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APRIL 2016 ISSUE ONE
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GREAT IDEAS FOR YOUR GARDEN!
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READER GARDENS | EASY IDEAS | SHOPPING
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Garden makeovers
“MY BUDGET GARDEN IS SO EASY TO KEEP!”
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Outdoor living
OPEN AIR KITCHENS FOR ALL SIZE PLOTS
Including
✽ 18 inspiring ways to transform a deck ✽ Sweetly scented tulips for pots ✽ Make a home cinema in your garden ✽ Speedy upcycling to add character ✽ Plant a purple corner & much, much more!
Fresh spring buys
STYLISH IDEAS FOR OUTDOOR SPACES
Earthy
PLEASURES DREAM
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MODERN GARDENS
APRIL 2016
PLANT
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AL AMY
March 23 rd
Pot luck
Seek out local spring plant fairs held in halls and community spaces. They are open to everyone and a boon if you have a patch of bare soil to fill and a limited budget. They are the best place to pick up lots of lovely annuals at very little cost. Check local newspaper listings and event websites to track them down. The people selling the flowers have usually grown them too, so it’s a good opportunity to ask for advice if you’re unsure what to do with your plants.
GOLDEN TRUMPETS Many people don’t realise that certain varieties
GAP
of daffodil (Narcissus) are scented and make wonderfully fragrant cut flowers for the house. The scent is strongest during warmer weather, so go outside on a sunny day to gather the best blooms for a sweetly scented posy. Or you can buy ready-blooming daffs in pots at garden centres now for some instant scent and uplifting spring cheer.
WORDS: LUCY BELLAMY. MAIN IMAG E: GAP ALAMY
PH OTO GAP, SHU CREDIT TTERSTOCK HERE PLEASE
OUTSIDE TIDY This enamel storage tin with a cute guinea pig and rabbit design is just the thing for neatly storing all your garden bits and bobs. ‘Arthur and Squeak’ tin £17.95 www.burgonandball.com CUPPA IN THE GARDEN With a pattern inspired by richly coloured wallflowers and sweetly scented narcissus, this large cup and saucer is brilliant for hot tea on chilly days. Large teacup and saucer £32.95 www. emmabridgewater. co.uk, stockists nationwide
We LOVE THIS!
DIG THIS! A pretty, flowery hand fork helps make spring planting a pleasure. Lightweight yet strong, this one is far too glamorous to hide away in the shed. £6.99 www.homesense.com APRIL 2016
MODERN GARDENS 7
Reader
MAKEOVER
CLIMBERS such as honeysuckle and clematis grown against a bare fence will quickly cover it with foliage and flowers.
COLM SHEPPARD’s surburban garden is
packed with stylish low-maintenance ideas
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A WEEPING MULBERRY is a fussfree small tree whose golden catkins look pretty in winter.
PURPLE HAZEL
“At the far end of the garden I’ve planted a row of three purple-leaved hazelnut trees (Corylus maxima ‘Purpurea’) to hide the wheelie bins. Everyone complains about their bins being unsightly but they aren’t going away, so I made a solution as part of my overall garden plan. “In the middle of the garden I’ve used a weeping mulberry as a focal point I can see from the kitchen. I have a slender yew tree at the end for evergreen interest and cordon apple trees (small apple trees that grow on a single stem) planted against the fence. But the pièce de rèsistance is my avenue of lime trees that I’ve trained into a weaving hedge, like a hedge on stilts. All I have to do is climb a ladder 14
MODERN GARDENS
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COLM created his stunning gar den in just two weeks
PHOT O: ELOIS E HAYE S
ith vibrant planting, a sweeping gravel path and an avenue of slender lime trees, you’d never guess that this formal Cambridgeshire garden measures a modest five by 12 metres (16 x 39ft). When Colm Sheppard moved here eight years ago, it was just a small patch of grass surrounded by fences. “There wasn’t anything in the garden and it was overlooked by the neighbours. So I set about planting the trees to add height and privacy,” he says. “Most people wouldn’t dare plant trees in a small garden like this, but I thought ‘why not’?”
each August to prune them. You do have to be quite brave to plant 10 trees in such a small garden, but I knew I could keep them to size, which gave me the confidence to do it. “The main thing with gardening in such a small area is not to be constrained by the dimensions. Many people think only about a little bit of the garden at a time and seem frightened of gardening on a large scale.” ➣
3
nce in lights a dark colour high ge lia plants and turns fo into a feature TIP Painting a fe
PHOTO CREDIT HERE P LEASE
“My budget garden is so easy to keep”
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THAT’S CLEVER!
