READER'S GARDEN
Designing a dream garden from scratch can seem like a daunting task, but for reader Becca Lewis, her determination and hard work has resulted in an outdoor space that has exceeded her expectations.
After moving into a new build house in Guildtown, Perth, Becca was presented with a 220 square-foot blank canvas at the rear of the property.
Having spent a lot of time in her parents’ garden during the pandemic, and watching garden design shows on television, she was clear about what she wanted when it came to designing her ideal outdoor space.
Becca explained, “I drew a scale drawing of the plot, which really helped me to understand the space. I knew the main elements I wished for: a large patio area for living and hosting, a lawn area, an evening ‘chill out zone’, and a kitchen garden. I knew I wanted to surround the patio with borders, and add an archway through into the lawn to add height to the space.”
To reduce costs as much as possible, Becca enlisted the help of her fiancé, along with friends and family, to assist with the landscaping and building phase of the design. The build was split into two stages, with the patio, lawn and flower beds taking priority.
Becca said, “We did this over two weekends last summer. We laid the greenhouse base, and laid turf topsoil prior to laying the lawn to give the lawn the best start.
“The second weekend, we dug out soil for the patio and hired a compactor, which was surprisingly easy and low cost. Then we laid the patio, weeded the borders, and applied mulch to the soil.”
The garden build though has not been smooth sailing, and Becca has had to be creative when it comes to navigating issues presented by poor weather during the winter months. Due to several flooding incidents, a drainage system for the greenhouse was created by digging a channel into the ground and filling it with terram and chippies to avoid future flooding.
Becca had some challenges to navigate in designing her dream garden. Like most new build properties, the back garden was heavy with clay soil, which required adding layers of peat free organic matter, and she plans to mulch several times a year to gradually break down the clay.
In March, it was time to start planting out the flower beds. Becca chose raised, metal bed planters that would be both practical and aesthetically pleasing. Initially, she was able to save money as she took a lot of plants from her old house, giving her immediate results.
Since then, she has planted five trees, three fruit trees, a flowering cherry tree and an Amelanchier x lamarckii ‘Robin Hill’ tree. She has also planted a selection of evergreen shrubs so the garden will evolve with the seasons and provide year-round colour.
For amateur gardeners, Becca has some tips to share from her own experience of building her dream garden, “My best advice would be to sow from seed where possible, invest in perennials and bulbs, and have at least one tree in your garden. A lot of trees were taken down for this new build development, so something that was very important to me was bringing wildlife back into our garden.”
Despite already putting in copious amounts of hard work, Becca still has ambitious goals for the future of her new garden. “There is space for a shed, but this year that space will be dedicated to cut flowers. We will add a wildlife pond in the kitchen garden area, and I am hoping frogs will be my pest control. The garden is still very young and I am excited to see how it grows and matures over time.”
You can follow Becca’s gardening journey on Instagram.
If you would like to see your garden featured in a future edition of Scotland Grows magazine, please do get in touch to mail@scottishgardeningmagazine.com - we would love to hear from you!