Clever fixes

Some areas in a garden can be really tricky and require a clever garden fix. Here’s an ideal planting plan for a bed that gets full sun on half its length and and semishade on the other half: Festuca Glauca ‘Silver Eyecatch’ for the sunny area and Acorus Gramineus ‘Golden Edge’ for the semi-shaded spot. This makes for good colour and texture contrasts – I love this combo and the tiger’s eye pebble mulch finishes off the design beautifully.

Hunt down a rustic rusted gate (visit local junk shops and scrap metal dealers) and then paint a wall in the background to create the backdrop for a pathway lined with grasses. Variations on this garden fix can be used in many spaces in your garden to change something from drab to fab!

This sandstone gabion water feature, which has a stainless steel lip to control the water flow, is fascinating. It is an ideal garden fix for an important area like the entrance to a home or a courtyard that currently lacks interest. Sedum ‘Golden Glow’, which has been planted to form the border, is a great choice because the yellow in the leaves is so compatible with the colours of the sandstone. ‘Golden Glow’ is a tough, no nonsense plant that copes in dry areas.