Amateur Gardening – 13 July 2019

52 AMATEUR GARDENING 13 JULY 2019

Shade-loving species, such as epimedium

and geranium, take the baton from spring

bulbs such as bluebell and tulip once

deciduous trees are in leaf

Ideas for gorgeous gardens

Get lookthe

Be water-wise: collect water in a butt to use

on beds, borders and pots when needed

Celebrate historical features: a pair of

yew trees provide the name for Sue

and Andy’s cottage

Celebrate spring with the

blossom of a prunus. They

keep their tree at a reasonable

height so that it doesn’t

overshadow the garden

Combine lengths of timber and gravel to

create attractive steps to higher levels.

Use creeping plants such as campanula

and candytuft to soften stone walls

space for a reasonable harvest of

fresh vegetables, while a small area

at the side of the property enclosed

with low box hedging and split into

four beds by a cross-shaped pathway,

brings a further element to the

overall design.

Making the most of water

The underlying soil in Andy and Sue’s

garden is Cotswold brash, which the

couple enrich with compost made in

an attractive beehive-shaped bin,

with other similarly shaped wooden

structures coming in handy for tidying

away equipment.

The couple are also mindful of the

need to save water, collecting all they

can in butts fed by downpipes from

various roofs, and making the most of

green energy, such as the solar panel

used to power the rill that they built after

being inspired by a garden created by

Cleve West at RHS Chelsea Flower

Show. Meanwhile, solar lights bring a

soft glow to the couple’s borders during

the evenings.

All in all, Andy and Sue’s garden is a

space in which they can both work and

relax, with the terrace providing the

perfect spot to enjoy views of the

Toadsmoor Valley.

“It’s quite a sheltered garden – it can

be quite windy around here but we’re in

a little bowl; they really knew what they

were doing when they built this

particular cottage,” says Sue.

“We’ve always wanted our outside

space to have a cottage garden feel in

keeping with our home.”