James Alexander-Sinclair shares his top 5 garden tips
To celebrate next month’s Grand Designs Live at Excel London, Rightmove sat down with TV presenter and garden expert, James Alexander-Sinclair, to discuss his top tips for creating a dream garden.
Don’t miss our 241 offer code below for tickets to Grand Designs Live at ExCel London 3rd-11th May.
Keep it simple
All the best designs are the simple ones. This does not mean boring, it just means effective.
Spend some time thinking about how you are going to use your garden
No point in rushing in and planting a whole load of stuff when what you really need is a safe place for children to run around and kick a football.
Thinking about growing your own vegetables? Great idea but take it slowly
Don’t try and grow everything in your first year just concentrate on growing a few things really well.
Watch the sun
Everybody likes to sit out in the garden enjoying a drink or a meal with friends. The temptation is to build a patio against the house (and therefore closer to the beer and sausages!). This is a good idea unless your house is facing the wrong way in which case it may be dark and shady by the back door so maybe the patio should be somewhere else..
When planting your borders try and get a good mixture of foliage and flower
Evergreen shrubs may look good in the depths of winter but tend to look a bit dull in summer and conversely roses look fab in summer but tend to look like nothing more than prickly twigs in the winter. Make sure you have a good mixture of shrubs, plants and annuals.
With areas dedicated to interiors, technology, kitchens, bathrooms, build and gardens, inspiration starts with a visit to Grand Designs Live at the ExCel London, 3-11 May 2014.
Book 2 for 1 tickets now! We have teamed up with show organisers and have a great 2 for 1 ticket offer for you – get two weekday tickets for just £16 or two weekend tickets for just £19. To book visit www.granddesignslive.com or call 0844 854 1348 and quote RMOVE14.
*Transaction fee of £1.70 applies per order. Tickets must be booked in advance. Offer ends 11th May 2014. Offer valid on standard admission tickets only. Saving based on the door rate.
