First-time Gardener

Collins

first-time gardener

A step-by-step guide for the gardening novice

Kim Wilde

Copyright

First published in 2006 by

Collins, an imprint of

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

The Collins website address is:

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Collins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

This paperback edition published in 2008

Text © 2006 Wildeflower Ltd

Editorial, pictures and design © 2006 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd except for pictures credited here.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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Photographer: Nikki English

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For HarperCollins

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Kim Wilde herby asserts her moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

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Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

PART 1: Gardening basics

What makes a good garden?

Aspect and light

Climate and weather

Soil

Basic botany

PART 2: Planning your garden

Assessing your requirements

Choosing a garden style

Drawing and developing a plan

The essentials of good garden design

Garden shapes and solutions

Typical problems and solutions

PART 3: Garden structure

Getting started

Choosing your materials

Boundaries

Patios and paths

Lighting

Water features

Raised beds

Pergolas, arbours and arches

Garden seating

Hardscape decoration

PART 4: Garden plants

Let the plants do the talking

Planning your planting

Form and texture

Colour, colour, colour!

Good planting

Containers

Spring containers

Summer containers

Winter containers

PART 5: Garden techniques

First things first

Organic gardening

Controlling pests and diseases

Forking and digging

Composting

Sowing seeds outdoors

Sowing seeds indoors

Planting annuals, perennials and shrubs

Planting trees

Laying turf

Watering

Feeding organically

Pruning and training

Propagating

Overwintering

Growing edibles

PART 6: Reference

The gardener’s calendar: spring

The gardener’s calendar: summer

The gardener’s calendar: autumn

The gardener’s calendar: winter

Kim’s recommended plants

Glossary

Acknowledgments

About the Publisher

Introduction

Gardening for me began as a therapy, a way to restore myself from a hectic schedule of travelling and performing. I vividly remember returning from a working trip abroad still dressed in tight black trousers and a shoulder-padded jacket and going straight out into the garden to train my pyracantha. I haven’t changed much and still often garden in completely inappropriate clothing such as nightdresses and platform mules! Now, as a busy working parent, my garden has never been so essential and has most definitely saved my sanity on more than one occasion. In our increasingly stressful and busy lives, a place to relax and re-charge our batteries is more and more important; modern living often sets a pace that can wear people down. A leafy sanctuary provides the perfect antidote, somewhere that offers peace and tranquillity, a place to unwind and share quality time with family and friends.

Gardens are not only good for the spirit, but good for the environment too. Plants absorb atmospheric pollutants as they produce food for themselves to grow, a process called photosynthesis, which at the same time releases oxygen back into the atmosphere. Plants also encourage wildlife, whose natural habitats are increasingly under threat from modern living. The simple pleasure of seeing birds, squirrels and ladybirds in the garden must not be underestimated. While being close to nature has a positive impact on our mental health, our gardens can become havens for wildlife, providing them with food, water and shelter without making any compromises to a chosen garden design.

The educational value of gardening should not be underestimated either, and schools are increasingly incorporating it into their teaching, often by creating wildlife or sensory gardens. In fact, I strongly believe that gardening for children is a natural; I’ve never come across a child yet who wasn’t completely entranced by a pot of garden soil! Encouraging them to appreciate their natural world is a greater gift than any bought in a toy shop. Research shows that gardening can no longer be treated as a trivial pursuit, but instead it can be used as a valuable tool in helping vulnerable adults overcome a wide range of health and social problems by boosting their self-esteem and confidence.

Gardening not only provides the feel-good factor, but is a wonderful way to exercise. Of course, by this I don’t mean a gentle potter in and out of the shed. Like all moderate cardiovascular exercise, it can help lower blood pressure and even heart disease and strokes. Just being out in the sunshine helps the body to make vitamin D, which is essential for healthy bones.

First-time gardening

First of all decide what your level of commitment is. Do you have the budget and the energy for a whole garden makeover, or do you simply want to make the best of what you’ve got? Write down your garden wish list, not forgetting to include the more practical elements like where the shed or the washing line goes, but don’t restrict your imagination.

Think, too, about how you would like to style your garden. For instance, if you live in the country, you could reflect the natural, rural surroundings by using timber fencing, old bricks and rustic arches, setting the perfect stage for roses, lavender and marigolds. Urban homes often suit garden styles that reflect the design and materials of the house, and perhaps the use of ‘architectural’ plants with strong place and presence; very small urban gardens may even reflect the styling from within the house.

I wanted my own garden to have a more formal design close to the house so I planted clipped box balls and used reclaimed York stone and granite setts for the hard landscaping. I also made a small formal herb garden close to the kitchen’s back door (within easy grabbing distance from the plot to the pot!). Further away from the house, gravel paths meander and ornamental grasses and daisy-like flowers, such as echinacea, are planted informally, reflecting the natural style of the surrounding meadows. Ultimately, styling a garden is a very personal choice, but always take into account the location, the site and the style of the house.

