Meet the expert: Gardening pro Steve Sherratt’s shares his show home garden tips
05 Jul 2024

One of the best things about owning a new build home is that you’re given a blank canvas to add your own style. In this article we’re joined by gardening pro, Steve Sherratt, to find out where to start when it comes to designing your dream garden from scratch. 

Where to start

The important thing when you’re designing your garden is to think about how you’re going to be using it in the future.

You’ll then need to find out as much as possible about the space you’re working with - is it north or south facing, for example? Once you’ve got a good understanding of the site, you can develop your design from there.

The really important bit

Think about:

• Are you going to want a social space?
• Which areas are you going to want to sit and relax in?
• Which areas are you going to want to dine in?
• Are you going to put a pergola above it?
• Are you going to need garden storage? 

This is particularly important because these are the items that are going to be permanent. You’re going to want paving, pergolas need to be in the right place and whilst nobody really wants to put a shed in the garden, you might need to.

The rest of the garden can evolve around it and it can constantly change, but those items are expensive, so really think about that and get it right.

Making an impact

When you’re looking to design a show home garden, you’re looking at impact and you’ll need focal points.

Look at what you first see when you look out of the main windows of the house and that’s where to put your main structures (things like pergola, decking, feature plants, gravel areas and water features).

A feast for the eyes

Everything else has to complement it and the careful choice of plants is paramount. A mixture of evergreens and summer flowering varieties is best so there are no barren areas of the garden during the winter.

Gardens should be a feast for the eyes, so carefully mixing different colours and textures is key.