In a world filled with social media, the race to show the outside community your achievements is ever more apparent. It offers you the chance to follow your favourite home inspired celebrities and green fingered gardener at the tap of a screen. Whether you’re scrolling through Instagram’s abundance of home decor inspired pages or reading blogs and joining social garden community apps, it’s not hard to feel that creative streak within you start to flourish and your interest in garden landscape design using Pinterest peak. So, why not hop on board!
So, how do you create the perfect garden landscape design using Pinterest and other social media?
Starting a garden can be one of the most rewarding hobbies. Whether you’re renting, just picked up the keys to your new home or simply fancy a change, everyone can benefit from pulling out the gardening gloves and trowel. It can sometimes be hard to know where to start, especially when you have a complete blank canvas, so below I have compiled some easy steps to help you reap the rewards by offering beautiful colours and luscious greenery that will be more than hashtag worthy.
Choose your style
Flower beds? Vegetables patches? Or a low maintenance space? There are many options available when considering your perfect garden. Now, although I love the small collection of gardening books that I have been gifted, I have to admit that if I have a question about a particular plant or how to care for it, it’s so much easier to do a quick search online than through the contents page of a book. Social media and online gardening communities have made finding the answers to questions, as well as gardening tips and hacks, even more easy. Take Pinterest for instance. At the click of button you are able to scroll through hundreds of garden design ideas which can even be narrowed down to UK garden ideas so as to feature plants that are suitable for our English weather. So, let’s take a look at your options…
Vegetables
If a vegetable garden is of preference, take time to decide what you and your family are likely to eat or want to try. Options such as tomatoes, peppers and cabbage are an easy starting point if you are new to gardening. You could even incorporate a herb garden or planter which we have put together in our garden. A mixture of rosemary, sage, thyme and lavender as easy, low maintenance options, all of which smell wonderful!
Flowers and shrubs
If a mixture of flowers and shrubs is more your style, then you’ll need to decide whether you want perennials that spring into action year after year, bedding plants which are great for filling spaces, shrubs and bushes including euonymus and magnolia which are low maintenance or a whole blend of everything. Tip: Ground-covering perennials like bergenia, geranium and periwinkle will leave little room for weeds in your borders.
Low maintenance
Should a low maintenance, easy to care for garden be of interest then there are plenty of ways to embrace this. It should be noted that no garden is zero maintenance but most gardening activities are of lower importance.
Choosing the best spot
Everyone has their favourite social media or online community when it comes to gardening. I’ve found that Instagram and Pinterest are perfect when I’m struggling with a lack of inspiration on how to lay my plants out and apps like Candide when I have a specific question that I know a gardening ‘genius’ will be able to offer advice on (usually a wilting plant)! I’ve often found myself asking like-minded gardeners how to best position some of my more fussy outdoor plants, for example my Evergreen star Jasmine.
Candide
Sunlight is as vitally important as watering when it comes to putting together the perfect garden, so choosing the correct locations for your vegetables, flowers and shrubs is a priority. First things first, you need to pay attention to your garden space. Where does the sun rise and set? how much direct sunlight does your garden receive? Which areas would you consider to be in full or partial shade?
Full Sun
Growing plants in full sun, especially within containers and pots, can be difficult unless you choose varieties that are tolerant of these conditions. Many full sun plants are also tolerant of drought and arid conditions, making them ideal for potted environments too. If you have a border in direct sunlight there are a couple of great choices including lavender, aster and verbena.
Shade
If your heart is set on a garden filled with tomatoes and other homegrown produce then you may not fair too well. But there are plenty of beautiful plants which thrive in shady conditions. Use plants with light and colourful foliage and flowers to lift your planting, these will stand out in a shady area. Make an area more eye-catching by adding different leaf shapes such as ferns, hostas and grasses with flowering plants.
Soil
It’s important to dig and fork through the garden soil as it allows you to loosen any compaction, remove weed and debris and add nutrients such as decayed leaves and dry grass cuttings that will help your plants thrive. Annual mulching of existing border plants with help to enrich the soil further and reduce weed growth.
The are typically 6 soil types
- Clay – Plants that benefit the most from this type of soil include roses, euphorbia and hydrangea
- Sandy – gerraniums and buddleja
- Chalky – wildflowers such as poppies, cornflowers and chamomile grow well in chalky soil
- Silty – Shrubs and climbers. Vegetables will do well in moisture rich silty soil as long as you provide good drainage
- Loamy – If you’ve already decided you’re going to try your hand at a vegetable patch, then loamy soil is great for carrots, peppers, green beans and onions!
- Peaty – Found your soil to be quite peaty? This isn’t a problem if your ideal garden space includes shrubs such as heather, rhododendron and also some vegetable produce such as lettuce
Picking your plants
Having finished most of the ground work, the exciting part is picking your plants and shrubs!
I have spent hours scrolling through Pinterest looking for the best colour combinations for my borders, asking gardeners across the UK which plants work well together and documenting my accomplishments, plant shopping never gets boring when you know what you want. According to Gardenforum, there are at least 16 million garden photos on Instagram. With the use of hashtags, it proves how beneficial and popular the social media platform is – #gardening (6,909,821 posts), #urbangarden (893,498 posts) #gardeningisfun (120,871 posts).
Annual/Evergreen
There are a vast array of evergreen shrubs that are suitable for just about any garden, so you won’t be short on choice. When planning your garden layout or filling gaps in borders or blank spaces, picking the right sized shrub is important. This helps reduce the need for moving or pruning and as most evergreen shrubs require low maintenance, they can take the stress out of gardening and also provide colour to your space all year round. If you want some beautiful additional colour in between your bedding plants, a great edition includes the Camellia which provides spring time flowers that will brighten any dull space.
Perennials
Whether your garden has border space or you have an abundance of pots and containers (which I do!), then perennials will add colour from around April to November. They make great fillers between shrubs and under trees and will often attract bees and butterflies. They are super easy to grow, so if you aren’t quite an avid garden then having plants which will thrive each year is a blessing. Some great starters are Salvia, Lavender and Geraniums.
Vegetables
After choosing the best position for your allotment and making sure you haven’t overlooked the size (honestly, the smaller the better if you’re a beginner!) it’s time pick your favourite selection of veggies. Some of the easiest to grow include tomatoes, squash, peppers and cabbage. Make sure to space your crops properly and water them regularly!
Pruning, propagating and aftercare
To keep your garden delightful all year, there are a few simple steps that need to be followed:
- Water your flowers regularly
- Plant food (Tip – Don’t apply liquid fertilizer at the same time you plant)
- Remove weeds from your flower garden and borders
- Mulch your flowers (this will also help with weed control!)
- Provide the plants that need it with enough sunlight
- Prevent and control pests and diseases especially on shrubs like rose bushes
- Prune your plants and deadhead them as appropriate
So, there you have it! A quick guide to creating a beautiful garden with the help of social media. There is an abundance of free helpful guides at the tip of your finger so why not ready your garden space for summer BBQ’s with friends and family or simply just sit back and appreciate the hard work.
Why not check out some of the other amazing blog posts featured on Apprenticeship Times by clicking here