3 Proactive Landscaping Moves For Your Garden

Having a garden of one’s own is undoubtedly a privilege, and one which, thanks to over 87% of us having such access, many of us take for granted. Often, they’re treated as nuisances to be managed, or functional spaces there purely to entertain guests for the three days of undisputed summer we get each year.

But with a more mindful approach to our gardens and the way we manage them, we can get a whole lot more out of them. Landscaping your garden doesn’t have to mean spending thousands on consultants and contractors; instead, it can mean clever proactive moves to make a space that does more. Here, let’s explore some of the better ways in which you can create a multi-functional outdoor space that suits your needs.

The "Rewilding" Aesthetic

First, some good news for the less green-fingered amongst you: the time of neat, tidy flowerbeds and relentlessly-manicured lawns is long past. Unless it’s an aesthetic about which you care personally and deeply, you are saved from the monotony of edging, pruning and never-ending upkeep; because the ‘wild’ garden is in.

By embracing the tenet of structured chaos, you can benefit from a new trend in rewilded gardens, doing away with traditional grass lawns in favour of lower-maintenance wildflower meadows, and doing away with preened flowerbeds in favour of native perennial beds. This approach supports local biodiversity, making your garden a habitat for bees, butterflies and other endangered bug species, while significantly reducing your own time and energy investment.

Vertical Interest and Privacy Screening

Gardens tend to take a turn for the boring when you only think about two dimensions. Grass, flowers and hedges only go so far; you have a whole lot of vertical space you can use, both for increasing the aesthetic potential of your garden and for increasing your sense of privacy.

Vertical landscaping is an especially useful concept for those with smaller urban gardens, and nothing short of essential for creating a sense of seclusion. Something as simple as replacing your fence posts for the benefit of taller boundary fences can make a huge initial difference; those taller panels can be used as bases for ‘living walls’ of hung planters, herbs or climbing flowers.

Night Lighting For An "Outdoor Room"

Changeable as the great British summer may be, there’s no denying the sheer heat that can come from the later nights of late summer – prime time for precious back-garden nights with friends and family. Of course, you can’t entertain at night without thinking about ‘nightscaping’.

By using low-voltage, smart LED lights, you can avail of small solar panels to keep your patio lit without the need for a separate outdoor mains outlet. This means no expensive electrical work, and a function-friendly entertaining space you can have party-ready in an afternoon. The same kinds of lights can be deployed to up-light your favourite foliage, or highlight a feature wall.