70 Ideas for My Dream Garden

70 ideas for my dream garden may sound like a long list, but it isn’t. This is where you’re letting your imagination lead your pen and you’d be surprised once you start, how tricky it could be to stop at 70 items! This isn’t the first special occasion blog which has inspired me to share garden design and planting design ideas with you. You’ll find the others listed at the end. And there are a couple more planned for this year.

This particular blog is for my elder sister who moved house and garden last year to a substantially different climate. This gave her a blank canvas, although she took many favourite plants with her. Whilst many of the items are from the list I asked her to write, others are based on my knowledge of her and her gardening over the years.

Whether you’re at the start of planning or re-designing your garden or indulging in daydreams, I hope these ideas will inspire you.

70 Ideas for My Dream Garden – Landscaping Elements

Here the focus is on the main ‘non-plant’ items.

Seating area

This consists of a wooden pergola sitting over a York stone flagged space. There should be plenty of room for seats around a table big enough for family and friends, but still intimate enough for one, two or three people. York stone is both a traditional choice and as it is a pale sandstone, the pavers reflect rather than absorb heat, helping to keep this area cool. The final touch is scented roses climbing over the pergola and a Chamomile lawn as chamomile loves the sun (and its somewhere for the cats to sleep).

Summerhouse

A summerhouse because in Great Britain, it often rains in summer! There would be a heater so the summerhouse can double up as a place for winter elevenses.

A stream at the bottom of the garden

The sound of running water is very soothing, but the main reasons for a stream is so she can keep ducks. And have lots of interesting water’s edge planting such as candelabra Primula, Shuttlecock ferns, Welsh poppies, Persicaria and Cornus.

An old wall –

for the delightful purpose of growing alpines, specifically Lewisia

Welsh Slate patio

Just a small patio with a table and chairs for two near the kitchen door. There will be pots here with small Narcissus, Scillas and Tulips to brighten the area in spring. Come summer, Pelargoniums take over the pots.

Rockery

A small one, more of a bank where there’s a slight change in level and a few steps. A place to grow alpine plants and small spring flowering bulbs.

Greenhouse

You didn’t think we’d forgotten this did you? A greenhouse is absolutely crucial for serious gardeners (if they have the space of course).

Small Alpine house

My sister is very fond of alpine plants and would love to grow more, but protection from winter rain is a big issue, which this would resolve.

Potting shed and storage shed

With plenty of shelves and hooks to keep things tidy. And to soften their outlines we’ll have clematis and honeysuckle climbing over.

stream, RHS Back to Nature Garden, chelsea flower show 2019

lewisham planting design, london, rockery, rock garden

Welsh slate patio, conservation area, plews garden design, London

metal greenhouse in garden, pots on step. foxgloves

RHS no dig allotment, hampton court garden festival 2021, greenhouse, succulents in gutter

potting shed, garden sundries, garden tools, logs

Other Garden Features in this Dream Garden

Old butler sinks for more alpines (obviously)

Items for garden birds – bird feeders of various types, bird bath.

Auricula theatre for displaying her Auricula collection.

Herb garden

Focussing on culinary herbs, in particular: –

Rosemary
Thyme – including common and lemon thyme
Sage – including common, purple and tricolour sage
Marjoram – including common and golden marjoram
Chives
Parsley
Coriander
Mint – including Moroccan mint for tea, chocolate mint, peppermint; grown in pots to prevent spreading
Dill
Fennel

rosemary hedge, brick path, herbs, cottage garden

mentha x piperita granada orange, national collection, iden croft herbs

orange scented thyme, thymus fragrantissima, herb garden, thyme garden

parsley, Italian, flat leaved variety, Petroselinum crispum var. neapolitanum

tricolour sage, salvia officinalis tricolour, aromatic foliage, culinary herb, perennial herb

coriander, Coriandrum sativum, cilantro, flowers

Living willow structure – Specifically as a play tunnel and wigwam for her granddaughter.

Hen ark – for three bantam hens.

Duck house – to keep the above mentioned ducks safe

70 Ideas for My Dream Garden – Plants Trees, Shrubs, Climbers

Beech hedges –
the main boundary for the garden. Although a deciduous tree, Beech, Fagus sylvatica, keeps the dead leaves on the branches only dropping them in late winter. And then the fresh lime green leaves start appearing. A good choice for privacy and for birds and garden wildlife.

Hawthorn –
for the boundary down near the stream. Another British native, hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, provides food for wildlife and humans.

Honeysuckle, Lonicera –
a selection of the native species and cultivars to be grown, so that there will be a long season of delicious honeysuckle fragrance. A woodland edge plant, Lonicera is an good choice for shadier areas.

Acers –
including Acer Palmatum ‘bloodgood’ and Acer Palmatum Orido Nishiki. This latter is a less common variegated cultivar with pink and white foliage in spring, changing to pink and vibrant green in autumn.

Amelanchier –
a north American tree that grows well in our British climate, either Amelanchier Lamarckii or the more compact and upright Amelanchier Canadensis would be lovely. Both have bronze spring foliage maturing to green, and lightly scented white blossom producing edible fruits in the autumn. (if you can get to them before the birds!)

