Ahead of Gardeners’ World Live, I’ve been chatting to top designer David Stevens about why front gardens are important and how to tackle them.
It’s ironic that the piece of garden that’s most visible is often the most neglected. Front gardens are rarely given the time and care devoted to their back-of-house counterparts yet they are on show to the world.
It’s something Professor David Stevens describes as a shame, pointing out that they give an important first impression to visitors.
“They very often give you an indication of who’s living there and what they’re like,” he says.
Front gardens are also a way of brightening a street, while choosing the right planting can help combat noise and pollution.
“We do have a responsibility to our neighbours. If people do think about the street scene as a whole, with a little bit of work the whole environment, the whole area can be made much better with plants.”
Ideas on how to tackle front gardens are the basis for a competition he’s helping with at this year’s Gardeners’ World Live. The award-winning designer – he has 11 Chelsea gold medals and three Best in Shows to his name – has created two very different designs for front gardens. These will be produced by two teams of young landscapers who will be judged on how well they complete the projects, from the hard landscaping to the planting.
The designs are deliberately chosen to illustrate how varied front gardens can be. The first is contemporary with borders and hard landscaping set at a 45 degree in line with a bay window.
“It has brick courses in the drive that draw your eye towards the front door. It’s a contemporary, crisp, straightforward composition.”
The second is more traditional with imitation York stone that is broken up by brick paving that runs across the garden.
Although different, both gardens will have the same amount of work involved to complete them.
David, who counts Gardeners’ World presenter Adam Frost among his former pupils, believes the gardens will also be inspirational for visitors to the show.
“A show is an ideas factory,” he explains. “Don’t copy slavishly but get ideas from it. Look at the planting combinations, look at the materials used and how they are put together.”
Design tips for front gardens
When it comes to laying out front gardens, David says there are some basic things to consider.
Take your cue from the house. It’s likely to be the most dominant feature so use it as the starting point. If the house is brick, consider using brick for paving while cream-coloured slabs may look best against a cream house. Limit yourself to a few materials to stop the design looking bitty.
Think about access. All too often the drive and path are not clearly defined. Try to make both part of the overall design.
Block out pollution. Both traffic fumes and noise can be blocked out by clever planting. Try a bed of evergreen shrubs, or if space is tight, a neatly clipped hedge.
Make it interesting year-round. Choose plants carefully and include evergreens, spring bulbs or flowering shrubs, and architectural plants.
Help fight flooding. Use permeable surfaces for drives and paths. Make sure they drain away into flower beds rather than the drains.
Choose a good firm. A good garden is not just planting and it takes skill to put in hard landscaping properly. David recommends choosing someone who’s a member of the Association of Professional Landscapers, getting a number of quotes and being prepared to pay.
“People don’t fully understand the cost of putting a garden together,” he says. “You get what you pay for.”
• BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2019 is at the NEC, Birmingham, from June 13-16. It includes show gardens, the Beautiful Borders competition, floral marquee and talks. You can find out more details and book tickets here.