Camellia‘ Leonard Messel’
Beautiful
Boundaries
By Caroline Knight
April is here and anticipation is sprouting in the garden. The scene from the window changes every day as plants burst into bud. Blossom is already billowing and bulbs are bringing colour back into our lives. You will see daffodils, hyacinths, fritillaries, lily of the valley, Camassia and even bluebells later in the month. The warmer, longer days will enable gardening to be fully enjoyed once again.
Ideally, you will plant anything that needs to go into the ground now, before the warmer weather dries out the soil. This is a month of change, and your newly planted shrubs, trees, climbers and perennials will be able to start establishing their roots before the growing season takes off. Plant as early as possible to reduce the need for drastic watering duties over the summer.
Don’ t forget fences There’ s one feature of a garden which is rarely mentioned: the boundary. Sometimes it’ s completely ignored. Although basic fences might provide security and privacy, they are not often pretty and can also create the effect of a cage. This is particularly noticeable if the garden is fairly small or bare of plants.
There is plenty of design potential which can help boundaries become integral to the attractiveness and style of the outdoor space. Most planning authorities stipulate that permission is required for a rear garden fence to exceed a height of two metres, to prevent obstruction of light and views. But there are many different options when it comes to materials and styles.
If your property already has a perfectly good fence, the trick is to disguise it, unless it’ s a design feature in itself. Shrubs and climbers are the key. Your garden will feel bigger as it’ s not so obvious where
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