Cornus –
also known as dogwood, we’re having stunning winter colour by the stream from the stems of Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter fire’ and Cornus alba siberica.

beech hedge, winter, deciduous, fagus sylvatica

Lonicera periclymenum, honeysuckle, native species, scented flower, deciduous climber

Acer palmatum Sango kaku, coral bark maple

amelanchier lamarckii, Snowy mespilus, autumn leaves

mixed cornus - dogwood - by moat -Eltham palace

Roses – Climbing roses for the pergola, but also roses in mixed borders. Not a definitive list, but including –

’Geoff Hamilton’
‘Gertrude Jekyll’
‘Iceberg’
‘Lady of Shallot’
‘The Generous Gardener’
‘Purple Tiger’
Rosa canina, dog rose

Topiary

I foresee formal clipped hedges, surrounding the herb garden and pergola seating area. Plus a eclectic selection of topiary animals and birds to be discovered in surprising places. And possibly a nod to the famous and much visited top hat topiary feature at Levens Hall, near where my sister used to live.

Herbaceous Perennials and Small Perennials

We’re certainly in a plant lover’s garden as 70 ideas for my dream garden continues with more plants. Perennials make for easy gardening, with flowers and foliage providing interest from at mid-spring right though to late autumn. And depending on the perennials chosen, they may provide evergreen ground cover all year. All of these are plants for pollinators too.

Primulas – the candelabras we’ve already placed near the stream, others will include oak leaved Primula and Innisfree.

Pulmonaria – Blue ensign, Victorian Brooch are among the cultivars here.

Herbaceous potentilla, monarch’s velvet, for example with port wine coloured flowers and soft foliage.

Geum, Mrs Bradshaw is a particular favourite.

Verbena bonariensis for adding height, movement and not fully blocking views.

Sunflowers – the perennial types in this family, including Rudbeckia, to provide colour in late summer and autumn.

Echium – both the small native Echium vulgare or vipers bugloss, and the tall, frost tender Echium candicans that is popular in the south west. Both have blue flowers (and blue is my sister’s favourite colour).

Hellebore – picotee types where the back of the petals is dark and the inner surface pale pink or white. And yellow Hellebore, a true Lenten rose.

pulmonaria victorian brooch, herbaceous perennial

planting, rhs hampton court garden festival 2021

verbena bonariensis, miscanthus, summer flower border

purple hellebore in snowy border, herbaceosu perennial, winter garden

Dianthus starburst, Thyme silver posie, planting design, edible ornamental garden, cottage garden planting, contemporary patio, raised bed

perovskia, box hedging, parterre garden, fulham palace

Sea holly – the spiky, architectural blue foliage of Eryngium is a great contrast to other more softer perennials

Anemone – various types of anemone are to be included. We have the white Anemone nemerosa, wood anemone; the blue Anemone blanda. And then, for late summer and autumn flowers in the border, the white Japanese anemone.

Dianthus – also known as fragrant pinks, these are cottage garden stalwarts. They are perfect to edge a sunny path where their clove-like scent can delight the nose. We’ll have these near the summer house and the pergola too, with a preponderance of the more traditional varieties such as ‘Doris’ and ‘Mrs Simpkins’.

Blue globe thistle aka Echinops ritro. Another tall spiky architectural plant

Russian sage, Perovskia isn’t a sage a tall, but it is a delightful shrub, with lavender blue flowers and grey foliage.

Phlomis russeliana, also known as Jerusalem Sage – and again not a sage! It has whorls of yellow flowers carried on tall stems above a large, olive-green leaves and makes a good contrast to the blue flowers.

Himalayan poppy – we have to have another blue flower! Meconopsis betonicifolia is absolutely stunning with true blue flowers.

What else shall we have in this paradise for humans and wildlife?

For starters, I think we should add in a some sunny spots and cosy nooks for cats to sleep in. And perhaps a platform attached to one of the lower tree branches as a look out post. An outside litter tray or cat toilet should keep ‘oopsies’ off the flower borders.

The garden needs to be dog friendly too, so a lawn to play fetch on will be essential. It’s probably a good idea to include a digging area (somewhere for bones to ‘season’). And obviously the external garden boundaries and gate will need to be dog proof.

We already have the willow tunnel, a lawn and a stream, so quite a few play adventures are covered there for her granddaughter. And I’m sure the person in question will tell us if there’s anything she needs that we’ve missed out …

70 Ideas for My Dream Garden – Fruit and Vegetables

Whilst the plum tree and apple trees and quince need to be visible (so the blossom can be enjoyed) the rest of the edibles will be in raised beds in a fenced off area. This is to keep them safe from hens, ducks, dogs and rabbits.
Perennial fruit is easy to look after, so there will be beds for each of Rhubarb, Gooseberries and Raspberries. And then separate raised beds for annuals such as peas, runner beans, carrots and salads.

quince tree in blossom, Cydonia oblongata, fruit tree, grow your own

Annual flowers and biennial flowers

Hardy annuals that will be allowed to self-seed include: –

Nigella, love-in-a-mist
Poppies – opium and field poppies. Icelandic poppies are perennial and frost hardy, but don’t always cope with a hot summer, which is why I’ve put them here.
Calendula, aka marigold. A good companion plant to have in the kitchen garden
Sunflowers are a half hardy annual, which means the seeds need to be sown undercover.
Forget-me-not, Myosotis, is the biennial in our list. Another blue flower that self-seeds with enthusiasm, it is the final item in our list of 70 Ideas for My Dream Garden.

And finally

Years of initial design conversations with clients have made me aware that ”where to start” is the sticking point for most people. Which means it’s an important part of my job to help resolve that. But not everyone will need a garden designer, perhaps you simply want to sit and dream about your ideal garden. And why not?

For further gardening advice and inspiration, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below and our monthly Tipsheet – You could come and find us on Instagram Pinterest and Facebook too.