These purple hazels hide the wheelie bins
LIME TREES create a smart hedge on stilts that’s easy to clip to shape in August.
March 23 rd
BEFORE
2 Colm inherited a garde n that was tidy but featureless
MY GARDEN PL AN
LOCATION “A modern development in Cambridgeshire where none of the gardens are big and we’re all overlooked. My idea was to make the garden more private and add some shape to the layout, keeping it all very low maintenance.”
4
THE LOOK
GROUND COVER PLANTS keep weeds down by covering bare soil with pretty summer flowers and foliage.
Formal in a pocket-sized patch SITE & SOIL
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MY BUDGET Natural stone paving £220 Patio installation £1,100 Golden gravel £56 Cuprinol Black Ash fence paint £40 Trees, plants & shrubs £307 Box hedge from a friend Free TOTAL £1,723
PHOTO CREDIT HERE P LEASE
THE GRAVEL PATH is underlaid with black landscape fabric to hold back weeds.
AFTER
HOW LONG IT TOOK Spraying weeds 1 hour Rotavating the soil 16 hours Laying the path and edging 8 hours Painting the fence 16 hours Planting up 8 hours Laying the patio 16 hours TOTAL 65 HOURS
APRIL 2016
M O D E R N G A R D E N S 15
WORDS; LIZ POTTER. PHOTOS: COLM SHEPPARD, SHUTTERSTOCK
Size 5 x 12m (16 x 39ft) Faces West Soil Light and sandy
GOOD IDEA
Plants in pots can be moved around to complement your seating area
18 great ideas for
DECKS Clever TIPS AND TRICKS to smarten up your space for sunny days ahead
MAKE A MINI VEG PLOT
1
Pot radish, chives and salad leaf plants for quick-grow crops in tidy wooden planters.
CREATE VINTAGE-STYLE POT CONTAINERS
2
You can use anything as long as you drill some drainage holes in the bottom. Try old drawers or wicker baskets.
Recycle your stuff ! CLEVER ACCESSORIES
A traditional watering can adds rustic charm 40
MODERN GARDENS
APRIL 2016
LIKE WHAT EASY IDEAS UPCYCLE A BUCKET
Plant flowers in vintage enamel buckets that colour-coordinate. Ebay is an excellent source for these.
Collect pretty pebbles and stones to display with plants
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ADD HEIGHT AND INTEREST WITH A POTTING BENCH
This doubles up as a drinks station and bbq helper too. Try B&Q and Homebase for inexpensive options.
GET STREAMLINED STYLE WITH BOX HEDGE BALLS
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Steel containers are on trend right now. Box only needs a trim twice a year, so this combo provides fuss-free style.
EDGE YOUR DECK WITH HERBS
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They create a striking colour contrast – and you can pick them for cooking. APRIL 2016
M O D E R N G A R D E N S 41
WORDS; FIONA CUMBERPATCH. PHOTOS: M&S, ALAMY, GAP, RONSEAL, WWW.LISA COX DESIGNS.CO.UK
SO EASY
YOU READ? TRY IT...
5 NEW WAYS to fall in love with
Violas keep producing flower after flower throughout the spring and summer months.
VIOLAS If you think these little beauties are old-fashioned, think again. SWEETLY SCENTED in a painter’s palette of colours, they’re perfect for pots LIGHT UP A DOOR Loop strong twine around pots filled with violas and hang them outside from a spare nail or hook. They’ll flower non-stop for months with an occasional watering.
2
WE LOVE THIS
Hang scented viola’Purple Face’ near a favourite seat. The honey scent is strongest in the morning and the evening
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BUILD THEM UP Use terracotta pots and wooden steps or shelves to make a pretty display. Violas grow happily in shade and are perfect for brightening up gloomier corners. 78
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So EASY!
LIKE WHAT EASY IDEAS
YOU READ? TRY IT...
3
PICK AND MIX Group pots filled with violas, pansies and ranunculus in sorbet shades for a pretty spring display.
O n sale from March 23 rd
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Instant colour!
BAG IT! Plant some violas in an old shopping basket for a cheerful look.
WE LOVE THIS
Upcycle an old box by adding a lining and planting a mix of colours inside
Vibrant violas for any spot
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GET CREATIVE Upcycle empty tins and kitchenalia with a pot of paint. Use a hammer and nail to punch holes in solid bases for drainage. Match the paint colour to the flowers.
same colours for a contemporary display. Think brilliant blues, sky blues and indigos, or canary yellow with zingy apricot and vermillion orange.
