MIRRORS, LOOKALIKES AND OTHER EXPERT TRICKERY!
Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist Ruth Willmott has to create convincing show gardens in just three weeks, so she has plenty of clever cheats up her sleeve. Borrow some of her tips...
◆ Make a small space feel bigger by subtly narrowing a path or lawn away from you, so that the far end of a garden appears further away than it really is. If you use obviously larger-leaved plants near the house and much smaller-leaved plants further away, it will add to the illusion.
◆ Another piece of trickery is to site windows or doors along your boundary, creating the impression that there is more garden to be discovered just on the other side. Cleverly placed mirrors will add to this effect. And if there’s a handsome tree in a neighbour’s garden, it will make your own garden feel bigger, too. It’s what designers call ‘borrowing landscape’, and we’ve been doing it for centuries!
◆ I often work in quite confined urban spaces. Painting walls or boundary fences in shades of green really helps to soften the space and make it feel like an oasis, especially where there’s not much room for planting. Using colour on boundaries and in furniture and soft furnishings is an easy way to keep the garden bright and interesting all year round.
real lead planter?
◆ Who can afford – or lift – a These days you can buy all manner of urns and pots in GRP (glass-reinforced plastic) that look like real weathered stone or metal, but are a fraction of the price and much easier to handle. Replica pots are available from living reendesign. com or capital-garden.com. And why stop there? If you like the look of timber, but don’t much enjoy scrubbing it to stop it from getting slippery, there are many styles of fake wood – sleepers, steps or decking made from porcelain or concrete offer both greater durability and easier maintenance. Try stonemarket.co.uk for replica timber. You can even buy lightweight artificial boulders – ideal for water features, green roofs or anywhere access is a problem. See artificialrocks.co.uk.
◆ Multi-stem trees are beautiful, but they cost a fortune. With sturdy trees such as silver birch, you can get the same effect by planting three saplings in the same hole and angling them slightly away from each other. Try dulford-nurseries.co.uk.