Urban gardens

City gardens have to tick lots of boxes, providing outdoor space for planting, relaxation, play and entertaining. Usually in a relatively small area, they need clever designs to make them work well. Most urban gardens become either functional spaces or plant-filled havens into which you can escape hectic city life. They often feature minimal design and repeated patterns for maximum effect.

Wildlife-friendly gardens

Wildlife-friendly gardens feature plants and structures that attract native wildlife, such as birds, beneficial insects and small mammals. Log piles, hedgehog boxes, bee hotels and more all help to bring wildlife that is interesting to watch, and which will help the gardener by keeping down pests such as slugs and aphids. Many plants are attractive to pollinating insects and you can have a wildlife-friendly garden however big or small your outside space is.

Cottage gardens

Abundant planting that spills over onto narrow pathways, masses of colour and scented flowers, this is a quintessentially English style. Originally, cottage gardens came about as a means for people to grow lots of fruit, veg and flowers in their countryside plots, but their romantic style captured the hearts of city dwellers, and this style can certainly be easily adapted for an urban garden.
The traditional simple, rectangular layouts are softened by the profusion of plants. However, cottage gardens still need the discipline of repeated colour and planting, with hedging to provide a framework.

Visit Royal Horticultural Society
Visit BBC Gardening Advices