As soon as upon a time, the phrase ‘ugly lawns’ would have despatched gardeners right into a tailspin. These days, although, it is turn out to be a kind of Scandi backyard design concepts that is rocketed to the highest of our must-try checklist – even when it means turning our again on a few of our favorite garden care ideas within the course of.
That is proper: whereas there are many beautiful garden concepts you should use to get artistic together with your grassy backyard, you may want to show to our fashionable Scandi neighbours for a little bit… properly, a little bit extra uncommon inspiration this 12 months.
Extra particularly, solid your gaze over to Gotland, Sweden’s largest island, the place residents have been competing to find out which ones has the ugliest garden – and stumbled throughout one thing surprisingly stunning within the course of.
Why ugly lawns are taking off
In an effort to advertise water conservation (and because of native hosepipe bans), Gotland’s ugly garden contest has seen residents do extra than simply embrace the no-mow garden and permit their grass to get brown and patchy.
As a substitute, they have been eschewing grass in favour of low upkeep garden options – to not point out developing with all types of nifty drought-tolerant backyard concepts, too.
(Picture credit score: Future PLC/Joe Bailey, fivesixphotography.com)
‘The important thing to discovering magnificence is to embrace the seasonal modifications and pure traits that may develop in your garden,’ explains Tiffany Dent, Wecandoo associate and founding father of the Archway Planter.
‘Rewilding is a good way to convey magnificence into your backyard and to create a house for various animals – be it birds, bugs and even small mammals.’
Filling your backyard with wildflowers, Tiffany goes on to recommend, will ‘not solely assist biodiversity, however will show hardier than conventional turf as they’ve developed to adapt to our situations’.
In addition to Evening-Flowering Catchfly, Tiffany suggests utilizing the next wildflowers to remodel your ugly garden right into a factor of magnificence (akin to the much-loved tapestry garden):
A double-flowering type of the normal vivid blue cornflower, these fairly wildflowers will add some color to your backyard.
With their gorgeous purple and white flowers, Snakes’s Head Fritillary may be grown in grass and infrequently self seeds to make pleasant colonies of nodding bells.
That is one to keep away from if you need a pristine garden (it could actually turn out to be invasive), however it’s excellent if you wish to create low-growing and exquisite floor cowl in report time.
‘Introducing giant pure parts akin to logs or rocks can assist to outline areas for wildflower planting, while sustaining an natural type,’ provides Tiffany, urging folks to embrace the ugly garden development’s ‘relaxed method’ to gardening.
‘It may be very liberating,’ she says.
(Picture credit score: Future PLC/Annaick Guitteny)
For those who want additional encouragement to attempt an unpleasant garden for your self, it is price noting that it is not only a Scandi factor: in actual fact, consultants on the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) have it pegged as one of many large tendencies of this coming 12 months.
Noting that gardeners are more and more in tune with nature – certainly, enquiries to the RHS about wildlife gardening elevated by over 28% final 12 months.
Garden stripes are out, primarily, as increasingly more of us are – just like the folks of Gotland – letting the grass develop lengthy and permitting wildflowers (like this 12 months’s ‘it’ flower, cow parsley) to have their second within the solar.
(Picture credit score: Future PLC)
‘Utilizing much less water general, creating extra plant range, selecting ethically and domestically sourced supplies represents a particular shift in day-to-day gardening methods,’ says an RHS spokesperson.
From mulching to rain harvesting, constructing raised beds to meadowscaping, there are many methods to just do this – and all have the additional advantage of making certain our gardens make folks ‘really feel that they’re in a wild place and offering advantages to well-being, wildlife and ease of upkeep’.
Anybody else all of the sudden within the temper to provide their garden a severe makeunder?
