How to create a garden that works for you

Social media sensation, Adam Marshall (green-fingered city boy) explains how to ignore the trends and follow your heart

I believe everybody should be ambitious when creating their garden. Gone are the days when our outside space just meant a long-as-your-arm list of chores to be completed. More and more of us are transforming our gardens, giving them the love, care and attention they deserve in the way that we like, not that we feel we have to. These precious green spaces are extensions of our home, places we can flee from the city to unwind and destress and use to welcome in valuable habitats for wildlife.

I am lucky, I grew up with a mum who loved to garden. She would convince me to watch Ground Force with her, and persuade me into the garden to dig ponds and create exciting zones within our back garden. Although I didn’t know it at the time, I was gaining valuable lessons in a hobby I would not take up until nearly 20 years later.

I did not know my mum was such a good gardener, until I went to houses of friends and saw their standard lawns with side borders filled with uninspiring shrubs. Although, I have to admit at the time these were perfect as a place to play football.

Make your garden truly yours

Fashions come and go and now lawns aren’t as popular as they once were, but if you want one, do what works for you! Sometimes, we get too caught up with the on-trend colour palette, ideas of a perfectly landscaped patio or meticulously positioned, multi-stemmed tree. We forget, the best form of gardening comes down to tending to a space that is there to make us happy.

So, whether your green space is a balcony, back garden or community plot, let’s be ambitious and try to create a meaningful haven for heart, soul and mind, to have fun in so our creative visions can truly play out.

………..

5 things that will help shape your garden

Unfortunately, there are no magic spells to make our gardens larger, or with perfect soil – I know, I’ve tried! So, when being ambitious in our gardens, here are some ways to help dictate your chosen design.

1) Think what do you want to do in your garden

If you would like to entertain people, you will need a large enough patio/ seating area for guests. If you would like to pick flowers regularly you will need your flower beds in full sun. If you would like to sunbathe naked or make embarrassing videos for socials, you will need to ensure you have privacy through trees and structures.

2)  What is your soil like?

This will help you know which plants you can grow.  The right plant, right place mentality helps save money and boosts results long term. You might struggle to plant anything into new-build soil as it might be shallow, poor quality and full of rubble, so in which case consider building raised beds on top.

3) Sunlight and shade

This will dictate what plants you have and their location, where you put the greenhouse and that patio if you are a sun lover. Make sure you know the sunny spots before you start your transformation.

4) Size and shape of your garden

If you have a small garden, you will need to be clever with the layout to make sure everything fits in. A larger garden may seem amazing, but it can quickly feel overwhelming, so you may want to create ‘rooms’ or gardens within, to help you concentrate on areas as you go. This is what my mum did all those years back when I first started gardening with her.

5) Think how much gardening are you willing to do

Annuals take more work so do consider how much time and maintenance you are likely able to put into it otherwise, your precious outside space might quickly turn into a job-heavy guilt trip that you start to loathe. Using shrubs and perennials is a great way to reduce the amount of work required to maintain borders.

………………

Adam’s 5 quick tips to transform your garden

1) Make a plan, as it is easier to then make sure everything works together. A quick sketch works wonders.

2) In a new house or growing area, consider doing little for the first year so you get to understand it, how the sun falls, where the shade is. This will really help with your planting decisions.

3) Create rooms, different areas in the plot, to help you focus on smaller areas so you don’t feel overwhelmed.

4) Have focal points to make your garden explorable and more interesting to walk around. They can be pots, feature plants, a bird bath or even a mirror on a wall or fence.

5) Ensure you have height through planting trees (if you have space), grasses and tall plants, as this will make the space feel larger and more captivating. 

About Adam

Adam is passionate about showing that gardening is good for you, for everyone and great for physical and mental health. He is an award-winning Gardeners’ World Live garden designer, and the author of a newly self-published guide to making your own green bin shelter. Adam created his planted roof bin shelter last year, which he made from salvaged wood. He posted a video about it on his social media after putting his son to bed and the next morning woke to see his video had received over one million views. In total his videos accumulated 100 million views and lots of requests from viewers keen to see how his shelter had been made.

You can also find out more about Adam’s inspiring down-to-earth work on instagram @greenfingeredcityboy

Find more tips, advice and articles like this at the Amateur Gardening website. Subscribe to Amateur Gardening magazine now