HOW TO PLANT
âœ˝ When buying young plants, choose
those with healthy, bright green leaves and tiny buds that are just starting to show the colour of the flowers. If the petals are still hidden, the colour of the stem will often provide a clue as to the eventual colour of the petals. Look for bright, white roots at the base of the pot as these are a sign of new growth. âœ˝ To pot gently tip the violas from their pots and tease out the roots with your fingers. Plant three or four plants together in a big pot of multi-purpose compost, and water well. Snipping off the faded blooms will make extra flowers grow. APRIL 2016
M O D E R N G A R D E N S 79
PHOTOS: ALAMY, GAP, FLOWER COUNCIL OF HOLLAND
V
iolas have small flowers and lots of them. Their fragility belies a robust little plant that is happy in any awkward spot. You can often spot a viola that has seeded itself into a gravel path or between the cracks in a pavement. Violas are smaller than pansies but with lots more flowers. Unlike pansies, their blooms stay pristine even after a heavy shower of rain. There are few flowers that bloom for as long as a viola. DIY stores, supermarkets and garden centres sell them in a vast range of colours, but plant trays are often mixed, which makes it difficult to create a simple, impactful colour scheme. Buying the plants in small individual pots, or even scattering a few seeds in pots and growing them on the windowsill, means you can choose pretty tones and hues of the
AN OUTSIDE CHEST OF DRAWERS
Part potting bench, part storage unit, an outside solid wood chest of drawers is both useful and attractive when customised in a vibrant colour of your choice. Use it to display plants in beautiful pots, stow away your small tools such as trowels and secateurs, and store essential items like plant tags and garden string. Make it weatherproof with two coats of exterior oil-based paint, or set it up in your shed away from the elements. You can source an old set of drawers on Freecycle or via charity shops. Emmaus has a good range of furniture (www.emmaus. co.uk) as does Sue Ryder (www.sueryder.org). Or bag an eBay bargain.
£30
£8
PH OTOS: GETTY, GAP
WINE CRATE RAISED BEDS
Perfect for a small garden, old wooden wine boxes are a good way to grow herbs or simple salad crops. Some wine merchants and offlicences sell the boxes, or they’re available for £8 each (plus postage) from www.etsy.com. Before planting, drill eight to 10 holes in the bottom of the box so water can drain out freely. If you don’t have an electric drill, add a layer a few inches thick of pea gravel in the base, then pop in a layer of plastic (a black bin bag cut to fit the box is fine) with 10 holes punched in. This will ensure that your crops don’t get waterlogged roots, which could kill them. Now fill with potting compost, plant your herbs and watch them grow! We planted thyme, rosemary, sage, bay and chives.
TIP Apply a n e
primer before the xterior pain protect from the e t to help lements
LIKE WHAT SIMPLE MAKES
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Free !
WELLINGTON PLANTERS YOU WILL NEED ✽ Old wellingtons ✽ Electric drill ✽ Small offcuts of wood ✽ Potting compost ✽ Potted plants, such as nasturtiums and marigolds, or flowering spring bulbs for instant colour
60p
WHAT TO DO 1 Using the electric drill, bore some holes in the bottom of each boot – about seven or eight, depending on the size of the wellies – to provide drainage. 2 Place a piece of wood in the sole of each boot to help stabilise it. Now fill with potting compost. 3 Plant flowers according to the pot or label instructions. If you are putting in bulbs, plant them at the same depth as they are growing in their pot.
SPOON HOOKS
Hooks are invaluable in the garden – you can never have too many for hanging pots, shed keys, tools or baskets. These little hooks are made from old spoons and make an unusual feature hung on your shed wall or fence, so start hunting through your cutlery drawers and set to work!
So EASY!
WHAT TO DO 1Take an old metal spoon and gently bend the handle near the middle. Carefully form it into a U-shape. You don’t want to bend it too much. 2 Leave the tail of the handle pointing outwards rather than back towards the head of the spoon. Drill a hole in the bowl, then simply fix it in your chosen spot with a screw. APRIL 2016
M O D E R N G A R D E N S 89
PH OTOS: FION A CUMBERPATCH, GAP
YOU WILL NEED ✽ Some old spoons ✽ Drill and metal drill bit ✽ Screws, around 20p each from DIY shops
Garden
CINEMA A MOVIE SCREEN UNDER THE STARS is simple to set up, and the perfect way to entertain family and friends outside
SET THE MOOD Use flickering lanterns to create ambience.
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT A folded sheet pegged to a line creates the perfect screen.
BEST BUYS
TAKE THE INSIDE OUT!
