Garden on a Roll Review: Is this Lazy Gardening?

Around 9 years ago I planted a Garden on a Roll and wrote the review below. At the time I was working a comprehensive garden makeover, and had worked with Homebase extensively using their products. One of them was the Garden on a Roll product, which was relatively new.

Since then, you can no longer buy through the DIY store, but direct from the Garden on a Roll company and website. In fact, at the time, I dealt direct with the company anyway – Homebase were almost a middle man to the service.

So, you can see what I wrote below, including the process of ordering, planting and maintenance of the product. I’ve updated the details to make them relevant to 2023, but if you find any errors please do let me know.

Then go and take a look at the Garden on a Roll Update 1 Year On.

I would love to give you an update 9 years later but sadly we changed the garden again a few years ago and had to move many of the plants from their original position. Some of them do still exist in my garden though!

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As you know I’m spending the summer working with Homebase on a makeover for my garden using their garden on a roll product.

After several years of neglect the garden was looking tired and unloved, and definitely needed an injection of new plants, colourful flowers and lots of hard work. I’ve written about the state of the garden, and also about my plans for a Mediterranean theme and so here’s where I start to show you how the garden transformation is taking shape.

Garden on a Roll Review 2014 – 2023

Lead by award winning designer Antony Henn the Garden on a Roll team of passionate horticulturists have been helping the first-time gardeners since 2010. Planting your dream, professionally designed garden border couldn’t be easier.

They have sold over 20,000 professionally designed borders, that include over 350,000 plants which is equivalent to 55 miles of continuous habitat supporting borders!

Homebase asked me if I would like to try out one of their newest products, the Garden on a Roll as part of the garden makeover.

Garden on a Roll is the ideal way to create the perfect border, and is a great way for novice or inexperienced gardeners like me to get a professional looking garden border.

Your chosen themed plants arrive in a box, along with a border layout map, some tools and a DVD with instructions. I couldn’t wait to give this a go.

How many different Garden on a Roll borders are there?

There are 8 different Garden on a Roll varieties to choose from including:

1. Shady Garden
2. Sunny Garden
3. Wildlife Garden
4. English Cottage Garden
5. Evergreen Shady Garden
6. Evergreen Sunny Garden
7. Mediterranean Garden
8. Sensory Garden

Which is the best Garden on a Roll border?

So this is going to depend on your border location. All of the border packs contain a great variety of plants all suited to your preferred location and style of garden.

If you have a sunny area, you can choose from:

If you have a shady border area, choose from:

If you like a fragrant garden border, you should choose from:

If you have a hot, dry border then choose:

1. Mediterranean Garden Border

If you have a shady border that gets little sun, you’ll need to select:

1. Shady Garden Border
2. Evergreen Shady Garden Border

How to Order a Garden on a Roll border?

Firstly I needed to decide in which part of the garden I was going to create my border, and how big that area was. At the side of my gravelled ‘hot bed’ seemed the ideal spot, as it was nice and sunny and up against quite a bare fence that needed some covering.

The space was 5 metres long by 90cms wide which whilst being quite large, would provide some much needed interest in that part of the garden.

The Garden on a Roll product is available in many different types to suit your style of garden and the location of the border. For example you could choose from Shady, Sunny, Sensory, Evergreen Shady, Evergreen Sunny, Wildlife, English Cottage, and Mediterranean.

For me, of course the choice was straightforward and I went for the Mediterranean border to fit with the garden makeover theme.

How long does Garden on a Roll take to deliver?

Delivery of your Garden on a Roll border is within 7-10 days. The team creates your border and prints your plan after your order to ensure you have the most accurate details for planting.

How do Garden on a Roll Plants Arrive?

So the box of plants arrived on the day we arranged, ready to be planted over the next few days.

What’s included in Garden on a Roll?

Here’s what was included in my Mediterranean Garden on a Roll border:

And so we created and prepared the border area, digging it over really well, adding some edging and some topsoil too to enrich the soil. That was the hard bit to be honest and now we were ready to put in the plants.

 

How to Plant a Garden on a Roll Border

So it’s really simple to create the border once the area is prepared.

This video shows you in more detail how it all works:

And this is how it looked when we did it:

What’s the best time to plant Garden on a Roll?

You’ll need to plant your Garden on a Roll plants as quickly as possible after delivery to ensure great results, so ensure you have time once you’ve arranged a delivery date.

Once they’re planted, water really well for a few weeks and then at least 3 times a week after that. It’s been really hot here so some days I’ve watered twice to keep the plants looking healthy.

Fingers crossed they all seem to be doing really well and many are now flowering and have grown lots.

Garden on a Roll plant lists:

Shady Garden:

The Shady Garden o a Roll selection includes a selection of plants from the following list-

Sunny Garden:

The Sunny Garden on a Roll border can include some or many of the following plants-

Evergreen Shady:

An Evergreen Shady Garden on a Roll border may include some of the following:

Evergreen Sunny:

The Evergreen Sunny Garden on a Roll includes a selection from the following-

Mediterranean:

The Mediterranean Garden on a Roll includes plants from the following list-

Wildlife Garden:

The Wildlife Garden on a Roll (the one I’d choose tomorrow if I could!) includes some of the following plants:

English Country:

The English Country Garden on a Roll contains some or all from this selection of plants:

Sensory Garden:

The Sensory Garden on a Roll includes a selection of plants from the following list-

Is Garden on a Roll Worth it?

I can’t tell you how great a product this is. What a fantastic idea and why has it taken so long for me to discover the garden on a roll!

For a novice or inexperienced gardener like me this is the ideal way to create a lovely, professional looking border.

Like many people I can choose a plant, based on the plant information and what I like the look of, but laying them out in the right way so those at the back have height and those at the front are smaller takes skill and experience which I just don’t have.

I love that the DVD is included with lots more information on how to plant and look after the border. The seeds were a bonus for the children and we’re using them in another part of the garden.

If I was going to add anything to the product I would love a detailed list of the provided plants and a care guide, particularly telling me when to prune them would be fantastic. I think this is something I’m going to put together myself for ongoing care.

How much does Garden on a Roll cost?

A Garden on a Roll border starts at £75 for 2m x 40cms border of plants. The cost increases as per the size of your border. The larger the border the more plants are required.

All of the details in this post are correct at the time of updating – April 2023. Our Garden on a Roll survived beautifully in the garden for several years until a more recent makeover, when many of the plants were redistributed. The sunny position meant the plants thrived and grew well for many years.

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If you enjoy this post, why not look at the others in this series:

Garden on a Roll 1 Year Update

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