Moving house can be difficult, time-consuming and very stressful, but once you’re ensconced in the property, all the fun can really begin! Decorating and really making it your own can be very rewarding, as you watch it all come together and really start to feel like yours, especially when it comes to the garden and exterior of the property.

The importance of creating an oasis of calm outside has been seriously highlighted by the last 18 months and the global pandemic, and having a stunning garden where you can escape when the hectic nature of modern-day life gets a bit much is essential for mental health and wellbeing.

If you’ve recently invested in a new-build home, you may find yourself faced with a few issues you need to overcome in order to design the garden of your dreams - but rest assured that it can certainly be achieved, with just a little bit of research and prep work. You’ll soon be relaxing outside with the family, drink in hand, soaking up the summer sun!

New-build gardens typically come with outdoor plots that have been laid entirely on lawn, which may not seem all that inspiring at first but don’t despair… there’s a huge amount you can do that will totally transform your backyard. Here are a few top tips to help get you started!

Aerial shot of Garden Decking

Come Up With a Design First

Before you do anything, plan your garden out properly so you know where you’re going to have trees, plants and shrubs, and which parts of the plot you want to lay out with flagstones and paving. It's worth looking at ponds, water features and rockeries to add more natural elements to the setting.

Sites like Pinterest are invaluable when it comes to researching garden design ideas and you can create various mood boards to see which styles and aesthetics you like and which you don’t.

Sort Out The Soil

The soil in new-build gardens can be quite compacted and it often isn’t the best quality, but you can easily improve it by turning over any land that you intend to use for lawns and planting, removing any rubble and rubbish you come across. Digging will break up compaction, which makes it easier for plants to grow good roots. Adding a good quality compost to the soil is recommended, and the general rule of thumb is to allow 5cm coverage of manure or compost before turning in with the existing soil. Improving soil quality is a key factor in giving your garden the best foundation for successful plant growth.

Go Plant Shopping!

Once you’ve got your layout in mind and your soil is ready, you can start thinking about what plants and shrubs you’d like outside. Autumn and spring are the best times of year to put your plants in the ground, so now’s the perfect time to do some research into what greenery you’d like to see, as autumn is just a few weeks away.

Plants in a Garden Centre

Remember Privacy Levels

New-build homes often have problems with privacy, but you can use your planting to help shield your garden from the neighbours’ prying eyes. Screening trees like bamboo, holly, hornbeam and magnolia would all look lovely and give you the privacy you need.

For help with patio paving, get in touch with Gardenstone today.

Image Credits:

Main photo by James Feaver on Unsplash

Garden photo by Cameron Smith on Unsplash

Soil photo by Roman Synkevych on Unsplash

Garden centre photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash

Bamboo photo by Paulina Sáez on Unsplash