W
ith a laptop, a basic Netflix subscription and a digital projector it’s easy to set up an outdoor film night for late night romcoms, action adventures and musicals. Just string up a white sheet, light a few candle lanterns and settle back to watch the film. Many of us with wifi and a laptop or tablet are familiar with downloading favourite films in a single click or swipe. With a mini-projector it’s easy to watch these films on a big screen, even without a blockbuster budget. The right projector will give you a crisp, colourful image. Mini-projectors are small, portable, simple to use and can be bought online, in electrical shops and supermarkets from around £170. The USB port means they are brilliant for projecting images from tablets, laptops and smartphones.
LIGHT UP THE TREES Fairy lights add atmosphere.
BIG SCREEN
A crisp, white cotton double sheet slung over the washing line, or a rope between trees or posts, creates the perfect cinema screen and is set up in seconds. Position the ‘screen’ away from nearby houselights, streetlights or passing car headlights so everyone can see the projected movie easily, and use tent pegs to tautly secure the sheet at the bottom. Any sheet will do. You can peg two sheets together to make your improvised screen thick enough to capture the clearest image. Aim to have viewers 6-10m (20-30ft) from the screen. You can adjust the size of the image by moving the projector closer or further away, to make it comfortable to look at. Don’t forget, you’ll need room for the projector table and chairs and somewhere to put out food and drink that people can reach safely and easily in the dark. ➣
TAKE A SEAT Comfy chairs make your garden cinema set-up complete.
PHOTO: OLIV ER PERROTT FOR WWW.LIGHTS4FU N.CO.U K,GETTY, ALAMY
Easy to use
INFOCUS IN122A DLP PROJECTOR Brightness 35 lumens Resolution 800 x 600 Contrast 1500:1 £318 www.tesco.com
Budget buy
PHILIPS PICOPIX PPX2055 PORTABLE PROJECTOR Brightness 55 lumens Resolution 854 x 480 Contrast 1000:1 £169.99 www.currys.com APRIL 2016
M O D E R N G A R D E N S 101
MAKE IT!
RHUBARB TART INGREDIENTS ✽ 225g plain flour ✽ 100g butter ✽ Pinch of salt ✽ 3 tbsp cold water ✽ 15 sticks of rhubarb ✽ 150g caster sugar WHAT TO DO 1 Heat the oven to 180°C. 2 Sift the flour into a large bowl and use your fingertips to rub in the butter until the mixture looks like crumbs. 3 Stir in the salt and add the cold water. With a fork, mix into a dough. 4 Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 20 minutes. 5 Chop the rhubarb into 3-4cm (11½in) pieces and toss them in sugar. 6 Roll out the pastry to line a 25cm (10in) tin and fill the case with rhubarb. 7 Bake for 40 minutes, covering the tart with tinfoil for the last 10 minutes.
tart e– with crème fraîch e th it pairs well with rb sweet-tart rhuba TIP Serve your
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WHAT GROWLIKE AND EAT
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MAKE IT!
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RHUBARB CORDIAL
March 23 rd
INGREDIENTS ✽ 15 sticks of rhubarb ✽ Caster sugar to taste
✽ 1 lemon WHAT TO DO 1 Chop the rhubarb into small pieces and heat in a pan with 75ml (2½ fl. oz) of water. 2 Once the rhubarb softens, tip it into a sieve over a large bowl to drain. 3 Measure the liquid and return it to the pan. For every 1 litre of juice add 75ml of water along with the juice of one lemon. 4 Add sugar to taste and warm until it dissolves. 5 Allow to cool, decant into clean bottles with screw tops and store in the fridge. Dilute cordial with sparkling water to serve.
sing ticks s r e g r la r, e ld o p u of rhuba rb TIP Ideal for u
MAKE IT!
with TIP Eat wa rm r creamy custard fo ing a delicious pudd
RHUBARB AND GINGER CAKE INGREDIENTS ✽ 225g golden caster sugar ✽ 225g butter ✽ 4 eggs ✽ 225g self-raising flour ✽ 1 tsp ground ginger ✽ 1 tbsp demerara sugar ✽ 8 sticks of rhubarb WHAT TO DO 1 Heat the oven to 180°C. 2 Cream the butter and sugar until pale. 3 Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour after each. 4 Sift and fold in the remaining flour and ginger. 5 Pour the mixture into mini loaf tins. 6 Chop the rhubarb into 10cm (4in) lengths and lay one piece along the top of each cake. 7 Sprinkle the cakes with sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes. 8 Turn out onto a wire tray to cool. APRIL 2016
M O D E R N G A R D E N S 12 1
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