We’ve paved paradise and put up a parking lot – in our own front gardens. Bring nature back and up your home’s kerb appeal with a few easy tips
Front gardens across the country are being lost to a tidal wave of slabs and tarmac. In the last decade alone we have tripled the amount of paved front gardens.
Of the 19.1 million front gardens across the country, a staggering five million – more than a quarter – have no plants, and seven million are concreted over completely.
This awful decline reflects the huge rise in the number of cars – from 21 million in 1995 to 31 million by 2015, according to the RAC Foundation.
A host of other factors, from the introduction of wheelie bins to council parking restrictions and even the boom in buy-tolet properties, have made the problem worse.
A paved-over front garden may be convenient when we have a busy lifestyle and little time to spare but the benefits of a real garden are tremendous. Our mental health, community, natural environment and even our wallets are all factors affected by gardens.
At the recent RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show I designed three front garden displays sponsored by Everest Home Improvements.
Each one represented a charity, and the design should reflect that charity’s mission – but my hope was that they would also help inspire visitors to the show with some creative front garden ideas.
The three charities represented by my displays were Save the Orangutan, the Bat Conservation Trust and the British Trust for Ornithology.
So the gardens explored themes such as creating a tropical garden feel here in the UK, and also many methods of supporting bats and birds within the gardens by using complementary planting, water features such as ponds and bird baths, and structures like bird and bat boxes.
The first (Save the Orangutan) was an interpretation of how a front garden would look with a jungle feel – using tree ferns and other exotic species, it should inspire people by showing how creative we can be.
The Bat Conservation Trust garden showcased several ways that you can support bats in your own garden, such as a pond and white or palecoloured plants to attract nocturnal insects for bats to feed on. The design aimed to show people that our front gardens are as important as our back gardens in supporting local wildlife.
The final display (British Ornithology Trust) had a similar mission in supporting local wildlife, but this one was all about birds.
The design featured berryproducing hedging that birds love for food and nesting, and highlighted the need for fresh water, especially throughout the winter.
The front garden really is a bridge between our home and the outside world. Whether you’re returning after a long day at work, or stepping out to face a new day, that transition is important and can affect our mood and frame of mind.
Studies have shown streets with front gardens that are planted and well-kept promote a greater sense of calm and tranquillity among the residents. And the benefits extend into the community too.
The sense of pride and respect for our homes that a tended front garden brings has been shown to reduce littering, graffiti and more serious crimes like theft and other anti-social behaviours.
Aside from the human benefits, front gardens are also important to our natural environment.
Hedgehog, bat and butterfly populations are all struggling and the loss of front garden space is one of the key factors.
The good news is we can all do our bit to help out local wildlife by having a planted front garden.
So keeping a green front garden isn’t just a pleasure, it’s a community service that benefits all living creatures. tips for a beautiful front garden
Trimming your hedges, mowing your lawn and keeping any trees or shrubs in check is at the heart of good garden maintenance.
Most of us have them now, and some of us can’t keep them round the back. If you have to have it in front of your house, use a little ingenuity to create some bin storage, or camouflage the bin itself using specialised stickers. If you’ve got the cash, you can buy a wheelie bin storage unit from most DIY or garden centres.
Be smart and use the walls and fences to grow stunning climbers. You can also use drainpipe planters, window boxes and many other clever devices to make the best of your little patch. If you can’t go out, go up.
Having a central feature to draw the eye really finishes the garden. There are tons of creative options that will put the icing on your garden design, whether it’s a bird bath, a sculpture, a pretty bench, or even a planted container or raised bed.
I’ve seen people use bathtubs, filing cabinets, a pair of old wellies, an old bike with a planted basket, and more. If you’re feeling bold, get creative.
It’s a great idea to have an evergreen backbone to your garden to keep that lush colour all year. There are also plenty of winter-flowering beauties to fill your borders with warm tones in the coldest of months. With a little planning, your garden doesn’t have to turn dead and drab for several months of the year.