Almost a year from my last installment of Best Laid Plans and what feels like a year since my last post (sincere apologies) here is the 3rd and latest edition. The last time, in Best Laid Plans II, we were almost forced into design choices as a result of the excess soil. With this installment of the 'Best Laid Plans' trilogy I am beginning to really just design and enjoy the space that I have to work with.
The best example of this is that I had never really considered a colour scheme before, or even a style that we could build towards. However, with the plum slate and painting of the fence, seating and shed, we are now considering the colours brought into the garden. Having been inspired by my surroundings in Brighton, it felt great to be able to incorporate that into my London garden. So a blue, purple and cream colour scheme is building and I will also try and plant to match that. This will bring a real sense of unity and consistency to the whole garden that will tie together all of the elements.
Another genius idea I had for the new design was to add some curves to an otherwise very straight lined garden. Curves can help to distract the eye and break up the space a bit more than hard angles. I will do this by creating a slalom like cut in my grass by the rockery. That swerves me onto a blazing hot segway ..my BRAND, NEW, FIREPIT AREA!!! Ooooh yeah... can you tell I'm excited?? One of the standout features I kept seeing on various sites and garden designs was a fire pit. Ranging from very basic to extravagantly expensive and elegant, I just loved the idea of my own firepit. Particularly with the weather in England liking to go from Malaga to Siberia in a heartbeat you have to find a way to keep warm sometimes ...hence my marshmallows for everybody, round firepit. While sticking with some functional weatherproof additions, I've added a pathway to the firepit and a mini greenhouse to the back of the garden. One incorporated to avoid trodding on water soaked grass and the other to keep young plants safe from the unpredictable elements.
As mentioned at the beginning, this is the period that I really get to enjoy just designing. It is also the period where I will, and have, changed my mind a million times, because I keep seeing cool ideas I want to install in my garden. Well, I guess you know what they say about the best laid plans right??
