Hollie Bowden on how to create a garden that feels connected to your home, from landscaping to lighting

Great style and green fingers don’t always mix. Here’s how to get your home and garden speaking the same language
Ula Maria’s garden design for Hollie Bowden’s Tottenham project
Ula Maria
Hollie Bowden28 April 2023

Whether you’re going with something sexy for big outdoor dinners or a little wild for the kids, your garden should feel like a natural extension of your home.

You can’t do Kew Gardens in a London postage stamp, but you can take cues from your interiors to really hone your vision for your outside space.

Here are five things to think about before pulling up the paving.

1. Think of it as one project

General wisdom says you should wait a year to see what springs up in a new garden but that means people tend to plough on with house renovations and push outdoor plans into the future.

Beware the many ways a builder could scupper your fantasy garden before you get to it, from angling gutters to installing a concrete slab that restricts what you can plant close to the house.

Take a deep breath and get the ball rollling on both. Not only does it make it easier to double up on lighting, fixtures and fittings but the same tradespeople might be able to build a barbecue or built-in seating.

The best time to install draining is while the house is being ripped apart.

2. Blur the boundary

A seamless transition between the interior floor going out into the garden can require serious engineering and eat up your budget, but it’s worth it. Brick looks brilliant against contemporary architecture and reclaimed flagstone feels right for a period house.

I find even people with enormous picture windows fail to consider how colours inside and out interact.

For a project in Highbury we painted the house in lime greens, purples and yellows and the garden designer planted accordingly. It’s got this gorgeous wisteria that will only get better and better.

If you’re lucky enough to have a wall of greenery reflecting back into the house, my top tip is to choose a neutral with a warmer undertone.

3. Think year-round

It’s such a British thing to abandon the garden for six months, only popping out to check the gas meter — in Copenhagen they huddle around a firepit or under a heater. Fill a trunk by the back door with sheepskins and blankets for access.

A sculpture makes a dramatic focal point when everything else is dead and withered, and you don’t need a garden of grand proportions. Try markets and salvage yards, and, like furniture in a small room, go bigger than you think.

Mast lights on walls will give a gentle wash so you can still look out when the evenings draw in. Il Farnale sells brass lamps with a beautiful patina that makes them look like they’ve been there forever.

Vincent Van Duysen’s ‘Guell’ sunlounger for Molteni&C
Molteni&C

4. Go vintage for instant character

Second-hand furniture will give your garden a lived-in feel when you’re still waiting for plants to grow in.

Make a pilgrimage to Kempton Market for cheap and cheerful French bistro tables, and have custom seat pads made up. Outdoor fabrics used to be dreary but designers have caught on — my favourites are from Christopher Farr and Holly Hunt.

For a more manicured space I’d choose something from Vincent Van Duysen’s new range with Molteni, or there’s Fermob for stackable designs in a whole spectrum of contemporary colours. Olive green always feels sophisticated.

5. Commission a garden designer

An architect or interior designer should be able to recommend a good landscaper who can do the thinking for you. Size up their past projects as most have a signature style.

Tell them if you need something hardy or low-maintenance that’s just going to do its thing, because watching a garden you spent lots of money on slowly die is a special kind of horror. Think of it like buying a dog — you need the right breed for you.

You can pop up a very mature garden if you’ve got a lot of cash, but gardening is a long game. Enjoy watching it evolve.

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