Measure your garden and take time to experiment with different design ideas using simple shapes, remembering that strong design does not have to be complicated. Small gardens often suit a more formal design than an informal one, perhaps using simple shapes such as squares and circles. Setting a design at 45 degrees to the house is a tried and tested design option that encourages the eye to move from left to right, creating a space that feels much bigger than it actually is. Also think about incorporating a change in level to create interest; pergolas and arches to add height; potential seating areas to enjoy different parts of your garden; perhaps a simple water feature.

It may seem to the first-time gardener that there really is far too much to have to take into consideration, and this is exactly how I felt when I started. But don’t be discouraged if the pieces of the puzzle don’t fit together as quickly as you would like. The first steps of any pursuit are always the hardest – remember learning to drive?

I have loved writing this book and sincerely hope that anyone reading it will start their own personal journey into a magical and absorbing world. I have made many good friends along the way who have shared my love of plants and gardens and I dedicate this book to them.

Part 1

GARDENING BASICS

A garden can transform the quality of your life and that of your friends and family. We all have memories of gardens as children, perhaps an apple tree, Grandma’s roses or the smell of freshly mown grass. Whether you have just a small window box or a larger garden space, you can discover the gardener in you, the gardener that I believe lives within us all. Creating your garden can be a very personal and exciting journey, and armed with some gardening basics we can all have our own personal Eden.

Garden Picture Library/Ron Sutherland

This picture shows how good design doesn’t have to be complicated. Here a rectangle and semi-circle form the basis for a stylish urban garden. The space has been divided into rooms with the use of trellis, which together with the planted containers, provides height and helps screen the seating area and lawn from each other.

What makes a good garden?

We all have our own idea of what would be our perfect garden. I know that many times I have visited gardens and thought how wonderful they are. I often looked in awe at these lovely creations and thought how difficult it would be to design such a garden for myself. Remember, however, that beauty is in the eye of the beholder – garden design is entirely a personal matter. No two of us are exactly the same and it is in that difference that we find appreciation, enjoyment and pleasure. So whatever your particular aesthetic leaning, be confident to set out to achieve the look that pleases you. If it is right for you, then who can say it is wrong?

If you begin to look closely at what a garden is, how it has been constructed and also understand how it works, then creating your own great garden begins to become a real possibility. We can all learn a lot by visiting other gardens, and looking at how they are planned and arranged. We can then apply those principles to our own garden space. You will be surprised at what encouragement and inspiration you will pick up from other gardens. Don’t just visit large, splendid gardens, many good ideas and inspirations can be had from just taking a stroll through your local neighbourhood. Not only is there the opportunity of picking up some good ideas, you will also begin to learn about which plants grow well in your particular area. Just as importantly, you will see those that struggle to survive and so you will be able to decide whether or not they will even be a part of your planting plan.

Books and magazines are also packed with inspiration. Magazines in particular are great for cutting out pictures of gardens, favourite plants and planting schemes that appeal to you, all of which can be kept. Why not start a seasonal profile, cutting out images of plants that look good at different times of the year, to help you plan for year-round colour? Details such as these are easily forgotten. Rosemary Verey’s Garden Plans was the first gardening book I owned and was the inspiration for the initial layout of our garden. I knew little about gardening and garden design then and have since developed a more personal style of gardening, but it was a helpful starting point. We’ve all got to start somewhere, and as I often say, ‘You don’t have to be different to be good . . . to be good is different enough.’

Nor does it matter if you only have a small garden: the principles of good layout and design still apply, whatever size space you have to work with.

Working with the landscape

Well-planned gardens use their available space efficiently, taking advantage of any natural features such as an eye-catching view. In an urban landscape this may be an attractive nearby building, a mature tree or a view of the cityscape. In a more rural setting, there may be an opportunity of a view across open countryside, perhaps to mountains, hills, a distant steeple or a faraway, isolated village.

Many garden designers call this ‘borrowing the landscape’ and this technique can be used to wonderful effect, often creating a visual illusion of extending the garden horizons. Look around your garden to see if this is an element that you can take advantage of in your own design. If there are no natural features that you can incorporate in your plan, it is perfectly possible for you to create beautiful vistas within the garden itself.

Focusing attention

In larger gardens, statues and sculptures are used on a grand scale to create focal points. However, simple features such as a specimen plant, birdbath, water feature or seat can also be used as very effective focal points, drawing the eye to them. In a smaller space, the use of a focal point can help make the area feel larger than it is.

I find that seats are a particularly good item to use in this way as they also offer an attractive invitation to sit and rest. Think carefully about where you place a seat. For instance, is there a place in the garden that gets the last spot of evening sun? This would be a good location for a seat. A seat also gives you an opportunity to think carefully about what you plant around it. I would suggest that night-scented plants should be considered. There is nothing more pleasant than to experience the concentrated scents from flowers and foliage in a sheltered spot in a garden, on a summer’s evening, when the air is still and warm.

The continuous brick path and formal layout of the clipped box (Buxus) naturally lead the eye to the statuary beyond. It’s a perfect focal point.

