This time next year.....
What do you want your garden to look like?
And for the first time ever - you can listen above rather than read if thats your bag!
August, and indeed the approaching autumn, is a strange time as a landscape/garden designer. I notice it every year: a slow shift away from the public mindset of GARDEN GARDEN GARDEN which tends to kick in around the time the kids break up from school with the disinterest increasing the closer we get to Christmas (sorry I used the c word). Articles become less garden focused, social media shifts away from a flood of plant based content, the garden shows are over and there is a very palpable, albeit gradual, gear change away from all things garden towards….well anything else really. The irony is its the exact time the focus should actually be on the garden - or rather on planning for next year. By the time everyone cares again (usually spring) it’s too late to achieve a lot.
If I am honest, I often feel a bit (ONLY A BIT) of garden fatigue myself too around late summer - just a creeping weariness when the novelty of feeding, deadheading and watering starts to wear off and it starts to feel like…dare I say… a chore. I think it’s ok to say that keeping everything happy, tidy (ish)and flowering takes work and can feel like an endless list of to do’s. Paired with this, the never ending heatwaves and drought of this summer have taken their toll on our gardens, and if yours is looking tired it’s understandable that it can make you fall out of love with it somewhat.
BUT, stick with it my friends. This is where I assure you that there are months of colour, gardening and enjoyment to be had in the garden if you persevere and I urge you not to do as many do and write off your garden until next spring - that is the most classic mistake that I see in my profession and I promise you, it will put you on the back foot. Instead, take a step back and ask yourself, right now, what you want your garden to look like this time next year. Or rather - next June. Because to get you where you want to be then - you need to be planning it NOW and here is what you need to do: