Page 64 • The HERALD • 6th August 2026 v SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SPECIALISTS v DOWN THE GARDEN PATH For all your garden clearance and fencing needs Please call 07515 749731 for your free no obligation quote SPADEWORK Family Landscaping & Fencing Team ] Decking & Natural Sandstone Paving ] Patios ] Driveways ] Block Paving ] Turfing ] All Types of Domestic & Commercial Fencing ] Security Fencing Supplied & Fitted Tel: (023) 8089 4909 Mobile: 07703 566814 u Free Estimates u Fully Insured All Aspects of Garden Work Undertaken • Driveways • Paving • Artificial Grass • Turfing • Decking • Fencing • Hedge Cutting • Landscaping Hythe Garden Contractors Family company established 1977 For a free quotation please call 023 8084 3556 or 07920 794587 Enjoy A Beautiful Garden Without The Hard Work Advice from British Garden Centres Most of us want a garden we can actually enjoy, somewhere to sit with a cup of tea on a summer morning, or a space that looks cared for without having to worry about maintenance every weekend. But not all of us have the time or the gardening know how to spend on our outdoor space; we all live busy lifestyles, and sometimes simplicity is the way forward. As part of its Make it Bloom campaign, British Garden Centres, the UK’s largest familyowned garden centre group, has put together some simple ideas that anyone can try to give their garden impact with little work, whatever their experience or the size of their outdoor space. Start with containers Container gardening suits any size of garden, even if you have a small patio or a balcony. ere’s no digging, no di cult soil and no weeding to worry about. You choose your plants, pop them in a pot, and enjoy them. Lavender is a great place to start, with its fragrant, drought tolerant nature, and is irresistible to bees. Heuchera o ers yearround interest with its striking foliage, trailing lobelia tumbles beautifully over the edge of pots all summer, and sedums are virtually impossible to kill in a sunny spot. For shady corners, hostas bring lush, architectural leaves to spaces where little else will grow. If you tend to forget to the most e ortless garden project there is. Scratch over a small patch of ground, scatter your seeds, lightly rake them in, and simply wait. Look for mixes that include Ox-eye Daisy, Corn Poppy, Corn ower and Field Scabious as all of them self-seed readily, attract bees and butter ies in good numbers, and many will return entirely on their own the following year, making this a garden feature that gets easier over time, not harder. Lay some stepping stones A simple path of stepping stones protects your lawn from heavy foot tra c, keeps mud out of the house through the wetter months, and can make even a modest garden feel much bigger if you let it curve gently through the space. Tuck a few low-growing thyme or chamomile plants between the stones for a lovely fragrance when you walk over them and combine with gravel for a nish that’s both attractive and weedresistant. Mulching One a ernoon spent mulching can save hours of weeding over the months that follow. A layer of bark chippings, garden compost or gravel spread over borders suppresses weeds before they get started, locks moisture into the soil so you water less o en and gradually improves the soil structure as it breaks down. Aim for around ve centimetres deep, applied in spring or autumn, and keep it clear of direct contact with plant stems. Add shrubs and ground cover plants Shrubs are among the most underrated plants in a low maintenance garden, giving you year-round structure and seasonal interest with very little in return. Viburnum tinus owers in winter, stays evergreen all year, and barely needs pruning. Hydrangea paniculata asks for just one cut in spring before producing spectacular blooms all summer. For bare ground between plants, spreading ground cover like Vinca minor, Alchemilla mollis and Geranium ‘Rozanne’ block out weeds naturally, letting plants do the work so you don’t have to. Julian Palphramand, Head of Plants at British Garden Centres, said: “People often think gardening is too complicated, too time consuming, or that they simply don’t have the space. What we love about these ideas is that they prove otherwise. A pot of lavender on a doorstep, a handful of wildflower seeds scattered in a sunny corner, and a few perennials planted and left to settle in are small things that make a real difference, and anyone can do them. You don’t need expertise or hours to spare. You just need to start somewhere, and the rewards follow very quickly.” water, look out for containers with built-in self-watering reservoirs as they keep plants happy even when life gets in the way. Plant perennials Perennials come back year a er year without needing to be replaced, slowly lling borders and genuinely getting better with age, so you can have a border or container with little maintenance. Rudbeckia brings cheerful golden-yellow owers from late summer into autumn, while Echinacea produces bold, daisy-like blooms in pinks and purples that pollinators can’t resist. Geranium ‘Rozanne’ is a real workhorse as it owers for months on end and spreads gently to cover bare ground. Salvia nemorosa and Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ both deliver real drama with almost no e ort, and once you have a good mix established, a perennial border largely looks a er itself. Scatter wildflower seeds A wild ower patch is possibly Summer planter - Zinnias, Fushia, Petunia
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