Garden Design Ideas - Covering an Unsightly Wall

A quick and elegant way to cover up an unsightly wall is by creating a wooden screen. You can do this with trellis, but I really like to use horizontal slats fixed to wooden uprights giving a sort of Venetian blind effect.

Secure some 25mm x 50mm treated softwood uprights to the wall at intervals of no more than a metre apart along the wall. These uprights should start at the base of the wall and finish at the top. Create the vertical slats of the screen using lengths of wood 10mm x 25mm and fix these horizontally across the supports with a small vertical gap in between each slat. You can use slightly wider pieces of wood if you prefer.



If the wall does not belong to you, for example, if it’s the back of a neighbours garage you’ll need to ask their permission before you fix anything to it. If they are not happy for you to do so, set some wooden uprights 100mm x 100mm as close to the wall as possible and use these as supports for the cross pieces.

Use the void behind the slats to disguise the pipes for a water spout that spills into a simple reservoir sunk into the lawn, border or paving in front of the screen. Or, create a fake window by incorporating some mirror. If you’re using mirror make sure it’s secured in a wooden frame and sealed in with waterproof mastic.

Here’s a shot of a garden I designed where we used this type of screening to enclose a built in seating area and to cover an ugly piece of a neighbours fence. A mirror has been used with a slatted surround to reflect the statue that forms the focal point at the end of the pergola.



If you need help designing your garden please feel free to email me linsey@linseysgardens.com. You can visit my Web site and see some of my completed projects and get a bit more information.

Garden Design Tips 3 - Triangulation

Before you can start designing a garden you’ll need to know its exact size and shape. You cannot create a plan of the new garden until you have an accurate plan of the existing garden. If you have a small garden to design it is especially important that your measurements are extremely accurate.

One of the problems you’ll find when measuring your garden is it almost certainly not a perfect square or rectangle. One of the simplest techniques for measuring a plot that is full of odd shapes and angles is triangulation. Here’s how to do it.

Use the house as a fixed point from which to take measurements. Choose two points that are not too close together, for example, the two end corners. Take a measurement from each of the two fixed points to the point you are trying to plot.

In order to plot the measurements onto paper you’ll need a pair of compasses. On a scale ruler select the the same one as you used to draw in the house and open the compasses to the length of the distance from the first point. Put the point of the pair of compasses on the first point of the house and draw an arc. Repeat the previous step for the distance from the second point. Where the two arcs cross is the position of whatever you are trying to measure, in the case of the example below it is the position of the two corners of the rear garden.



You can use this technique to find the position of anything in the garden. In order to measure accurately use the same two fixed points for each measurement.



If you need help designing your garden please feel free to email me linsey@linseysgardens.com. You can visit my Web site and see some of my completed projects and get a bit more information.

BBC Radio Berkshire Interview

Anyone who's interested in hearing what I sound like can tune into BBC Radio Berkshire (95.4 FM) next Tuesday 17th January 2012. I'm being interviewed live between 3pm and 4pm.

Garden Design Tips 2 - Paint it Black

Anyone who has read my blog before will almost certainly be aware of my fondness for painting wooden structures in the garden black. Clients get a bit nervous when I tell them I want to paint fences black. They are afraid a black boundary will make the garden seem smaller in the same way that painting internal walls a dark colour makes a room feel boxy. It doesn’t work the same way outside.

Black is a wonderful colour for garden structures. It is the colour of shadow and diminishes the impact of potentially unattractive structures such as fences and sheds. Once the planting has started growing in around them black-painted structures simply blend into the background. Black also makes a fantastic backdrop for plants. The gold leaves of Choisya ternata 'Sundance', the bright red new foliage of Photinia ‘Red Robin’, a swathe of burnt orange Hemerocallis, drifts of pale pink Phlox are all more dramatic set against a black fence. A coat of black paint on a tired fence or an old shed can really transform a garden with very little outlay.


A black summer house blends into
the shadows of the trees and hedge.

I’ve heard the argument that green is the best colour for painting garden structures because it is a natural colour. Firstly, there is nothing remotely natural about the horrid green dyes that manufacturers use to colour wood preservatives. Secondly, why would you want to place plants against a flat, green canvas? It just looks bland as the outline forms of the plants are lost. Don’t even get me started on that rancid bright orange colour that is so widely used for fences. Just one word – why?!!


This black fence in a small garden
helps the boundary to disappear
making the garden seem larger and
displaying the standard Photinia
'Red Robin' to great effect.

Cuprinol Timbercare comes in black, but you’ll need to go to a Dulux Centre or buy it on-line as I’ve never found black in any of the DIY stores near me. However, I’d recommend the more expensive Cuprinol Garden Shades which gives a slightly glossy finish and lasts years. Look on-line for bargains, eBay is always a good start.


Black fences and a black pergola in
this contemporary garden scheme
give a crisp finish and blend the
garden into the wider landscape.

If you need help designing your garden please feel free to email me linsey@linseysgardens.com. You can visit my Web site and see some of my completed projects and get a bit more information.

Garden design tip - Use Bold Structures in Small Garden Design

When designing a small garden it’s tempting to scale down the garden features so as not to clutter the space. The result can often be a muddle of insignificant elements that do the exact opposite. A good tip when designing a small garden is to keep things simple. Use clean lines and geometric shapes. Don’t overcomplicate the design and use a single, bold structure to hold focus inside the garden.

A chunky pergola or a rendered blockwork wall around a seating area will create a sense of enclosure, introduce a touch of drama and ensure that your eye stays inside the garden rather than straying to an unattractive view outside the garden.

A pergola for screening the terrace in a small, sloping, Gerrards Cross garden

For a substantial, impactful pergola use 150mm square timbers. Your local timber yard will cut the timber to the exact length needed and can often be persuaded to cut out notches in the posts for easier assembly. You may need to get some muscle to lift the timber and will definitely need the help of a carpenter.

A pergola over a dining area in a small garden in Berkshire.

For a dramatic screening wall use concrete blocks up to a height of 1.8m which is the maximum allowable in a garden without planning permission. Render the wall and paint it a cheerful, bright colour to add an instant contemporary feel to the garden.

A blockwork wall enclosing a dining area in a Windsor garden.

If you need help designing your garden please feel free to email me linsey@linseysgardens.com. You can visit my Web site and see some of my other completed projects and get a bit more information.