How to design the garden of your dreams this summer

Summer isn't far away, and that means garden parties, barbecues and sunbathing. This is the best time to start making some small improvements and start building the garden of your dreams. Over the next 50 days, we will be posting a series of blogs to help get your garden ready for summer.

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Analyse your space

For this step, you’ll need a measuring tape, notepad, pencil, and rubber. Take measurements of the garden, patio, and balcony, especially the width and length as this will help you know what you're working with. This is also a good time to visit your garden at different points of the day and make a note of any shaded garden spots as this will determine where the plants will go and your final garden layout.

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Have a plan

You need to put together a garden plan, whether you’re working on an established garden or you’re starting from scratch. Think about what your perfect garden would look like. You can take inspiration from some garden magazines. What would the colour scheme be? What furniture do you want? A lot of plants? Maybe a conservatory? When you have a vision, write it all down. It may be a good idea to hire a professional landscaper to help you develop a design.

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Find out if you need planning permission

Now that you have a clear idea about what you want to do in your garden, you should visit the Planning Portal’s website to find out if you need planning permission or building regulations for your chosen project. Take a look at their mini-guides for popular homeowner projects. View them alongside their interactive house and common project information to ensure you are fully informed about the planning and building rules relating to your garden.

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Budget

Now that you know what your dream garden looks like and whether you need planning permission and building regulations, it's time to look at your budget. How much money do you have to spend? How much is everything going to cost? Will you need to hire a builder? Ensure that you shop around to find the best deals and make a saving where you can.

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Have a maintenance plan

There is no point in spending all your hard-earned money and time on building the perfect garden if you don’t plan on maintaining it. For example, if you'd like to include a rose garden, you'll need to ensure that you're happy to prune them when needed. Or if you have a lot of plants, you need to ensure you have the time to water them regularly.

Building the garden of your dreams can be a lot of hard work and can get quite expensive but following the above steps can make it an easier process. There are only 50 days to go until the start of summer, now is the time to make the changes you want. Even if you don’t want to make any drastic changes, a few small changes here and there can make a big difference.

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