable.

Hiding the neighbour’s ugly garden then involves one basic principle.

Don’t try to hide it, create a ‘look at me instead’ part of the garden. Simple eh?

Every garden needs a focus, the place you enjoy looking at. But in a small garden, how can you achieve this?

Every garden needs more than just plants, patios and grass. How to make a garden more interesting  by adding focal points. Focal points create views, garden art and sculptures can be used, but sometimes simply altering the height of a hedge can also create a more interesting feature.

What can be added to the garden that helps transform it from ordinary into extraordinary? Are there tricks garden designers use, and if so what are they? And how you can make your garden a more vibrant interesting space to be; even if the garden is small and the budget is limited.

Views and focal points

Every garden needs stuff you enjoy looking at, such as a view and or a focal point. The view channels attention toward an area where there is a focal point. The design encourages you to look toward a specific point, but does that make it interesting? And is the focal point itself ‘interesting’? Adding objects and creating a view does not automatically make any garden interesting. We first need to understand how we become interested in something.

Take this view, for example, it’s perfectly lovely, very nice etc – but is it interesting, and if not why not?

What is missing?

Understand the triggers the human brain needs to notice something, these use those triggers in a garden setting.

OK, so are you watching the video? What is it that is interesting you? The mesmerising motion, the change of the shapes, the light glinting on the shiny surfaces. This wind sculpture demands you just watch it, it captures your senses, and not just your visual sense, it sparks your imagination too.

Motion, changes of light, sound, contrasts between light and dark and noise all make you look and see what is there.

It is this emotional intrigue and NOT what the object is, that interests us.

So although the Anthony Howe wind sculpture is lovely; you don’t need something quite as spectacular to captivate your attention. How to make a garden interesting then is really all about stimulating your senses and creating emotions from those senses.

What emotions are you trying to create?

This is the part that is dependent on individual taste, only you know how you would like the garden to make you feel. It might be you need to feel detached from the busy world around you, maybe you want to feel immersed in the nature around you or perhaps you just want to feel happy! The art, sculptures, and views around the garden should reflect the emotion you seek.

For example, happy gardens don’t just need to be filled with bright colourful flowers, the garden needs to be filled with other things that make you happy too.

A view is created in the garden by drawing your attention to an area. A focal point is added to create the interest, but just adding a sculpture or an urn filled with plants for example; although nice, won’t make the garden more interesting. You need to add emotional interest.

What types of art or sculpture should be used?

The fundamental question you need to ask is how and what. WHAT emotion am you trying to evoke and HOW will this sculpture, water feature, art work help achieve that?

Clearly what interests you will not be the same as someone else, but that is part of the fun of gardening – everyone is different!

Adding features to any garden will not make it more interesting unless that feature ticks an emotional box for you. In my case, I love watching plants move more than anything else, I enjoy watching bees and insects flit amongst the plants and I love the sound of buzzing bees looking for nectar. That makes my garden interesting for me.

Once you understand why you want something; it is easier to find a solution! And there is no snobbery in gardening, you can have whatever you like in a garden – as long as you like it and its interesting!

Mirrors can add real Wow factor – but you need to understand how to use them

I have always been a lover of garden mirrors. Mirrors are a great design tool, available in every shape and size, but mostly because; a well-placed mirror in the garden can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary!  For more help and advice watch our design videos

What’s so great about garden mirrors?

Mirrors have 4 main functions in any garden;

• To reflect sunlight into dark spaces
• They add depth to a garden
• Mirrors can be used to help hide uglier objects
• The mirror itself is a piece of artwork or garden sculpture.

Having said all that though, getting a the mirror placement right can be a bit tricky and there are some rules to follow. The key point is this though, it is what the mirror does that is the important bit and not what the mirror looks like that is important.

For example, take a look at these pictures of mirrors in the garden. Which ones look the best. But more importantly, why do they look better?

