How much to change when you move home

While it may be tempting to raze everything to the ground and start from scratch, don’t. The best way to decide how much to change is to assess your site thoroughly over a period of time to see how the garden works throughout the year. There are a number of other reasons to hold back too – not least because keeping plants or re-working existing features will save you money.

Take your time

Getting to know your garden before you make big changes will save you time and money - spring may reveal beautiful surprises

This approach also makes sense if you’re on a budget, as gardens will amply repay you for buying the best quality materials you can afford. Also, gardens can be full of surprises – what looks like a bare patch of ground in summer could hide lots of beautiful spring-flowering bulbs: the best way to find out is to wait and see!

Tackling overgrown shrubs and trees

Pruning off the lower branches of trees and shrubs can transform the look and feel of your garden

There are a number of ways that overgrown trees and shrubs can be made smaller. Some can be cut back to below their desired height and will respond with lots of bushy growth. Others can have their canopies reduced or thinned. One of the best techniques is crown lifting – cut off the lower branches of blobby shrubs and spreading trees to reveal their bare trunks. This lets lots more light through, yet keeps the sense of fullness and maturity you get from having

Established plants have been in their current location for two or three years and so have well-developed root systems able to support strong growth with healthy foliage and flowers.

Crazy paving?

Hard landscaping materials can often be re-used

Dealing with ill-looking plants

Attend to diseased plants as soon as you can

One instance where you may need to reach straight for the spade or chainsaw is if a plant looks ill. For example, if a shrub’s leaves turn brown in midsummer, then it’s worth getting it checked out – if you’re an RHS member you can get this done by experts, for free. Occasionally physiological problems such as frost or drought can look a bit like diseases. Once you're sure of your diagnosis, dig up and destroy plants with serious, incurable diseases like honey fungus as soon as you can, to prevent problems from spreading.

Some plants live longer than others

Split up overgrown clumps of plants to give them a refresh

A method of growing new plants from parts of an existing plant, such as sections of root, stem, leaf or bud. When prepared correctly and planted in the right conditions, they can produce roots and eventually become independent plants. There is a wide range of different methods for taking cuttings, depending on the plant and time of year.

cuttings

However, most herbaceous plants (those without woody stems that last from one year to the next, such as daylilies, asters, hardy geraniums) can live for many years. Generally they do best if they’re dug up, split apart and replanted every three years or so. That way you’ll have fresh, vigorous new plants that will flourish anew.

Simple changes to stamp your mark

Create instant symmetry with pots

Use bedding plants for quick temporary colour

Placing matching pots either side of a doorway, bench or path is another ‘quick win’ – use topiary for a classic effect or

Bedding plants are usually colourful half-hardy, short-lived or annual plants, grown for displays in beds or containers. They may be changed seasonally, with spring, summer and winter bedding displays each using different plants of appropriate hardiness and flowering times.

Annuals are plants that complete their life cycle in one growing season. They are generally easy to grow from seed or can be bought as young plants from garden centres. Annuals are ideal for growing in summer containers and filling gaps in borders. Some examples of annuals include sunflowers, cosmos, sweet peas and zinnia.

annual plants