How to make a new garden feel more mature

One of the hallmarks of a brand new house is the freshly turfed garden which precedes it. There’s something irresistible about new turf, with its vibrant colour and healthy appearance. Yet a turfed lawn is merely a blank canvas, with endless scope for personalisation and development.

You don’t have to be green-fingered to add character and maturity to a new garden, when landscaping firms and professional gardeners are on-hand to help. Below are eight easy ways to give a new garden a deceptively mature appearance…

Add decorative pathways

Grass often struggles to grow alongside fencing if it’s in semi-permanent shade, and trimming it might involve both a lawnmower and a strimmer. Dig out paths a couple of feet wide around the perimeter of your garden and extend the existing blockwork/flagstones. One alternative is a feature pathway, such as pebble beds starring stepping stone flags/logs.

Build a patio

Designating the sunniest corner of your back garden as a patio is a great way to add a sense of maturity. Patios serve as features in their own right, incorporating compass patterns or modern takes on crazy paving. Decorate your patio with showcase features like an arbour, trellis panels covered in climbing plants, or even a water feature. Speaking of which…

Install electrics

Once you start introducing electricity into your garden, you won’t know where to stop. Waterproof plug sockets are ideal for DIY tools like lawnmowers and pressure washers, while they’ll also power water features and hot tubs. Installing LED lighting provides year-round interest, illuminating pathways and patios even in the depths of winter.

Create shrub beds

Shrub beds add points of interest, especially with a blend of perennial and deciduous plants. Flowers can be added around this time of year for pops of colour, but ensure taller conifers can thrive behind them. Shrub beds may be inserted into awkward corners to bring low-maintenance character, while colourful stones and rocks add character and timelessness.

Increase privacy

An easy way to boost privacy levels in a new garden is by close boarding a fence and then painting it; dark green and grey are very on-trend outdoor colours. Ivy and other climbing plants provide a less comprehensive but more characterful screen, while fast-growing conifers like leylandii help to muffle sound as well as adding an impenetrable green screen.

Invest in multifunctional furniture

Practicality is the watchword for any garden furniture. Consider rattan patio sets with integral storage for their fabric cushions, or timber love seats whose central tables are strong enough to let a child sit beside you. Some patio chairs have footstools which serve as auxiliary extra seating, while parasols, barbecues and fire pits increase year-round useability.

Encourage nature’s return

As construction traffic and building noise recede, wildlife will hesitantly return. Encourage it back by installing bug boxes and bird tables, or by hanging fat balls and seed feeders from your fence posts. Bat boxes are an affordable addition below your guttering, while planting trees and large shrubs can underpin the creation of an entire ecosystem.

Focus on fast-growing plants

We’ve already mentioned leylandii, and other plants will quickly add a sense of maturity as well. Bamboo, hydrangeas and cherry laurels can all grow by several feet each year. Consider which parts of your new garden catch the sun, choosing plants which will thrive in sunny or shaded environments. Pack lots of nutrient-rich soil around their roots, and water heavily.

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