Get creative with a designer lawn
I am always looking for new ways to make my garden stand out and look better. As I've rambled on about in previous articles, a well-kept lawn is a great way to make any garden look spectacular. As I'm sure many of you did, I followed the RHS Chelsea Flower Show closely this year and some of the gardens looked incredible. The one thing for me that truly makes them great are the cleverly designed lawns. Want to bring new life to your garden? Start simple and update your lawn.
It would appear the logical shape of a lawn is long and rectangular. Sure it's easier to maintain and to mow but it could have so much more potential. If you have a well-kept lawn, draw attention to it and give it a frame. Rather than a standard flowerbed, try running a path around some of the edges to really make it stand out. This will also show off the neat edges and bring real definition to the garden. Try using a lightly coloured stone for a real contrast or get clever with alternating coloured bricks. If you use a roller lawnmower for a striped lawn, this idea will give your stripes some character and emphasise this formal look.
Whilst avoiding those standard straight edges, why not give your lawn some curves? Try having curved corners as this will add some shape to the lawn and change the perspective of the entire garden. This will also give you a bit more bed space to bring some depth to your garden.
If you don't want make such a radical change to the shape of your lawn, look at adding some stepping-stones to create a path through the lawn. If you offset them they will help break up the rigid shape of the lawn. If you have a longer rectangular garden, this will also help break the lines of the garden and give the impression of more space.
If your garden does have a long lawn, think about dividing the center of the lawn with a flowerbed or some bushes extending out into the lawn. This will divide the lawn into front and rear sections and create another element of space, and it opens your possibilities to have multiple garden styles or uses.
What ever you decide to do, use your imagination. In my own garden I have both a path around one half and a curved section and it really helps give the impression it's larger than it really is.
