When you begin to plan your new build garden, the first thing to consider is what you will be doing out there. Will you be using your garden for entertaining, so a seating area will be a priority? Do you intend to have a garden shed or summerhouse, and if so, where will it be? Will you be allocating space for a vegetable garden? Do you enjoy spending time maintaining the garden, or would you prefer something that looks after itself? If you have children, your main concern may be to create space for them to play, but that doesn’t mean you have to give the garden entirely over to lawn. We help owners of new build gardens to identify right at the start what their main priority is, so we can plan a garden that works.

Bear in mind which way your garden faces, because this will make all the difference to where the light falls during the day. The ideal garden is south-facing: these gardens get sunlight for most of the day. These can also be the highest maintenance gardens though, as during summer the higher temperature will mean more watering is needed. North-facing gardens tend to get less sun and are cooler, but the temperature is more consistent across the day. East-facing gardens get the sun first thing in the morning, so are perfect if you like an alfresco breakfast, but can be shady by the afternoon. The opposite is true of a west-facing garden, where you’ll benefit from the sun well into summer evenings. 

Understanding your garden’s aspect is important when choosing plants, because not everything grows well in full sunlight or shade. You may also be surprised to discover there are areas the sun rarely reaches. For example, the shadow of the house may block the sunlight for much of the day, so a patio adjacent to the house may not be as practical as one further down the garden that is sunny for longer. 

Spend some time observing the light in your garden. On a bright day, note where the sun falls in the morning, at lunchtime, in mid afternoon and in the early evening. This will really help when you come to design your new build garden. 

New build gardens are usually surrounded by standard panel fencing, which is practical but can have a ‘closed in’ feeling, especially if the garden is quite small. On the other hand, despite the fencing new builds are often totally overlooked by neighbouring houses, and you may want to create more private areas using screening, trellises or pergolas. You can use climbing plants to create interest along a fence, or plant trees to provide some foliage coverage. Even quite small trees can really enhance a garden and give you some sense of privacy.

Paths are not only practical, they also add interest to a garden as they lead the eye to selected features and can separate a garden into different sectors. Laying the path should be a priority. Not only will it prevent you traipsing soil into the house but it will also give you better access to the garden without damaging your new plants.

Even if a lawn has been laid in your new build garden, you may discover the soil beneath it is of a very poor quality; it may even be full of rubble left over from the building work. It’s really important to dig over the areas where you will be doing any planting, as compacted or stony soil will hinder the growth of plant roots. You might also want to find out what kind of soil you have – peat, chalk, clay, sand and so on – as this makes a big difference to the type of plants you will be able to grow successfully. You can buy a soil testing kit, or we can help you identify your soil type before we begin working on your garden design.

Finally, a word about lawns. Many people moving into a new build house settle for a rectangular lawn with flower beds around the edges. And that’s fine, if it works for you. But lawns take effort to keep looking good year-round, and there’s lots you can do to create an attractive garden without the traditional square lawn. You might want to create a smaller shaped or curved lawn, which will look wonderful and give you lots of space for additional planting. Or how about doing away with the lawn altogether? Large, shaped flower beds set around patios or gravel spaces provide a more low maintenance option while giving you an attractive garden to be proud of.