Creating different spaces

Garden designers will often make the best possible use of space in a garden by dividing it into several smaller units, or ‘rooms’. This makes the space more interesting to the mind and to the eye: a garden that cannot be seen in one glance invites further exploration. You will want to wander round it, to visit all the rooms – and this is often why a visit to an average-size public garden can take so long! The clever layout means we walk over the same piece of ground, often crossing our tracks and also viewing the same features from different angles.

The division of the garden into rooms can be achieved in many ways. The planting of evergreen shrubs or hedging is an effective divider, providing year-round colour and maintaining an integrity of structure throughout the year. Or you might prefer a less permanent divider, such as trellis, which can offer you an easier means of changing the layout of the garden as your own ideas change and develop.

Whichever way you choose to create the division of the garden, this design strategy can also serve some very good practical purposes. Utility areas can be screened out of sight and areas of shelter will also be created, which can be used to the benefit of both people and plants. Furthermore, a room design is a way of allowing you to choose either diversity in the garden, where each room is differently themed and planted accordingly, or indeed to choose continuity between rooms by implementing the planting of the same structural plants in each area. My garden has developed into a series of rooms from a shady courtyard to a sunny, late summer border. I have used various hedge solutions as well as trellis to help both divide the space and provide shelter.

This small area has been turned into a garden room by using rusted iron containers and a matching archway, which successfully divide it from the main garden area and simultaneously create a wonderful entrance.

Light and shade

Well-designed gardens also use light to best effect. The contrast between bright light and shade in a garden can have many different qualities. Shafts of sunlight falling into an otherwise shady area will transform a space, especially where these shafts light up a water feature. Too much light, however, can also be a problem. I am sure you know how welcome it is to seek the comfort of shade on a hot, sunny day. If shade is not a natural part of your garden, it can be created by the careful siting and planting of trees. Or use climbers, as in my garden, where a leafy vine-covered seating area provides pretty, dappled shade and so is the perfect area for relaxing and entertaining.

Evening light can be usefully employed, too. Planting trees or shrubs with coloured leaves in such a way that they are backlit by the setting sun can create a dramatic and pleasing effect at the end of the day. Ornamental grasses also look particularly beautiful when backlit. We have giant feather grass (Stipa gigantea) planted in a position where it casts a silhouette in the morning and is then bathed in warm sunlight by late afternoon. As the sun sets behind it, the seed head plumes look quite lovely.

My outdoor dining room, where a vine-covered pergola provides shade from the midday sunshine.

Keeping things to scale

Correct scale in a garden is vital. For example, planting a large viburnum next to a delicate bellflower (Campanula) is not going to be a successful combination. On visiting a great garden it’s easy to take scale for granted, but we would soon notice if it wasn’t right. This applies in smaller spaces too: correct scale means features such as sculpture, pots, furniture and plants sit at ease within the garden and also with each other, working both individually and as a whole. An out-of-scale sculpture or feature will upset the overall balance of the garden.

Consider the relationship of all elements within the garden with regard to scale. Successful use of scale means all elements are in complete harmony and it will be imperceptible that you have carefully considered this aspect.

Hard landscaping

The choice of hard landscaping materials is another important consideration that affects the feel of the garden. Patios, steps, timber decking and gravel areas are among many options available, but should be in proportion to the surroundings. Don’t spend time, effort and money creating hard landscaping features when they are simply not required. An over-landscaped garden can look cold and soulless, lacking the essential balance between plants and man-made features. Where hard landscaping is required local natural materials, such as stone, brick or gravel, always sit more comfortably in a garden (see here). Never choose more than two or three materials as the overall look can quickly become restless and cluttered, and always refer your choices to your location, the site and the style of your house.

Limit the use of landscaping materials to achieve a sense of unity and allow the plants to do the talking.

Aspect and light

The aspect of your garden plays a significant role in how your garden looks and feels, and to the kinds of plants that will flourish there. A garden with little shade that is baked by the summer sun may even be too hot to use in high summer, whereas shadier gardens will have a much cooler feel to them. In both these instances, the range of plants that you can choose is quite different. Plants that originated in the Mediterranean region such as lavender (Lavandula), rosemary (Rosmarinus) and lavender cotton (Santolina) will enjoy basking in the heat, and will have adapted through time to thrive in such conditions. Those plants with woodland origins such as ferns, snowdrops (Galanthus) and camellias are adapted to grow in shade and may suffer if planted in the same hot, sunny position. Many gardens have planting opportunities for both aspects, so make a note of where the sun shines in your garden throughout the day, and then make your plant choices accordingly.

In a sunny garden

In the northern hemisphere, gardens that have an open, south or westerly aspect are usually hot and sunny for most of the day. The way in which the sun falls in your garden is an important consideration in the planning of features, and as the sun sets in the west, this aspect will be bathed with warm evening sunshine – a great bonus for those of us that work during the daytime – and so is an obvious choice for an evening seating area. During high summer, a south-facing, warm, sunny wall may be uncomfortably hot, but during the colder months any warmth at all will be welcomed. In our open, south-facing garden, I especially enjoy my seat by the kitchen door, so that I can take pleasure in a little winter sunshine; perfect for enjoying morning coffee outside while I let the dog out!