Plan your garden and give yourself a view from your window

When you're planning your garden, it is worth thinking about what it will look like from the house. After all, you will probably look at it from that direction every day! Here are some tips on how to make the view of the garden from the house a good one.

 

 

 

 

Do you stand at the kitchen sink looking out of the window at the garden while doing the washing up? Do you look out when sitting at the table eating lunch? Do you have a spot outside the back door where you can you sit and have a cup of tea and admire the garden?

 

So many people have a dishwasher now, that the kitchen window may have lost its claim to being one of the primary places from which to view the garden. Even so, there are things you can do to make sure that whenever you do gaze out of the window, open the door, or step through the gate, the view is one to enjoy. And in winter, when most days you get only a brief glimpse of the garden before leaving for work, and it's dark by the time you get home again, you will be grateful for something decent to see out of the window.

 

Things you can do:

1. Include a focal point. This can be an arch, a statue, a sculpture or some wall art. It doesn't have to be large or expensive, it just needs to catch the eye.

 

2. Lead the eye on a journey. A curving path, or several different plants or features, at different heights and distances, will keep your eyes moving around the garden, taking in more of the scenery. 

 
 

3. Don't forget the foreground. Make sure there is plenty going on close enough to your vantage point that you can see it. This is especially important for winter when you might not often venture down the garden. You don't want the foreground to dominate or distract from everything else, but a splash of colour close enough to enjoy, or an interesting feature at close range is enough.

 

4. Bring in the birds. hang a couple of feeders full of nuts or seeds and there will always be some feathered friends to entertain you.

 

5. Create a picture - Just like a great photograph, if you can use various different things to compose a picture, and frame that view, you will never tire of looking at it. Stourhead in Wiltshire is one of the ultimate expressions of this, but you can create your own real life postcard. If you have a hedge on one side and a tree on the other, find a large pot, specimen plant, or other feature, and position them well in relation to each other, and you will have a special, and unique, view.
The combinations are endless!

 

GREEN FINGERS TIP: Stand plants in position for a while before you plant them so you can check out the view you are creating. Only put them in the ground when you are satisfied you have them in the optimum position.