It’s not over.
Joe & Laura Carey designed this garden in Essex a couple of years ago. This autumn light brings a new glorious season of golden textures and striking sculptural forms.
At this time of year, we sometimes hear folk talking of their garden being ‘finished’.
This couldn’t be further from the truth of course. As autumn starts to settle in, she unpacks her bags of golden light bringing whispers of cosy nostalgia. As the leaves begin to fall, we tend to think of our garden display being over. However, with some careful planning and clever design, your garden can put on a show that will see you through the frosty, wet winter months.
Firstly, to dispel the myth that your garden is ‘finished’, you must simply redefine how you see and value the cycle of interest in your outdoor space. Yes, some things may be entering a time of dormancy, and others may be seeding down, but of course their work is far from done.
Did you know that in some cultures, the day starts with the evening before? The process of getting ready for bed and sleeping is what marks the beginning of a new day. (I actually live by this mindset, as it means I can start each ‘new day’ by going to bed!). Thinking of your garden in this way, soon gets you excited about what’s to come.
So if your garden looks as though it is getting into its pyjamas and turning in for the night, remember that this is the start of a new chapter. As the steward of your space, perhaps now is a good time to move some furniture, fix some things or have a little tidy up after a busy summer - you know, that precious time once the kids are asleep. Or perhaps, (and I’m staying with the sleeping child analogy here) you can lift and reposition things while they’re out for the count; they’ll wake up in a completely new place and with any luck they won’t even question it.
Secondly, while vast networks of microorganisms are busying themselves beneath the surface, above ground remains the past glory of last summer’s growth. If you can, keep these on display.
Leaving your seed heads to glisten on a frost-kissed morning can bring sculptural elegance to your garden during this season. Some classic choices for this sort of thing are:
If after reading this you have glanced outside and are struggling to see the potential, then we have one last recommendation: Get a designer.
Now of course we would say that, but this might be exactly what your garden needs. Someone with a trained eye and an understanding of how plants are going to perform throughout the seasons can transform your garden with clever plant selection alone. If you pair this with expertise in space, form and structure of the garden as a whole, then you’re on the road to something really quite special.
Autumn is a GREAT time to get a designer involved in your garden. Most will wait until the good weather emerges in spring, by which time we tend to have limited availability. So if you’re considering it, give us a call.
For more information on our studio, our gardens, and how we work, why not follow us on instagram @careygardendesignstudio or visit our website www.careygardendesign.co.uk.
