Ula Maria, who won Gold and Best in Show at RHS Chelsea 2024, gives expert advice on how to design your own garden
Every garden has the potential to tell the story of those who inhabit it, making it a space that’s not only beautiful and functional, but meaningful too. Many people feel their house is a true reflection of themselves, but I believe it’s the garden where personality and relationships with our surroundings truly blossom.
You may also like
- Ula Maria’s garden of childhood memories
- Discover Ula Maria’s award-winning garden at Chelsea
- How to create a private garden
- All the Main Show gardens at Chelsea 2024
- How to design your garden
How should I start to design my garden?
It’s essential to re-assess your surroundings, both to understand your garden in its wider environment but also to work out what were the key aesthetic factors that first drew you to the house. Often, your home’s architecture and the local vernacular will inspire your choices for the garden. For example, the dominant materials of the building, be they timber, brick or stone, could influence what materials you choose for the garden.
Use colour in moderation so it doesn’t overpower the garden
Carrying materials from the interior space works incredibly well in smaller gardens. Smaller, more enclosed spaces are more forgiving, and will give you more freedom to establish the garden’s character without having to worry so much about its surroundings.
If you do decide to use a distinct material, such as Corten steel, within your garden, be bold and make a feature out of it. Choose furniture that will both complement it and form the design language of the garden.
Make the garden that suits you
Another way of starting a garden is to think of it as an extension of your home, a space full of potential, with room to play, dine, rest and, above all, reconnect with nature. A garden will always work best if it ties in well with your lifestyle; how much time you spend outdoors and how you want to use the garden.
Whether your priority is a kitchen garden, a dining space, or a specific sport-related area, you need to identify key dedicated function areas that are important to you and your family. The more practical and useful the spaces you create in your garden, the more likely it is you’ll feel encouraged to tend and nourish that garden.
Assess whether the size of garden paths relate to the scale of their surroundings
However, if you have a lifestyle that doesn’t allow you to spend much time outdoors, then you may be better to concentrate on creating beautiful views that will be visible from the windows you look out the most.
Think about how your garden can enrich your lifestyle. Could you benefit from a quiet space to relax or an area to dine and entertain? By partially enclosing such a space with a structure such as a pergola, you’ll be able to enjoy your garden on days when harsh sun or rain might otherwise keep you indoors.
Keep things simple
Simplicity is pure, elegant and timeless, and simplicity does not equal simpleness. The simpler and more refined the material palette from the outset, the more cohesive the garden will look. One of the most common habits of garden enthusiasts, myself included, that often leads into a restless garden is ‘overdoing it’ with the variety and mixture of plants. Like with everything, we should follow the rule of less is more.
When plant beds feel too small, enlarge them, or replant plants where beds appear too flat
Use colour in moderation so it doesn’t overpower the garden. Begin by picking two or three of your favourite colours. In most cases, these should be complementary rather than clashing to ensure they will work well together.
Once you have chosen your plants, plant them in large groups and swathes trying to adapt and distil the inspiration you find in nature. Planting in larger groups will make a bigger impact. The forms, textures and colours of the plants will become more apparent and this way it will be easier to create a distinct character and spatial identity for the garden.
You don’t always have to introduce colour in a form of planting – you can also use furniture or hard landscaping. Although it might seem daunting to think of painting your garden walls in dark shades, it can bring more light into the garden than expected. Darker backdrops can really help to emphasise the colours of the planting.
How to evolve your garden’s design
If you are considering redesigning your garden, assess whether the size of garden paths relate to the scale of their surroundings. When plant beds feel too small, enlarge them, or replant plants where beds appear too flat. Introduce planting areas of varied heights to balance out large areas of empty lawn.
If you ask any garden designer, they will tell you that ‘a garden is never finished’, which makes creating a garden rather tricky… but also very exciting.
Discover another one of Ula Maria’s beautiful gardens