Gardeners’ World 2021 episode 21

Gardeners’ World 2021 episode 21: In a special programme, Carol Klein and Nick Bailey celebrate gardeners throughout the country who have created some truly unique gardens and made every space count.

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Carol meets a couple in Dorset whose garden is full of inspirational features, and Nick is in his own city garden, giving his design and gardening tips for making the most of limited spaces. Frances Tophill travels to the Isle of Man to find out how a community of gardeners copes with extremes of weather, while Joe Swift is in Cardiff visiting an extraordinary water-filled front garden.

In Sheffield, one man’s garden is given over to homes for wildlife and we visit a beautiful garden in Essex, the restrained colour palette of which conveys a sense of romance and tranquillity. And, of course, there is plenty of inspiration from our viewers’ own gardens.

Gardeners’ World 2021 episode 21

Inspiring ideas

The elements within your chosen garden style are helpful for reinforcing its overall look. Here are some ideas to get you thinking

Containers

Containers are excellent for adding a dash of seasonal colour to areas close to your home. It’s easy to ring the changes, keeping the garden looking fresh whatever the time of year. Use them for shrubs, bulbs or annuals or topiary. Many pots are also perfect for fruit and veg – a great low-maintenance alternative for grow-your-own beginners.

Furniture

With the addition of furniture, your garden can become an outdoor room, which, weather permitting, provides more welcome space. Choosing the right style is important – furniture can enhance the garden style you’ve chosen and blend with the surrounding scene, or become a focal point. There’s a bewildering choice available to suit most pockets.

Hedges

They’re not just for marking out your property’s boundary. Use hedging as a backdrop for other plants or water features, as a focal point in its own right – think clipped box topiary in either quirky or classic shapes – or to divide areas of your garden and so create interest. Another bonus is their use as a wildlife habitat and nesting site for birds.

Front gardens

There’s no limit to what you can grow in your front garden, but here is a selection of plants that will thrive in most situations. All have been chosen because they are tough and won’t need too much cosseting. Whatever your space, and even if there is no soil to plant in, there’s always something suitable.

Shrubs, trees and hedges provide shelter and nesting sites for birds and insects. With careful selection they can also provide food. Birds will eat berries from plants such as pyracantha, while a wide range of insects feast on the pollen and nectar produced by flowers. Aim to have plants in bloom from early spring to late autumn, and choose open, single flowers to ensure insects have easy access to their food. Good examples include catmint, Nepeta × faassenii; honeysuckle, Lonicera periclymenum; ivy, Hedera helix cultivars; and Aster novi-belgii.

Climbing plants can easily be used to dress bare walls and fences with decorative foliage and flowers. Secure trellis or wires to the support posts or wall before you plant, as most climbers will need something to hang on to. Try Clematis alpina cultivars, Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris, variegated ivy cultivars, and Ceanothus such as ‘Delight’.