7 Planting Tips for Novice Gardeners
Discover the key things you need to consider when planning the planting in your garden
Sarah Alcroft
28 May 2023
Houzz UK Editorial Team
When you visit a garden centre, it’s tempting to grab a selection of plants to add instant colour to your outdoor space. However, without a little planning, it’s easy to end up with an incoherent design that somehow doesn’t quite work. So before you part with your pennies, dig into these insider tips from experienced gardening pros – and click through to our Garden Planning guide for advice on all aspects of your outdoor project.
Professional advice from: Patricia Tyrrell of Patricia Tyrrell Living Landscapes; John Brennan of Yorkshire Gardens; Peter Reader of Peter Reader Landscapes
Beginning your garden project? Read How to Start a Garden Redesign
Professional advice from: Patricia Tyrrell of Patricia Tyrrell Living Landscapes; John Brennan of Yorkshire Gardens; Peter Reader of Peter Reader Landscapes
Beginning your garden project? Read How to Start a Garden Redesign
1. Visualise the whole garden
If you were dressing your living room or bedroom, you wouldn’t just think about the flooring, you’d consider all the layers, from curtains and pictures to cupboards and cushions. Patricia Tyrrell suggests you treat your garden in a similar way and think of your plants like the furnishings in a house.
“Low-growing, mainly perennial plants should be the carpet and therefore purchased in largest numbers,” she says. “Shrubs are the furniture, so you have to be careful about the quantity and leave space around them in order that they can be appreciated for their individual forms and not grow together into an untidy mass. Trees are the ceiling and windows, creating the roof and framing the views.
“Just like in a room, the shrubs and trees should sit on the carpet in a layer,” she continues. “It would look pretty silly if you cut a square out of your carpet to sit the sofa on and the same applies in the garden.”
Find a professional garden designer to help with your outdoor project and read reviews from previous clients.
If you were dressing your living room or bedroom, you wouldn’t just think about the flooring, you’d consider all the layers, from curtains and pictures to cupboards and cushions. Patricia Tyrrell suggests you treat your garden in a similar way and think of your plants like the furnishings in a house.
“Low-growing, mainly perennial plants should be the carpet and therefore purchased in largest numbers,” she says. “Shrubs are the furniture, so you have to be careful about the quantity and leave space around them in order that they can be appreciated for their individual forms and not grow together into an untidy mass. Trees are the ceiling and windows, creating the roof and framing the views.
“Just like in a room, the shrubs and trees should sit on the carpet in a layer,” she continues. “It would look pretty silly if you cut a square out of your carpet to sit the sofa on and the same applies in the garden.”
Find a professional garden designer to help with your outdoor project and read reviews from previous clients.
2. Think of your garden in 4D
At the same time as having a sense of how you’d design your interior, however, John Brennan suggests you also consider the fact that gardens are constantly changing.
“Not only is what you plant going to grow and spread, it’s also going to change over time,” he says. “If it’s a tree or shrub, it will get larger and also cast more shade, which will affect what’s planted nearby.”
At the same time as having a sense of how you’d design your interior, however, John Brennan suggests you also consider the fact that gardens are constantly changing.
“Not only is what you plant going to grow and spread, it’s also going to change over time,” he says. “If it’s a tree or shrub, it will get larger and also cast more shade, which will affect what’s planted nearby.”
3. Look where the sunlight falls
Before you purchase anything for your garden, it’s worth spending some time in it to find out where the sunny and shady areas are, so you can choose your plants and position your seating accordingly.
“Draw a little map and mark in the shady areas in the morning, at noon and in the evening,” Patricia suggests. Note whether each area is mostly in sun, mostly in shade, or in part-sun, part-shade. “Then, when choosing plants, it becomes much easier to identify where they will grow best,” she says.
“This is also a useful exercise for identifying areas of the garden for a patio or seating to get the morning or evening sun; a shady area where you can locate your garden shed, or a place that gets the sun all day for vegetables or a greenhouse,” she adds.
Peter agrees, saying, “When buying plants, do your research, and go for what will grow well in your garden conditions. Don’t just buy what the garden centre has to offer. ‘The right plant for the right place’ is the garden designer’s mantra.”
Before you purchase anything for your garden, it’s worth spending some time in it to find out where the sunny and shady areas are, so you can choose your plants and position your seating accordingly.
“Draw a little map and mark in the shady areas in the morning, at noon and in the evening,” Patricia suggests. Note whether each area is mostly in sun, mostly in shade, or in part-sun, part-shade. “Then, when choosing plants, it becomes much easier to identify where they will grow best,” she says.
“This is also a useful exercise for identifying areas of the garden for a patio or seating to get the morning or evening sun; a shady area where you can locate your garden shed, or a place that gets the sun all day for vegetables or a greenhouse,” she adds.
