5 tips to create your very own English country garden (in France!)
1. Use a variation of plants
English Country gardens tend to have a wild look, so don’t be afraid of mixing flower types. Use plants with a variety of heights and colours. Dense planting can help to discourage the growth of weeds, and the mixture of colours will add to the style. Botanic is a well known French garden centre and has over 47 garden centres across France. This excellent garden centre offers an enormous range of both indoor and outdoor plants, bulbs and trees. See www.botanic.com. Besides plants, traditionally the English people wanted to produce medicinal herbs, fruits, vegetables, flavourings, and scents for their homes. Often just by the kitchen door there would be an herb garden for flavours, medicine and cleaning products. Why not buy a collection of herb plants from the nearest Leclerc or Champion and plant your own herb garden.
2. Build a pond or a water feature
A pond or an alternative water feature adds a peaceful atmosphere to the garden. Create a haven for water-loving plants, trees, birds, fish and insects. Most English Gardens have a water feature to attract wildlife. Whether this is a small birdbath or an ornate waterfall depends on your space, taste and budget.
3. Add some statuary
A typical English country garden will almost certainly have some kind of statue or ornament. See englishgardenstatuary.com for ideas. Miniature roman temples, Chinese pavilions and imitation ruins are the most traditional options for English Country Gardens, but be creative and use what inspires you.
4. Build an English rose garden
This would certainly require a little more land than your average Parisian town house garden may offer, but if you have the space for it, go that extra mile for a true English style. Informal designs incorporate curved pathways and planting borders, complemented by graceful trellises. Choose roses carefully, considering their height, spread, colour and fragrance. Plant strongly scented roses beneath windows and near patios or porches. Train climbing roses against garden walls, or grow them on trellises as screens or to separate garden areas, creating the charm of a casual English rose garden. Plant colourful rose bushes that produce bright blooms in dark corners to brighten these areas of your garden. Always check that you are buying a suitable rose for the specified soil type.
5. Sit back and admire
Make sure you have reserved a sunny spot on the lawn, then invest in a bench or some garden furniture and make yourself a place where you can come to relax and take pleasure in what you’ve created- your very own English country garden in France. You could buy the furniture online englishgardenfurniture.co.uk and have it sent over to you, or alternatively you could invest in some French garden furniture from an equivalent company in France lamaisonbleue.co.uk.