Dive into... GARDEN OF YOUR DREAMS
These days, everything happens so quickly in this fast-paced world. Having a smartphone ensures that knowledge (true or false) is always at our fingertips, and this makes us impatient. I mean, we get cranky if we have to wait too long for a coffee!
We are ultimately after things that give us a quick fix, but these things can be unrewarding. Designing, building and looking after a garden, on the other hand, requires patience. Each part takes time. And anything that takes time is generally worthwhile.
NURTURE FOR REWARDS
I liken creating a garden to having a family, a marriage or a career. You need to nurture it for it to be a success. This process and investment means that it will obviously take more time than the quick fix; however, it will be exponentially more rewarding in so many ways.
I’ve been known to spend many an hour staring at survey plans and random pieces of paper, wondering where to start on a design.
It’s funny, people think I turn up to a job and know exactly what to do immediately because that’s what they see me do on television, but in fact good design can take time.
Don’t get me wrong, there are moments when a flash of inspiration will come to me or, through my previous experiences, I’ll know straight away what will or won’t work, but there are also times when it’s more of a challenge. More often than not, this is when I don’t feel like I’m on the same page as the client I’m working for.
When designing my own garden, the opposite happens – there’s too much possibility, and it’s hard to narrow it down to one cohesive idea! Designing your own garden has the excellent benefit of you not having to articulate all of your ideas and concepts to somebody else.
However, it also has the drawback of being too “close to home”, meaning that you’re not able to be critical of the design, which can lead to a garden that has too much
in it and doesn’t feel curated or polished. Here, I’ll show you how to get the balance just right.
CREATE A WISHLIST
This is the critical first step to achieving a garden with all the elements you want. It involves asking yourself two important questions.
The first – how do I want it to make me feel? Most people think of their garden primarily as a practical space – somewhere to kick a ball, to eat or to swim.
If you start to think about how you want to feel in the space, you’ll approach the
design with a different mindset. I understand if you think this sounds like a bunch of designer hogwash, but if you can build a garden that creates an emotional connection as well as providing a practical space... Well, that’s the best garden of all.
This connection will be important throughout the construction phase and beyond, as it will bond you to the space, and your emotional investment means you’ll care for it more – and that will show.
Once you’ve worked out how you want your garden to make you feel, you’re halfway to nailing your list.