Peter agrees, saying, “When buying plants, do your research, and go for what will grow well in your garden conditions. Don’t just buy what the garden centre has to offer. ‘The right plant for the right place’ is the garden designer’s mantra.”
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John adds that plants not only survive better in the right light, but look best in their natural habitat.
“Large-leaved plants with cooler-coloured flowers probably originated in woodlands and will look better in the shade,” he says. “Hot-coloured flowers look good planted next to grasses to give a natural, prairie feel, while herbs often prefer poor soil and look good planted through gravel.”
More: Professional Tips for Designing a North-facing Garden
“Large-leaved plants with cooler-coloured flowers probably originated in woodlands and will look better in the shade,” he says. “Hot-coloured flowers look good planted next to grasses to give a natural, prairie feel, while herbs often prefer poor soil and look good planted through gravel.”
More: Professional Tips for Designing a North-facing Garden
4. Buy plants in multiples
Patricia and Peter both suggest you shouldn’t buy one of everything, but several, preferably in odd numbers – three, five, even seven.
“Mix them around the garden,” Peter says. “Repetition pulls the space and design together and creates harmony.”
Patricia and Peter both suggest you shouldn’t buy one of everything, but several, preferably in odd numbers – three, five, even seven.
“Mix them around the garden,” Peter says. “Repetition pulls the space and design together and creates harmony.”
5. Avoid bare soil patches
Whether you have deep or shallow beds, it’s wise to fill them with your favourite plants, or nature will step in.
“If you leave bare soil in your garden, nature will fill it with weeds,” Patricia says, “so it’s important to try to achieve a complete ground cover. Not only will your garden be more colourful and interesting, it will also be easier to maintain.”
Whether you have deep or shallow beds, it’s wise to fill them with your favourite plants, or nature will step in.
“If you leave bare soil in your garden, nature will fill it with weeds,” Patricia says, “so it’s important to try to achieve a complete ground cover. Not only will your garden be more colourful and interesting, it will also be easier to maintain.”
6. Create intrigue to make your outdoor space feel bigger
The sense that there’s more to explore beyond what you can immediately see is a trick many designers use to make a garden feel bigger than it is, so consider partially hiding an area.
“If you have a garden where all parts are visible at once, you could think about partitioning it, either physically with screens or hedges, or through different planting styles with different atmospheres,” John says.
More: How to Create Atmosphere in the Garden With Light and Shadow
The sense that there’s more to explore beyond what you can immediately see is a trick many designers use to make a garden feel bigger than it is, so consider partially hiding an area.
“If you have a garden where all parts are visible at once, you could think about partitioning it, either physically with screens or hedges, or through different planting styles with different atmospheres,” John says.
More: How to Create Atmosphere in the Garden With Light and Shadow
7. Don’t forget there are four seasons
All our experts recommend you try to consider different flowering times and changing leaf colours.
“If you visit a garden centre, don’t purchase all the plants that are in flower, as you’ll end up with a garden that only has colour at one time of year,” Patricia says.
John adds that a range is important, so other plants take over when early flowerers have gone past their best. “Bear in mind plants will change throughout the season, so what you’re buying from the garden centre may look great now, but may look very different in six months’ time,” he says.
“Plan for interest for the whole year,” Peter agrees. “Select a mix of plants that flower at different times or have two seasons of interest, such as spring blossom and autumn foliage colour, so there’s always something of interest going on.”
Tell us…
Have you found yourself more interested in gardening recently? Did you find these tips useful? Share your thoughts and garden photos in the Comments.
All our experts recommend you try to consider different flowering times and changing leaf colours.
“If you visit a garden centre, don’t purchase all the plants that are in flower, as you’ll end up with a garden that only has colour at one time of year,” Patricia says.
John adds that a range is important, so other plants take over when early flowerers have gone past their best. “Bear in mind plants will change throughout the season, so what you’re buying from the garden centre may look great now, but may look very different in six months’ time,” he says.
“Plan for interest for the whole year,” Peter agrees. “Select a mix of plants that flower at different times or have two seasons of interest, such as spring blossom and autumn foliage colour, so there’s always something of interest going on.”
Tell us…
Have you found yourself more interested in gardening recently? Did you find these tips useful? Share your thoughts and garden photos in the Comments.
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@Murray: that’s bizarre. We have two small children and are in the process of shrinking the grassy areas to a bare minimum for a meadow-type planting, putting in wider beds, more varied planting and trees, etc. In London at least the period during which children are both large enough to kick something and small enough not to kick it through a window can probably be measured in months. As you say, we just take them to the local park for more active fun: they see their friends, run themselves ragged, and then we can come home to a space that will work for dinner, hanging out (esp as they get older), etc.
This was very interesting and informative. Thank you
A concise but very informative article that’s given me lots to consider before planning my garden and grounds landscape