Where to start, literally where to start, with a garden design
Let’s start at the very beginning - the front door
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Today I’m going to be taking a look at a part of garden design which tends to get forgotten, but which is absolutely fundamental to the success of the design. The entrance.
I’d like to thank everyone who has messaged this week to say how much The Gardening Mind means to them - it’s been truly amazing. I’m not sure what sparked this off - whether it was the Zoom in which I spilled a lot of show garden secrets and design progress, or maybe it was the AMA (Ask Me Anything). I’ll probably never know, but thank you - each message packs a huge punch as it arrives.
There’s another Zoom taking place this coming week - it’s a How to find your way round The Gardening Mind session, how to interact and how to find stuff: this is going to be on Monday 29th January at 7pm UK time. It’ll be a really useful session. I’ll be looking at all the features and sections here on TGM, such as Chat, Notes, and how to find Zoom links, and showing you how you can upload images and share ideas. This will come in really useful if you’re planning to take part in the upcoming Small Garden Design Course. This Zoom is for paid subscribers and I’ll be emailing the invitation to it beforehand.
This Zoom will also help you join in the regular Sunday Show Us Your Plots session, which runs all day (and longer!) on Chat. I post a real, unfiltered photo of my garden, taken on the day, and then I ask you to join in. We’ve had some great photos so far. If you’re looking for the Chat, you can either find it on your profile page here:
or on The Gardening Mind home page here:
Tap either the speech bubble or ‘Chat’ - the latter will take you directly to our own Gardening Mind Chat. So make a note to come and have a look at what’s happening on the Chat on Sunday!
Before the Small Garden Design series starts, let’s take a look at a garden feature that’s relevant to gardens of any size:
When I go to visit a new project, I’m often asked to consider the entrance to the garden, the front door. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the words ‘People don’t know where to go when they arrive’ - I can usually predict this as when I arrived I myself will have floundered around for a bit trying to work out where the front door is. This isn’t just relevant to larger houses with drives; if the entrance isn’t clear and welcoming, it may create a moment’s hesitation.
And even if the front door is obvious, as in the examples below, you want to welcome people with an uplifting, satisfying scene which tells them that you want them to head your way.
The key is in that word: you want it to look welcoming.
There’s nothing like a welcoming front door to set the scene for the atmosphere to follow: smart, relaxed, elegant, romantic and always magical, you kind of breathe a sigh of relief as you spot the features that signal that this is where to go, and that this place is happy to have you. It positively welcomes you.
There’s a sense that the place is cared for, looked, after and loved, and you absolutely want to go in.
Just like anything attractive, a welcoming entrance come-hithers you, and before you know it, you’re walking up to the front door, taking in all the plant eye candy on the way.
So how can you achieve this? I’m going to take you through the elements which all come together to create a welcome that will stay in people’s minds, and most importantly, which will make you happy every time you see it.