From the makers of Gardens Illustrated, your expert guide to garden design This special edition features advice on designing your garden from the world's top garden designers, including top tips for redesigning your plot or creating a new garden from scratch. Discover eight inspirational gardens in town and country, and beautiful planting ideas for year-round colour Learn how to make the most of a small garden, how to cope with a slope, and the 10 most common mistakes people make, according to professional garden designers, and how to avoid them. Enjoy insights on everything from paths and parking spaces to wildflowers and water features, so that you can be confident in starting to create the garden of your dreams.
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Transform Your Garden
10 GARDEN DESIGN MISTAKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM • We asked ten award-winning garden designers to name the most common design issues they see, and how these problems can be solved
GARDEN DESIGN: THE BASICS • Award-winning designer Annie Guilfoyle offers advice on what to think about when you begin to design your outdoor space
Plants aplenty • In Andy Sturgeon’s small garden, hard landscaping is minimised to allow for multiple planting opportunities
SMALL GARDENS • It’s a fine art creating a garden in a tight space. Here, six top designers of small gardens share their approaches to working with tiny plots
Outdoor dining • Eat out in style with our pick of the best tables and chairs
Another world • Designer Mary Keen’s immersive and atmospheric garden defies the size of her plot. It is hard to believe that you can feel so delightfully lost in the middle of a small country town
PAVING • When choosing hard landscaping for paths and patios, says Andrew Wilson, it’s important to pick the right material and lay it properly
Laid-back living • In this once overlooked suburban plot, designer Colm Joseph has created a modern gravel garden that offers a relaxing green retreat
TREES IN A SMALL GARDEN
USING WATER • Water brings magic to the garden, says designer Matt Keightley, adding movement and sound to muffle unwelcome noise
Water features • Go with the flow and choose one of these stylish options to refresh your garden
Wide horizons • Inspired by vast, open expanses of salt marsh and shingle, Emily Erlam has created a naturalistic garden that blends seamlessly with its surroundings
Key plants for a coastal location
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FRONT GARDENS • Your front garden is the one space you pass through every day – but how do you choose between parking and plants? Three top designers offer solutions
Serenity in the city • In Bristol, Artisan Landscapes have created a calming tranquil space that invites the owners to immerse themselves in its cool, textural greens
SLOPES AND STEPS • A garden with a slope needn’t be a problem – three designers offer clever ideas to make the most of changing levels
Call of the wild • For her own garden in rural Kent, designer Amanda Buckland has given the natural meadow-style planting she loves a modern twist by contrasting its softness with more formal evergreens and contemporary hard landscaping
WILDFLOWERS • Introducing wild species into your garden can bring a natural beauty, says Sarah Price, as well as having ecological benefits
Firepits and fire baskets • Stay cosy on chilly evenings with these nine stylish containers for an outdoor fire
Urban jungle • In this Islington garden, designer Declan Buckley has used lush, jungle-style planting to remind his clients of their childhoods in Kerala
PATHS • Paths are not just a means of getting around – they can knit areas of the...
