If you are one of the many new homeowners following the UK’s property market growth, you may also be fortunate enough to find yourself with garden space for the first time. While you may be familiar with design basics for a home, gardens come with their own set of fundamentals and essential upkeep practices that, if not adhered to, can lead to overgrowth and potential property damage.
Plants, for example, play a significant role within your property and while some will actively try to invade your soil and structures, others will be important for both an ecological balance and garden integrity, such as water retention and pest control. So, before taking on your new garden space, be sure to consider the following garden design basics for your new home.
Plan Ahead
Plans are necessary for long-term success and especially so for a garden space. Before you start moving trees and digging ponds, be sure to thoroughly consider what you want to achieve. Depending on the size of your garden and the extent to which you wish to modify its design, it may also be worth consulting with a professional to ensure that your plans won’t lead to problems. Poor drainage, for example, is an issue that might not become apparent until heavy rainfall.
Think Seasonal
With more reliable weather, you are likely to begin your garden design in the summer. While there are numerous advantages to this, it is important to also consider how your aesthetics and features will handle the varied weather conditions of colder seasons. Wooden furniture might seem like an ideal asset during the summer months but if extensive rainfall is likely to occur later in the year, then it will require ongoing upkeep.
Outdoors Or Indoors?
Some climates, especially the UK’s, make enjoying a garden all year-round quite difficult since the cold and wet weather is inhospitable. Garden spaces, however, can get around this by setting up indoor spaces, such as log cabins, outdoors. As more people turn to create a private and external room in their gardens, outbuildings are not only becoming more accessible but more affordable too!
Learn Your Flora
Being able to recognise local plants is incredibly valuable for your garden and it should be undertaken by every homeowner. Being able to accurately recognise invasive and harmful species is the first line of defence against them taking ahold of your land. Some are so problematic for properties that it is a legal obligation to control and handle them, such as Japanese knotweed, while others, such as hogweed and hemlock, can cause significant and critical injury.
Design In Chapters
Even with a respectable budget, you will still be unable to achieve everything you want for your garden in a short space of time. Garden design is a slow process and requires cultivation and maturing. As such, it is important to choose which features and designs to develop now and which to develop later. By thinking in chapters, your garden will look better and be ready to enjoy earlier on.
