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This is where the design fun begins - By Lesley Hegarty and Robert WebberOur design feature reaches the stages when finally the plants can go in and a vision appears of the final look With the hard landscaping now complete, you have transformed your outside space from a blank slate into a real garden! This is when the fun really starts!The first task after the basic construction was the creation of a new lawn – and the decision whether to sow seed or lay turf. There are pros and cons with each approach: turfed lawns can be used just three weeks after laying, need less detailed soil preparation and can be carried out at most times of year (although spring and autumn are best), whereas a lawn from seed is cheaper, there is a huge variety of seed mixes available to suit most situations and hand sowing seed is easier than laying turf. After much deliberation the owner of the garden we have shown in this series, Joe, decided that he would go for the turf option, as Bailey, his chocolate labrador, would definitely prefer the benefits of a ‘ready to use’ play space. If ordering your own turf, we always advise that you choose grass that is of a high quality - moist, weed free and without signs of drying out – then you must water your new lawn in well. And now to the really exciting part: the plants. You may have chosen a relaxed cottage planting involving lots of bright colours and texture to soften those hard landscaping edges. Alternatively you may prefer a more minimalist look with strong lines and a limited planting palette of greens, silvers and whites. Or this year’s Chelsea Flower Show displayed naturalistic plantings of purples, plums, pinks with dramatic splashes of yellow and cream, if you are a devotee of the latest horticultural fashions. And why not? Whatever your style, designers will happily produce planting plans for you. You can then be certain that the right plants will be in the right places as well as a providing a wonderful display for you. Working with Joe and Sophie we decided upon a contemporary cottage style planting in pastel shades of purples, blues and whites, with the odd dash of shocking pink in the form of Dahlia ‘Roxy’ to liven it up. If your garden isn’t too large, it might even be possible to include the planting detail on your concept design, as we did for Joe and Sophie.  For some clients the numerous trips to garden centres to source their own plants is part of the excitement of creating a new garden. Having gone to all the hard work of the construction, Joe and Sophie wanted to complete the process themselves and spent a very pleasant few weekends getting familiar with their local garden centres and planting up their borders. Others prefer to use a garden designer to complete this part of the process and get their garden ‘up and running’ as soon as they can.If you would like help at this stage, we are happy to liaise with our selection of tried and tested nurseries to source and arrange delivery of all your required plants. We would always suggest that we position the plants ready for you or your contractor to plant. Although tempting to do it all yourself, the laying out of even an average sized mixed border measuring 7.5m by 2m (containing 80 - 100 plants) according to a planting plan can be quite bewildering unless you are wholly familiar with all the plants and will probably take you longer than you think. However you choose to do it, remember to water all your plants in well – and then get out your sunlounger and enjoy the results! Lesley Hegarty and Robert Webber – www.hegartywebberpartnership.com – 01934 853273 |