Bridging conventional gardens with aesthetic and useful herbaceous weeds merges wild beauty with tamed functionality, creating a harmonious balance. 

Traditionally, gardens valued ornamental plants and manicured lawns, keeping wild native plants well out of the way. However, bringing these plants internationally in amongst hybrids creates a more biodiverse and resilient garden. Incorporating species such as dandelions, chicory, yarrow, fennel, and teasel adds visual beauty, diversity, and architectural structure while attracting wildlife. These plants require minimal care, making them ideal for busy lives & sustainable gardening practices.

When you work with nature, rather than against it, you have an ecosystem on your side, forming a foundation to build upon. Teasel and fennel, for example, provide food for birds, shelter for insects, and vertical interest as ornamental plants. Herbs like valerian and yarrow are both aesthetically pleasing and excellent for pollination, as well as having medicinal uses. Yarrow, with its deep roots, supports beneficial insects and improves soil health. Allowing more diversity in lawns with clover and dandelions enhances the garden environment. Clover fixes nitrogen in the soil, improving fertility, while dandelions offer an additional opportunity to make more interesting salads and Chamomile provides soothing teas and medicinal benefits, creating an insect-rich habitat that promotes pollination and contributes to a flourishing garden.

There are many more plants with medicinal, culinary, and diverse contributions to the garden. If this is not enough to spark interest, consider that these plants have spent millennia becoming perfect for their environment, making your job as a gardener easier while supporting the ecosystem. Integrating herbaceous weeds into conventional gardens requires a shift in perception. Recognizing their value beyond being nuisances, gardeners can blend these plants seamlessly into landscapes. This approach enhances aesthetic and functional diversity, promoting environmental sustainability and creating spaces that are both beautiful and beneficial to the ecosystem.

For further information about Landscaping /installation and integrating the wild into your space, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Call Alex on 07421 085 788.

​contribution by Alice Rollinson, thanks Alice

The Importance of Landscaping for a Peaceful Garden

Introduction:

One of the best ways to unwind and de-stress from the day-to-day hustle is by spending some quality time in the garden. Not only is it great for your mental health, but it's also a fantastic way to relax and surround yourself with nature. To enhance these benefits and create a tranquil environment, it's essential to invest in the right landscaping. In this blog post, we'll be discussing why landscaping can create peace in the garden!

Encourages relaxation

A garden filled with overgrown grass and scattered weeds doesn't scream "relaxation zone!" The right landscaping can transform your garden into a peaceful sanctuary that's perfect for unwinding. Incorporating elements like a water feature, lights, and pathways can add a relaxing and welcoming vibe to your garden and create a calm environment.

Reduces stress

Landscaping can significantly reduce stress by allowing you to focus on something other than the daily pressures of work and other commitments. Besides adding visual interest, spending time in your garden, whether it's planting, pruning, or just sitting in it, can be therapeutic and help you calm down after a long day.

Increases positive mental health

Studies have shown the positive impact of spending time in nature on mental health. By bringing nature to your backyard, you are creating a relaxing and serene space to recharge. This can boost your mood and provide the perfect escape from the stress of life. Additionally, landscaping and taking care of plants can provide a sense of accomplishment that can lead to feelings of joy, peace, and satisfaction.

Enhances your outdoor space

Landscaping your garden can transform it into an inviting and beautiful space that you want to spend time in. The right landscaping can add color, texture, and visual appeal that will make your outdoor space more inviting and a haven for relaxation. With the right design, you can create a pleasing environment that will make it very hard to leave!

Provides a safe haven

Lastly, having well-designed landscapes can provide a safe haven in your garden for birds and other wildlife. A peaceful garden with an abundance of blooming flowers, fruits, and trees can be a nourishing habitat for birds, hummingbirds, and bees. This wildlife provides an active and calming environment that is both therapeutic and peaceful.

Conclusion:

When we think of creating a relaxing space, we often think of indoors; however, the outdoors should not be left behind. By investing in the right landscaping, you can make your garden equally tranquil, pleasing, and an escape haven for all kinds of relaxation. Make your garden your sanctuary by investing in a well-designed space, and watch yourself and nature thrive.

Plants which possess silver foliage can compliment a garden in many different ways, they provide a distinct contrast planted alongside green foliage and they can provide an all year round interest, brightening up an otherwise lacklustre area of the garden. But, it is not only a dull area that can benefit from the addition of a glaucous colour, a great attribute of silver/grey foliage is the ability to reflect sunlight and conserve water, this is enhanced by the hairy type foliage or a waxy texture of the leaves which many possess.

Many of theses plants are native to hot and dry areas and therefore drought tolerant, requiring low maintenance and will perform well in a full sun area of the garden with well drained soil.

Silver foliage adds elegance and a cool sophistication to the garden and can be found on large trees down to small ground cover shrubs and perennials. Eucalyptus, the snow gum tree, is one of the hardiest of Eucalyptus and the grey
tinged leaves on white twigs radiates an impression of silver, complimented by a grey /white smooth trunk.

Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Silver Queen’ is a large shrub which can grow to a height of four metres. Its latin name denotes thin leaves, these having white markings on the edges, giving an affect of a silvery foliage. It is an ideal plant for coastal areas. Popular small to mid-sized shrubs are lavender and Helichrysum, both release pleasant aromas, the latter being more known as the Curry plant due to its distinct curry fragrance.

With regards to small shrubs and perennials, there are plenty available and more to choose from. Convolvulus cneorm is a small shrub native to the mediterranean and displays silk grey hairs on its evergreen foliage, hence it being more known as the Silver Bush.  Santolina or Cotton lavender is ideal for ground cover and filling in gaps within the borders, the yellow pompom flowers provide a nice contrast with the silver fragrant foliage.

Another popular ground cover is the perennial Lambs Ear or
​. It is also known as Silver Carpet and has oval, woolly silver leaves with fine hairs and is suitable for the front of borders, covering areas with its carpet, mat forming
characteristics. There are numerous other silver foliage plants, the following are popular;

- Senecio cineraria/Silver Dust
- Sea Holly/ Eryngiums.
- Cardoon/Cynara cardunculus
- Bluebeard/Caryopteris
- Honeywort/Cerinthe major
- Rose Campion/Lychnis coronaria
- Brunnera macrophylla/Jack Frost

If not already in possession of silver leaf plants, then why not incorporate some into the garden, either in shade or full sun areas and if every cloud has a silver lining, then surely every garden should have some silver foliage.