The period and external design of your house – and the surrounding area – may give you an indication of the sort of garden that will work.

If you live in a pleasingly symmetrical Georgian town house, then a reflection of its classical proportions and a neat layout would be the obvious way to go, whereas a more asymmetrical or quirky vernacular building may suit a relaxed approach. In general, modern (and older mid-century modern) houses cope well with strongly architectural plants that have sculptural and contrasting effects, while an old cottage will happily nestle down amongst clouds of roses, swathes of perennials and opportunistic self-seeders like foxgloves and poppies. Plants can soften hard lines, but they can also be used to reflect and reinforce a layout, especially if they are clipped, or of a naturally neat shape.

The pesky box moth caterpillar has all but put paid to that, and although there are treatments for it now, it may not be wise to plant box hedges for the foreseeable future. Fortunately the plant breeders have been busy suggesting – and making improvements to some alternative small-leaved evergreens that almost do the same job as a neat box hedge. Ilex crenata ‘Jenny’ is the current favourite for both topiary and hedging, small-leaved Euonymus ‘Jean Hugues’ is another good choice and will grow in sun or shade. Clipped evergreens do look the part, especially when they are dark green – there’s not much to beat a well pruned yew hedge as a backdrop to a planting scheme, or a topiary shape as a focal point to lead the eye. The only problem with the well groomed, formal looking garden style is that, just like those of us with neat hair, it will need clipping regularly.

The earliest cottage gardens were mainly vegetable and herb plots that gradually became populated by flowers – often semi-wild varieties.

A faux meadow at Wakehurst Place
A faux meadow at Wakehurst Place

Even today much of the appeal of this classic style lies in the self-sown, easy-going nature of the plants. A traditional cottage garden is a relaxed affair, with a combination of roses, tall spires, friendly hummocks and a few sprawling wanderers in the mix. It should look informal, charming and ever so slightly wayward.
If you want a more updated look to your cottage garden, try using a few architectural plants and grasses amongst the perennials. Adding structure will help to stop the more floaty, meadowy perennials looking too messy and will also provide interest once the first flush of June flowers is over.

Many Japanese gardens have a calm, Zen atmosphere, a controlled look that is achieved as much by the space between the plants and features in the garden as by the objects themselves. Here it is often the natural shape of a stone, tree or shrub that informs the rest of the garden. A multi-stemmed acer, quince or cherry tree becomes a living sculpture, (non-spreading) bamboo whispers in the breeze, architectural ferns and low growing grasses like the iconic Hakonechloa provide texture and movement, so that a quiet walk around the garden becomes a sensory experience and a place for contemplation. Japanese themed gardens have become popular in urban situations or zones within big gardens, because many of the plants are shade tolerant, edge of woodland plants. Another gardening idea that has gained popularity in recent years is the jungle, which also works in a smaller space. The plants in this group thrive in shade too, but tropical looking, large-leaved plants need humidity and the shelter that garden boundaries and warm house walls provide. Many of the jungle plants are tender and will need protection in winter, but a surprising number are beginning to manage our milder winters now, especially in the warmer micro-climates of towns and cities.

Bananas and avocados are occasionally bearing properly edible fruit, and it’s now common to see ripe figs hanging from the trees. I live in a rural location in a frost pocket, but am trying to cultivate a jungly look in a small sheltered area of the garden. I have to rely more on plants that look tropical, like the good old stalwart Fatsia japonica – often grown as a houseplant, but just as suitable in a shady part of the garden. I grow dahlias too and leave them outside – under a blanket of mulch once winter arrives, but the baby banana I have in a pot will be dragged into the polytunnel along with the non-hardy salvias and cannas. When it’s too big to lift I will have to wrap it up in straw and hessian and hope for the best.
Mediterranean gardens were the go-to a few years ago, when we had a series of droughts and cold, dry winters. The climate is changing, not just warming though, which makes for periods of wind and wet as well as dry.

Lavender, rosemary and many other silver leaved shrubs with blue flowers look beautiful in the right situation, but it is quite painful to witness them struggling about in damp clay soil, especially when they have to sit in puddles through the winter.

If you are determined to grow sun-loving plants in less than parched conditions, try to make sure that the soil is free draining, either by incorporating drainage, or by growing the plants on mounds or in raised beds, where the soil will naturally be drier.

Wilder, more natural styles suit larger spaces, but well managed meadows can look surprisingly good in smaller spaces too. The key to success is in the management. There are different types of meadows for a start – perennial and annual – for spring or summer flowers, pictorial, or faux meadows, which allow for non-natives like cosmos. It can all get quite confusing. Just letting the grass grow long – and perhaps mowing paths around or through it so that it looks deliberate, rather than neglected, will create a meadow of sorts, especially if you plant some yellow rattle within it to weaken the grass and allow the wildflowers that are native to your area to establish.
Many wildflowers used to be called weeds, so for a natural looking garden that doesn’t get overtaken by enthusiastic wild plants, choosing tamer meadow plants from other climates – that flower for longer, or at different times of the year – might be the way to go. The prairie style of garden, or New Perennial Movement, features swathes of ornamental grasses and clump forming perennials, that also look good as seed heads once the flowers have finished. Meadow type plants are good for pollinators and, later, seed eaters – and if left to die down naturally also provide snug overwintering places in amongst the dead stems. Maintenance involves just a once a year cut – depending on the type of plants and when they flower.
If you’re still unsure about which style of garden to adopt, don’t worry. There are no strict rules – if you are lucky enough to own a garden, then it is your own private paradise where you can create a space to suit your own style and grow a garden with its own unique personality.







Frozen Scents

Jo Arnell brings pockets of joy to the winter garden with her recommendations for fine fragrances The bleak end of winter can bring the coldest weather, the gloomiest skies and the sinking feeling that spring is never coming back. This...

The gardening year

Jo Arnell shares her tasks, tips and seasonal joys for the year ahead We start to groan under the weight of all our January plans, but the lovely thing about the garden in winter is that it is asleep and...

Tulip mania

Jo Arnell explains what fuelled the European obsession with tulips and how they’ve weathered their seventeenth century popularity today In the heat of an auction situation things can get out of hand and we can end up paying more than...