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Is this you? «I don’t want to spend any money on my yard because I only rent.» Or this? «If I have to move, all the work in my yard will have been wasted.»

I heard variations of these statements many times in the cities I have lived in. Well, good news for all you renters: there are ways to brighten up your yard and make it a part of your living space that will not break the bank or feel like you did all that work only for someone else (the property owner) to enjoy it. Here are some tips that reflect my experiences over the years.

Container love

You can‘t take it with you? Yes you can! Containers are the solution if you want to enjoy your favourite plants and be able to take your green friends with you to your next address. Put all your large and heavy pots and planters on caddies to move them easily. A great bonus of container gardening is the sheer variety of containers to choose from. Pots of all shapes and sizes, hanging baskets, plant shelves… Choose colours (of both planters and plants) carefully and pay attention to the proportions of container size versus yard size. Then have fun getting your hands dirty!

Eat your (own) greens

What can you plant, enjoy and consume during a short-term lease? Fruits and vegetables, that’s what. Sow out salad in winter, plant tomatoes in spring, sit amongst blueberry bushes, harvest a bunch of sage from your herb garden, and you’ll have that satisfying feeling of self-sufficiency only a true backyard farmer knows.

Shop wisely

If you are in the fortunate position to have a large plantable area but dread the cost of filling it, relax! Remember that seeds are much cheaper than plants, and a colourful wildflower meadow grown from seed is one of the cheapest gifts we can make our planet. Roam plant exchanges or plant sales in your neighbourhood for a bargain penstemon or fern. Tool exchanges allow you to rent equipment if you don’t happen to be on friendly terms with your neighbours. Ask for permission to cut a branch off a plant for propagation wherever one catches your eye (requires advanced skills!).

Cover your back

More a reminder than a tip: make sure the property owner agrees to any changes you want to make to the yard. Get their OK in writing. Be safe.

As a renter, you may live in someone else’s house, but this is your home now. Your outdoor space is part of it. If you deserve a beautiful, liveable home, you deserve a beautiful, liveable garden just as much.

It’s Chelsea Flower Show time! England‘s biggest garden event has opened its doors for a week of spectacular show gardens, floral displays, garden art and market stalls. It’s such a hustle and bustle in the grounds, as you’d expect from the industry highlight of the year for designers, builders, nurseries and keen gardeners alike. If you want to see the show gardens up close, turn to the daily BBC live coverage instead, or visit the RHS website. Garden photographers have their moment at the event, too!

One of this year’s trends appear to be woodland gardens. Not a new thing, of course, and here in the Pacific Northwest we are truly fortunate to call native some of the most gorgeous woodland plants on earth. I’m not just talking of western sword fern and salal, either.

For design inspiration, I love to walk through Kruckeberg Botanic Garden north of Seattle. It’s a shady woodland oasis with so many of our native plants growing in a setting of dense, mature tree canopies and natural understory planting. Most residential gardens have at least one shade corner where cool, sheltered areas can be created using evergreen ferns, the heavy lifting hostas, but also native perennials such as Anemonella Thalictroides or Oxalis. Don’t shy away from those darker areas in your garden — you’ll appreciate them in the summer heat!

Let’s go make some shade, and let’s get planting!

When I tell clients that I design English style, they often assume I create gardens with boundary hedges, fine, immaculate lawns, and annual bedding plants. Well, I do sometimes incorporate low hedges as planting backdrops or garden room dividers. Low-maintenance and evergreen, hedges can give structure and winter interest to an outdoor space, and a habitat to local wildlife. Annuals, in my opinion, should be reserved for pots and planters, and I always try and find alternatives to lawn if at all possible.

So why do I claim to do «Landscape Design English Style»? England is my spiritual home when it comes to all things garden. I developed an interest in gardening when I lived in London and visited countless stately homes plus their expansive grounds. I designed my first garden before I ever contemplated making a career out of it (I entered a national garden design competition hosted by the Telegraph, and finished as runner up!). My first own garden was in South London, and I eventually studied at the British Academy of Garden Design. Add to that the classes with John Brookes and Noel Kingsbury, my various (though sadly not annual) visits to the Chelsea Flower Show, where John Brookes, by the way, already won gold medals in the 1960s, and my membership of the Royal Horticultural Society, and you may begin to see my point about England as the place where I had my garden awakening. 

English Style to me means innovative designs, like those seen in the gardens of Gertrude Jekyll. It means practical, naturalistic and sustainable gardens, like those of Tom Stuart-Smith and Noel Kingsbury. It also means having a rebellious streak, breaking with preconceived ideas of what a garden «should» be. In the Pacific Northwest, where I now live, are boulders and rhododendrons really obligatory? Will my clients allow me to take them on an adventure to discover the beauty of native plants, unusual materials, and new combinations of both? In yards that have space for fun, kids and pets.

My aim as landscape designer is to bring my own English Style to gardens in Seattle and beyond, see how it evolves in the process, and share this exciting  journey with my clients.

«You say tomahto, I say tomayto…».

Different countries, different words for the same thing, lots of confusion. In the UK, I would call myself a Garden Designer, and my clients would understand that I create plans for all their outdoor spaces, be it a front or back yard, decks, terraces or even balconies. However, the word «garden» has a more restrictive meaning in the US. It refers basically to a flower bed, and garden design is therefore closer in meaning to planting design, a small part of our job. Residential outdoor spaces over here are «yards», and my job would be that of Landscape Designer. From talks with fellow designers I take it I am not the only one who has had to clarify this!

So, to avoid any misunderstanding right from the start, while my business is called Heidi Walther Garden Design, I am a fully qualified Landscape Designer.

Great news today. I received my Certificate of Graduation from the British Academy of Garden Design. I am now a fully qualified Landscape Designer. This course has been a wonderful, eye-opening experience for me. I learned so much, technical skills, ways to see like a designer, horticultural knowledge. I owe a great deal of gratitude to my tutor and all the lecturers.

My move from London to Seattle halfway through the course turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as a whole new world of wildlife, plantlife, and outdoor culture has been informing my assignments since. The PNW is a fantastic source of inspiration.

Heidi Walther Garden Design is now available for consultation services. I advise my clients in and around London on how to design the garden of their dreams. My designs are for sustainable, low maintenance and above all beautiful spaces to suit the budget. I also give advice on pet-friendly gardens and suppliers.

Please use the contact form to ask for a consultation and quote.