Lightening darker corners

Every garden has it’s dark dingy corner and mirrors are brilliant at increasing light levels. The key to the mirror becoming a feature and not a discussion point (oh, there’s a mirror there’) is how the light is reflected back into the space.

The worst thing the mirror can reflect is direct sunshine and the sky, it will just look odd, the mirror needs to only reflect ambient light. Angle the mirror so that from your favourite seating area, the mirror will reflect back an image you want to see. Then try to conceal the edges of the mirror, it’s just the light you want to notice and not the mirror itself. This placement is almost right, the edges of the mirror need to be disguised to create a better illusion.

(image A Jones)

Adding depth to a garden

A mirror in the garden is absolutely brilliant at this, but in order for it to work well, the reflected image should as far as possible be plants and not open space.

That is because as you walk past the mirror, you or part of you will be reflected too. Motion is something we always notice, so the reflection or anyone walking past will pop out ruin the illusion.

In this image the mirror is less noticeable as an object, but it creates a gap in the wall. Sadly birds will fly through what they think is a gap killing or injuring them!

Helping to conceal ugly objects

What could be better, you hijack a nice view and reflect it in front of a not so nice view. In order to achieve this, the mirror must be large enough to conceal what’s behind. Planting around the mirror will also help divert attention, especially if the planting moves as this further breaks up the visual lines of the offending object behind.

Ideas to help you make your garden a place you can escape to – even if the world around is a noisy one.

We would all love a peaceful tranquil place to sit outside in

But humans are rather a noisy bunch sadly and so you end up with a garden noise. So how do you notice the noise less, and feel more relaxed even if the world around you may not be? This issue is especially important in urban areas when gardens are smaller and usually surrounded by sometime noisy neighbours.

Tune out the garden noise

Fortunately, we have the ability to tune out sounds if we are distracted enough. But when you go outside to sit in the garden, if there are too few distractions in the garden, you simply notice the noises outside.

Humans are blessed with 5 senses, taste, touch, sight, sound and smell. Too much emphasis is placed on the visual elements.

The part of the garden you sit in the most needs filling with plants that will hold your attention. So plants that you can touch, taste, smell, look at and listen to. Fortunately, we have created some landscaping ideas, helping you tune out that garden noise.

Then when you do sit down you can let your senses filter out the background noises. Water features are lovely too, but gentle trickling water sounds can be a distraction of another kind. So choose wisely!

Although this garden looks lovely and a lot of money has been spent creating it. There is a danger that we sanitise the garden. If we treat the garden as an outdoor room, then the decision parameters are based on interior desion and not creating a garden.

You will always notice the noise IF there is nothing to distract you from it. This contemporary garden is visually impressive, but you can’t lose yourself wandering around looking at plants or watching the trees move or the bees buzz!

What to do when the garden has become a mess or just doesn’t look very good

Muddled gardens – sadly creep up on the unsuspecting gardener, these are gardens that once followed a plan, but that over time have morphed and evolved into a bit of a muddled mess, full of overgrown plants or even worse dead ones!

This post accompanies the 2 podcast episode on Muddled Gardens.

There are two parts to consider, the design layout and the planting layout.  For more help and advice watch our design videos

Design Layout go Back to Basics

Once designs and gardens begin to get cluttered and muddled, it can become harder to ‘see’ where to start. So the best course of action is to go back to the basics and consider the minimum the garden needs to do for you.

• A place to sit
• Having a way to get to the seating area
• And something to look at once you are there.

This simplifying allows you to think through what’s really needed. The seating area needs to be where you sit out most often, and a path (if necessary) should take you straight there easily.

In terms of the border placement, just concentrate on creating one impactful ‘look at me’ border rather than try to sort everything out all at once.

Gardens and gardening takes time, it always has. This method will give you the basics back, and then once those are done, you will sit out in your favourite place and can look around and begin to re-plan how the shapes in the garden should be reworked again. Muddled gardens need unravelling, but it is always best to unravel them slowly, just like a tangled ball of string, if you unwind too quickly it simple re-tangles itself elsewhere!