Looking for a new hobby in 2016: why not try landscaping?
The new year is a wonderful time to become interested in a new hobby, and if you’ve decided that you’d like to learn more about landscaping, then the winter months are perfect for planning and designing.
Starting your new hobby
If you go online and take a look at the Ashridge Trees website you’ll soon find plenty of inspiration for your new project. Unless you know a lot about gardening and design, keep it simple. Make a plan of the area that you want to convert and then read up on the plants and shrubs that you want to use. You’re not going to be able to create a new Sissinghurst or Great Dixter overnight; these gardens took years to evolve, but you should be able to sculpt a landscape that suits your own ideas of perfection.
Landscaping in small spaces
You don’t have to own a mansion in order to implement any of the ideas of the heroes and heroines of landscape design. The tiny space behind a teddy bear shop in Norwich is a perfect example of how the work of Getrude Jekyll can be incorporated into a small urban garden. Designers like Jekyll aimed to produce ‘unexpected views and pictorial surprises,’ and she always tried to create ‘a sympathetic relationship between house and surroundings.’ Use the winter months to read up on the subject as well as learning as much as you can about plants and flowers.
Visiting gardens
In a bid to discover your own style, visit as many gardens as possible over the winter months. Click here to discover some of the UK’s gardens that are open to the public during this season. If you wait until the spring you’ll be trying to design, plant and gain inspiration all at the same time, and by the time spring comes you should know what you want to plant and where. It’s also a good idea not to start uprooting your existing garden until you have made and budgeted your plans.
Learn about your new hobby
Another route you could take is to see if your local college is running any courses on the subject. Many City & Guilds colleges offer courses in landscape gardening and may well have more informal courses for those who just simply want to learn about the subject in order to pursue their hobby. These courses will teach you about the different types of soils, as well as information about the basics of garden design and how to implement your ideas.
Never stop learning
Experienced gardeners never stop learning and if gardening and design are your passions you’re going to have hours of fun discovering more about this subject. Talk to other gardeners and find out how their gardens grow. If you choose landscape gardening as your 2016 hobby you’ll be able to create beauty and add to the natural landscape of your own neighbourhood.
One year you may even end up exhibiting at the Chelsea Flower Show, though you can always start by entering the National Gardens Scheme (NGS) scheme and have your name and garden featured in the famous Yellow Book.
