Simply Woman & Home

let’s get outdoors

Welcome to the Gardens issue of Simply woman&home. For obvious reasons, many of us have been spending more time outdoors in the last year. For me that has helped ignite two passions. As a keen cook I’ve had the time to grow more of my own ingredients – there is nothing more delicious than a freshly picked juicy strawberry on a sunny day! If you’ve never grown your own, but would like to try our easy guide starts on p81. Secondly, I’ve got evermore inventive when it comes to entertaining friends and family al fresco – from a firepit to festoons of solar lighting and I’m now seriously considering an outdoor pizza oven like the one on p53. We’ve also sourced the best expert advice on design and planting, plus…

garden delights

the trend edit

BRICK FOR PATIOS Large stone slabs pale in comparison to the detail you can create with brick. From herringbone patterns to ornate spirals, these smaller scale units are amazing for adding interest that you might not have considered before. So if you’re planning a new garden or patio area, bricks provide the opportunity to create extra detail, particularly in a small space. Award-winning garden designer Henrietta Murray-Wicks is a fan of brick in the garden, in particular a herringbone pattern, a pretty design which is also enjoying a moment as an interior flooring trend. Henrietta says, ‘I tend to use bricks with a stone surround (border), so it gives the effect of a rug on a floor, anchoring the space and any furniture placed on it. The bricks can also help…

gardening gave me a new start

‘I SWAPPED HANDCUFFS FOR HORTICULTURE’ Susan Main, 47, works at RHS garden Harlow Carr. She lives in Darley, near Harrogate. On the day I got my job as a horticulturist, my mum, Christine, gave me a mug that read, ‘Lawn enforcement officer’. It was a perfect present because for the past 13 years I’d been a police constable. Joining the police was not something I’d planned. After studying biomedical science at university, I returned home with no real idea of what I wanted to do. I applied to be a police special constable. Eventually I made it my full-time job, specialising in working with vulnerable children. It was a fulfilling job, but stress levels can be high and the hours unsociable. To relax, I began to play with the tiny garden of my terraced house,…

your guide to garden landscaping

Flowers may add beauty and flourish to your garden, but it’s the hard landscaping that provides the ‘bones’ of the space. The garden of a country house is the link between it and the surrounding landscape, so consider this aspect carefully when planning the design of your plot. Your property may even be listed, or you might live in a conservation area, which can affect the garden design you go for. How do I plan my design? There are some fundamental questions to ask yourself before embarking on a landscaping journey, according to James Scott of The Garden Company. ‘On a practical basis, think about what you need from your garden and how you will use it,’ he explains. ‘Also, what design aesthetic do you aspire to? This can be harder to define,…

find your perfect planting style

When. it comes to choosing a planting style, there are many things to consider. Firstly of course there’s personal taste, but you also need to consider the style of your house, design of your garden and, most importantly, how much time you’re willing to devote to it. Here, we explain more about the four most common planting schemes. COUNTRY COTTAGE Say ‘cottage garden’ and you picture roses and honeysuckle romping over a rustic arch, colourful herbaceous borders brimming with delphiniums and lupins, as well as veg, fruit and herbs. Cottage style looks great but can be high maintenance. Make the cottage look lower maintenance by choosing reliable, long-flowering varieties and give borders a colour to avoid a ‘tutti-frutti’ look – pinks and purples are classic cottage. HOW TO DO IT • Keep your layout…