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Sometimes Gardening

Topic

Design

15 articles across 3 sections: Ideas, Guides, Accessories.

Large drifts of native grasses and perennials with a crisply mown strip along the front edge
IdeasStep-by-step guide5 min read

Native Plant Garden

A native plant garden without the purism. Why native means local rather than national, how to find your own list, and where non-natives still earn a place.

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Garden with herbs at the door, mulched beds beyond, a fruit tree with underplanting and a water butt
IdeasStep-by-step guide6 min read

Permaculture Garden

A permaculture garden without the ideology. Zones, stacking and catching water are genuinely useful; some of the rest is untested. What to take and what to leave.

Updated

Gravel path on a worn dog route, tough grass, dense borders and a shaded water bowl
GuidesStep-by-step guide5 min read

Dog Friendly Garden

A dog friendly garden that survives an actual dog. Which plants are toxic, how to fix urine burn and digging, and why giving the dog a route works better than fencing.

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Small still pond with waterlily cover, marginal planting and a sloping pebble beach edge
IdeasStep-by-step guide5 min read

Water Garden Ideas

Water garden ideas from a washing up bowl upwards. What size actually works, why most small ponds go green, and the one feature that matters most for wildlife.

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Seating area made private by a single slatted screen inside the boundary with a tree overhead
IdeasStep-by-step guide5 min read

Garden Privacy Screens

Garden privacy screens that work: why raising the whole boundary is the wrong move, how to block one sightline cheaply, and what to plant for fast cover.

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Timber bench set into dense lavender and grasses with a small tree behind and a flat stone
IdeasStep-by-step guide5 min read

Memorial Garden Ideas

Memorial garden ideas that hold up over decades: choosing a spot, planting with meaning and low upkeep, and what to know before scattering ashes.

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White cosmos and nicotiana glowing against silver foliage in low blue light after sunset
IdeasStep-by-step guide5 min read

Moon Garden

A moon garden is planted in white and silver for dusk, when most people are actually in the garden. What to plant, what smells at night, and where to put it.

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Mixed border of ruby chard, kale and artichoke among geraniums with beans on an obelisk
IdeasStep-by-step guide5 min read

Food Garden Ideas

Food garden ideas for people who want a garden, not an allotment. Edible plants that hold their own in a border, and where to put them so they get used.

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Small front garden with one wide stone path, deep beds of clipped evergreens, lavender and grasses
IdeasStep-by-step guide5 min read

Front Yard Garden Ideas

Front yard garden ideas for a space you barely visit: planting that looks intentional all year, keeps the bins out of sight and does not need watering.

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Small back garden with a deliberate rectangle of lawn, deep borders both sides and a bench
IdeasStep-by-step guide6 min read

Garden Design Basics

Garden design without a designer: work out how you will use the space, get the proportions right, then plant. The order matters more than the plant list.

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Packed flower border of geranium, salvia and catmint beside a grass path
GuidesStep-by-step guide7 min read

Flower Gardening

Flower gardening made simple: pick plants that suit your light, plant them closer than feels right, and get colour from spring to frost. With costs.

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Back garden at dusk with warm light on a path edge and up a small tree
AccessoriesStep-by-step guide8 min read

Garden Lighting & Decor

Garden lighting is nearly always overdone. Here is where I put light, how much is enough, and why one floodlight ruins a garden after dark.

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Pale angular grit raked in straight lines with rings circling three set rocks by a plain wall
IdeasStep-by-step guide6 min read

Zen Garden

A zen garden is karesansui: gravel, rock and almost nothing else. What depth of gravel to use, how to set the stones, how to rake it, and what it costs.

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Raked gravel, three set rocks, clipped azalea mounds and one maple behind a slatted screen
IdeasStep-by-step guide5 min read

Japanese Garden Ideas

Japanese garden ideas built on the actual principles: asymmetry, borrowed scenery and restraint. What to plant, what to leave out, and a plan for a small corner.

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Deep border of hardy geranium, grasses, sedum and lavender with no bare soil showing
IdeasIdeas6 min read

Low-Maintenance Garden Ideas

How to cut garden work by two-thirds without paving it over, the design decisions, planting choices and three jobs that actually save you time.

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