Week 2 ✏️ Casestudy & garden styles

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[Lessons in Gardening Week 2]
[Lessons in Gardening Week 2]
Hi Robert,
The plants and materials you use in your garden will have a big impact on its overall look and feel - and one of the keys to good garden design is to create a cohesive plan, where all the separate elements are in harmony with one another.
This week your task is to seek inspiration and create a moodboard to reflect what is important to you in your garden. Mix and match your favourite plants, pots, ornaments etc. - or take inspiration from some of the trends that we think will be big this year. Go through to the course content on our website to learn about each of these styles, what typifies the style and how you can recreate them.
[Lessons in Gardening week 2]
WEEK 2: GET INSPIRED WITH THESE TOP GARDEN TRENDS
Discover your garden style
We've seen these themes emerge and gain in popularity over the last few years at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show - all of which offer the perfect antidote to our busy lifestyles. Read about each style, find inspiration and create your moodboard.
[The Sanctuary Garden]
[The Garden Room]
[The Re-wild Garden]
CASESTUDY: REWILDING A GARDEN
New gardener Andrew is at the beginning of his gardening journey and tells us about his plans to rewild his garden in Cumbria.
[Andrew's house near the Lake District]
Andrew's house sits right on the edge of the Lake District countryside
My family and I moved from Bristol to Cumbria in September 2021. Our house is part of a new-build development on the edge of Penrith, just outside the Lake District. In common with many new houses it has quite a small garden, which is overlooked to one side, but also has a view of the Pennines in the distance.
[Moodboard]
Andrew’s Moodboard
Rewilding has become quite a loaded word, and I’m certainly no expert in regenerative or wildlife gardening. My aim is basically to take inspiration from the Cumbria landscape, and bring elements of this into our garden, for our pleasure and also to benefit nature and wildlife. New-builds and their surroundings can often be quite stark, so my aim is to soften the space, and encourage some of what would naturally exist in this part of the country. I also don’t have much time or money to spend, so the more nature can do the better!
[Garden Plans]
Andrew’s plans evolved from a simple sketch
Initially I was keen to have lots of perennial planting, kind of inspired by [Piet Oudolf]’ at RHS Chelsea in 2022, which took inspiration from the Somerset and Devon landscape. Having decided to create a garden inspired by the Lake District it seemed essential to include a pond of some kind, even if it could only be small. For the main planting area I’ve chosen a curved design to give a more organic feel, and to allow for possible changes in the future.
Design challenges
The garden is overlooked to one side, but also has a view of the Pennines that we want to preserve. I’ve planted native saplings along the side that’s overlooked, which in time should provide some privacy, but made sure I keep an opening so we can benefit from the view. The garage roof is also a bit of an eyesore so I’ve added a couple of small trees within the garden to partly obscure that.
[Garden CGI]
Andrew used CGI to visualise his space, but you could print out and draw over pictures of your garden as an easier alternative
The wildlife pond is the first main element I’ve put in place. It’s smaller than I would ideally like, but because we’re not usually in want of rain it get regular top-ups. I’ve added, and will continue to add, hazel supports against the boundaries; mainly to aid climbers but also to soften the walls and fences. A timber pergola over the path adds a bit of structural interest as well as providing support for more climbers. I’ve removed a significant portion of lawn to allow for a good depth of planting, and added a stone stack using stones that were already in the ground.
[Garden build]
You can see how Andrew used his plan to layout the foundations of his space
What's next?
At the moment I’m eager to get some plants in. Last autumn I added a good amount of compost as a soil improver, so I can’t wait to get planting! It will also be good when the saplings have matured a bit and everything has had a chance to naturalise. The occasional red squirrel appearance would also be a bonus!
[Read more about how to rewild your garden]
Week 2: Garden trends
Share your progress
Share what has inspired you in the Lessons in Gardening group, on our FREE app Iris.
It could be a style you already have in your garden, your moodboard, or a picture of a garden you hope to emulate. If you have a question why not ask the group?
[Share progress]
[iris]
If you have been part of Crocus Club for a while then you might have received Lessons in Gardening last year. If you don't need the refresher you can opt out of this year's course.
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