Designing your own garden with guest Peter Donegan
Designing your own garden can be overwhelming. You could be coming up with these amazing ideas, not know where to start. Your budget may not allow you realise your perfect design at this point. You may be given proposed plans that don’t align with your ideal garden. etc.
Well recently I had the pleasure of Interviewing Peter Donegan Garden Designer for Master My Garden podcast. Peter is currently working on some very interesting projects. One of which is a show garden at Royal Horticultural Society’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2020 with the ‘Northern Roots Oldham.
Garden
Northern Roots project in Oldham
To explain a bit about the garden which you can see above. The main purpose is showcasing the UK’s largest urban farm and eco-park, Northern Roots project in Oldham. The garden itself will relocate to Oldham after the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2020. It’s somewhere I must try to visit in the future because it looks like a fantastic space/garden which is a hive of activity. If you want to listen to the interview its episode number 6 of Master My Garden Podcast. I also wish Peter and his team the very best of luck with the show and garden relocation back to Oldham afterwards. Anyway back to the point, John.
During the interview I asked Peter for some tips for people trying to Master their own garden. His answer really struck a cord with me! Peter said the best way to start with any design is to close your eyes and picture your perfect day in the garden. Imagine, who’s there? what you and your family are doing? The flowers, trees, seating areas, play areas, veg or fruit you are growing etc. picture just about anything that would be present in “your perfect day in the garden”.
From there you have the basis of your garden design. This to me makes perfect sense as you try to Master your garden. The garden is all about you, it’s about how you feel when you’re in it, it’s about creating memories with your children or grandchildren.
Designing your own garden “Just make a start”
So whether doing a design yourself or working with a designer this is your starting point. Roughly sketch it out, write notes, must have’s for you in the garden and work from there at what ever pace works for you. We also talk about how the garden changes and our needs from the garden evolve over time. Where a playhouse was a must have on one garden design for Peter after a number of years this request changed to an eating area with bar!! So you can see the garden and design needs to evolve to suit a time in life.
So If you are wondering where to start? This to me sounds like a good start, grab a coffee, pen & paper and dream your perfect day in the garden.
Peter can be found on social channels and his website www.doneganlandscaping.com
Prefer to listen just hit the link below:
Until the next time
John
