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GARDENING TRENDS & TIPS CONT .
© Lucy Mohr
Lucy Wright offers her gardening tips and tricks for this summer . Lucy offers advice on planting and planning and has over 30 years of experience designing gardens and interiors for private and corporate clients . She has worked for magazines including House and Gardens , Period Living and Sunday Times Style .
1 . Ornamental Grasses
Increasingly popular due their softening effect which can instantly bring a border up to date . They come in both annual and perennial forms . Some flower earlier in spring such as millets and fescues , whilst miscanthus and fountain grasses ( pennisetums ) flower in the summer . When planting grasses in a border , it is important to consider their position not just in terms of soil conditions but also with regards to how they are lit ; naturally in sunlight or by artificial light in the evening . This will maximise their visual impact of their colours as the seasons change .
2 . Natural Lawns
Globally , gardeners are realising that swathes of lawn are not always the most interesting use of space . An unmown lawn left to its own devices quickly establishes a surprising number of tiny and beautiful species of flowers including blankets of sky blue speedwell , buttercups and daisies , miniature yellow oxalis , and purple clover , before grass flowers and seed heads take over to waft daintily whilst the pollinating insects , butterflies and birds add to the sense of movement and calm within the space . In a small garden the existing lawn edge can be cut out to create soft sinuous curves , whilst a large piece of lawn can have simple paths mown through from which the exquisite detail that arrives as a consequence of giving the mower a rest can be appreciated .
3 . Dry or Gravel Planting
Hotter summers and concerns over water wastage have meant that we are all mindful of whether traditional herbaceous borders are always a sustainable option . A very hot garden may benefit from taking a different approach and minimising water consumption is always a greener and low maintenance option . Planting in gravel is a costeffective alternative to traditional paving and can very quickly update a dried-up patch of lawn . Plenty of plants that tolerate dry arid soil conditions include all the readily available Mediterranean woody herbs ; oregano and marjoram are amongst my favourites for their pretty purple flowers and self-seeding habit – as well as their ability to elevate a tomato salad . The flowers of common sage , thyme and chives are also pretty . Alpines once used in containers can be given a new lease of life by being turned into amazing carpets of groundcover . Both useful and beautiful .
4 . No Dig Gardens
Lockdown has generated a new appreciation of the space in our gardens and many people have relished the opportunity to experiment and be creative with the patch of earth that they may not have had time for until now . Building raised beds or creating new borders can be a costly and time-consuming affair but the popularity of a no dig approach has encouraged gardeners to expand their garden ’ s growing capacity . This has been particularly prevalent in the grow your own movement , and the no dig approach has proven popular by taking an area of unused lawn or soil , covering with cardboard to suppress weeds , followed by compost and topsoil , wetting and digging through and then planting and mulching , before letting the worms and soil organisms get to work to create a healthy balanced growing environment . Make sure that any compost around the plant used for mulching doesn ’ t dry out too much until the plant ’ s roots have become established .
5 . Soft Screening
The desire for naturalist planting with wildlife in mind continues to gather momentum and thank goodness looks as if it ’ s a trend to stay . Almost without exception , my clients are looking for low maintenance planting as part of their design solutions and the ‘ naturalistic ’ theme can suit this very well . Consequently , I often look at open structured screening plants to blend and blur boundaries , enabling smaller gardens to follow the trend .
To help create this look , a larger variety of useful species are becoming readily available in garden centres . Rather than traditional , solid hedging such as privet ( Ligustrum Ovalifolium ), I see more use of shrubs such as Cotoneaster Franchetii , which is fast growing and , if left unclipped , makes a wonderful soft structure where the birds can nip in during winter to enjoy the beautiful shiny berries .
Varieties of dogwoods such as Cornus Alba ‘ Kesselringii ’ with it ’ s almost black stems and white flowers created a dramatic backdrop against a pale wall . The variety Cornus Alba ‘ Elegantissima ’ with its red stems and sparkling leaves quickly establishes a soft boundary and is perfect for brightening up a shady fence . The popular perennial and butterfly hotspot , Verbena Bonariensis grows to well over a metre high and tall diaphanous grasses such as Panicum Prairie Sky , soften with colour-changing seasonal interest . As well as looking beautiful , the smaller flowers and seed heads on all these types of plants provide a larger feeding table to encourage insects and birds into your garden .
Contact Lucy Wright at gardenprojectsolutions @ gmail . com to help find beautifully creative and affordable solutions for your garden projects .
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