Homebase Garden Makeover Project: The Planning

So planning and preparations for the Garden Makeover project are now well underway.  In my last post I showed you how dishevelled and unloved the garden had become in some parts, how many of our plants have died, and how I was going to take inspiration and ideas from Homebase.

Homebase have kindly agreed to sponsor this project and I’ll be using all of their products in the makeover, including the Garden on a Roll, a pre-prepared border that does all the planning for you. From the different border styles available, including Sensory and Shady, I chose the Mediterranean version which has actually arrived this week. I won’t tell you too much more as I’ll save that for a separate post, but suffice to say, it’s looking pretty good.
This has inspired me to take the Mediterranean theme and apply it where I could, to the other parts of the garden design. To create a Mediterranean garden I’m going to use lots of terracotta pots, bright colours and create areas or ‘pockets’ of interest. To be honest the different areas are there already, and where, in the past I’ve used lots of architectural plants with few flowers, I’m going to just update the current design and add some bright colour and many more plants.
To help me formalise my ideas and visualise the end result, I’ve clipped in some of my favourites from the Homebase website onto a Polyvore moodboard. If you want to know how to create your own moodboard then do take a look at my tutorial post.

Fruit Trees and Plants:

As you can see from the moodboard I’m looking to create much more ‘grow your own’ interest in the garden, mainly at the request of my children. The girls are very much into gardening, have their own garden sets and love to get involved with planting and watering. In the past when we’ve grown vegetables it’s also encouraged them to try and taste new foods too so it’s definitely worth building on this. We’re going for some Patio Apples and Plum trees in the bottom raised bed behind the trampoline, and will also put some raspberry bushes near the strawberry plants. The girls are also trying to persuade me that we need a grapevine so I’m looking to see if we can incorporate that too. Several Mini Olive Trees, both in pots and in the ground will add to the Mediterranean look.

Grasses and Evergreens:

Although not strictly Mediterranean I know, I want to add to the current architectural and evergreen plants to add interest and colour. I’m looking at many of the plants from the Chelsea Collection after Homebase’s recent Gold at the Chelsea Flower Show, and grasses and bamboos featured in that garden. I love that they are low maintenance and so plan to plant them in groups and patterns for impact and effect.

Outdoor Living:

We do already have a table and chairs as you would have seen in the last post, but I would love to add more colour and make it more comfortable. Our gardens need to meet so many expectations now including dining and entertaining and so I really would like to bring this part of the garden to life. I’ll also be looking at lighting and patio plants to give it maximum effect and painting the fence in the hope that it really doesn’t need replacing.

Garden on a Roll:

The pre-selected plants that make up the Garden on a Roll product create the perfect, ideal border. All we have to do is prepare the space and dig in some top soil to enrich the ground, lay the bio-degradable plan out on the border, and plant the plants according to the key. Couldn’t be simpler and I can’t wait to see how this all turns out.

So that’s most of the planning and research done, now it’s time to head to Homebase and select my plants. I’d love to know if you have any more specific suggestions or if you’ve come across some great plants for a Mediterranean garden. Could I include it in my garden? Let me know!

Jen Stanbrook

Jen is an interiors writer and blogger and has an insatiable love of home style and decor

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