How does your garden grow?

It’s that perfect time of year when gardens show off all their glorious colour to make outdoor living one of the most appealing features about a home. If you don’t have that green-fingered touch, then look out for plenty of inspiration at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. 

The Royal Horticultural Society’s flagship flower show might be ‘the place to see cutting-edge garden design’ but it’s also offers thought-provoking ideas to take home and try out even for the enthusiastic amateur gardener.  

A beautiful garden is a good investment too, adding considerable impact to the photos and marketing literature especially if you decide to market your home in summertime when its colourful garden will catch the eyes of more browsing buyers.  

Gardens do take time to nurture but there are quick ways to add colour using bedding plants and hanging baskets whether they are in cottage-style or more unusual modern planters according to the style of your home. 

Small gardens can have instant impact using different levels of planting, varied textures of patios and decking, or perhaps introducing a water feature and an outdoor mirror to reflect the sunlight and the greenery. According to the RHS, ‘water is the single most important addition to a garden if you want to attract wildlife’.

Don’t forget you can take containers with you when you move so choose the style of pots which appeal for the long-term and plants which are a pleasure to look at as well as introducing lovely summer fragrances and attracting butterflies and bees to the garden.  

A well planned garden of any size, with interest throughout the year, can create extra living space and certainly appeals to buyers. Summer entertaining is changing too, especially with the advent of ‘outdoor kitchens’ beyond the barbecue and more leisurely garden furniture for relaxing while admiring the scenery.  

And if gardening isn’t for you, choose low maintenance shrubs and create somewhere inviting to enjoy sitting out with friends as midsummer approaches while the children enjoy games on the lawn or leaping on the trampoline. 

Then all that's needed is some warm weather to bring out the best of the garden this summer - whether in your current home or planning your next one.