Garden Design Epic Fails: 5 Design Mistakes to Avoid!

[@RachelTaylor-gs7ms]

New to these videos and loving them. No nonesense. Love it 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@Gardenninja]

Thanks Rachel I’m glad you’re enjoying my content. Do checkout my site www.gardenninja.co.uk for hundreds more free guides! 🥷🤘🌿

[@reijerlincoln]

Bonus points for the Social Distortion T-shirt. I knew there's others listingen to punk whilst gardening.

[@Gardenninja]

Oh defo! Punk till I die!! Bit of Face to Face too!🥰🥷🌿🤘

[@AndrewKNI]

Great tips Lee. I have definitely had a fail or two in my garden. Another one, which I'm guilty of, is placing plants too close together (and not allowing enough space for long term growth .....5 years+). It's been a continuous learning experience. 😋

[@Gardenninja]

Hi Andrew! Another is people lining up plants in neat rows or formations too!! Relax!!! 😉😂🥷🌿

[@rmedwards8312]

Another wicked tutorial Lee,your gardening style&presenting skills are second to none,so relatable.

[@Gardenninja]

Thanks so much!! I’ll keep banging these out to help new and experienced gardeners alike!!! 🥷🌿🤘

[@donaldauguston9740]

I'm hardly a newcomer to gardening but I've made ALL of the mistakes you mentioned. Thank you, again for such an informative video. DA

[@Gardenninja]

Yes!! When I first started all those years ago me too! Hopefully this guide will at least show that they’re common mistakes and how to avoid them!! 🥷🌿🤘

[@madaboutflowers3136]

I think consistency is what I struggle with most. I'm originally from the Leeds but I now live in northern Canada. It's been a huge adjustment gardening wise! Choosing plants that can handle -45°c in winter and +45°c in summer is really tough.

[@Gardenninja]

Hi Madaboutflowers. Those are tough conditions but there’s always a plant for every condition. Consistency is usually about sticking to a limited number of colours textures or plant groups. You’ll get there!! 🥷🌿🤘

[@mcameron3ify]

I’d recommend using native plants. Also plants native to Canadian prairies can handle that range.

[@tristahope]

This is so great! I do visual design for a career but when it comes to designing with plants its not intuitive like I thought it would be! Thanks!

[@Gardenninja]

I totally agree! Working with plants takes a certain skill given they change over time. Sometimes I compare it to designing a room in the house where the soft furnishings change throughout the year! It adds an extra layer of consideration, but I love what I do! So the effort is worth it! 😀 Happy Gardening! Lee

[@marupa1506]

Think I my garden has all 5 fails 😢 Its really huge and I really dont know what to do with it

[@sammysworld5485]

Your garden insight & knowledge continues to amaze me. TY!

[@Gardenninja]

Thanks Sammy! I’m glad you’re enjoying my gardening guides. I love sharing my knowledge of gardening to help anyone looking to enjoy the benefits of greening up their gardens!!🥷🤘🌳

[@itsinyournature]

Love your gardening enthusiasm :) All great points but the straight and narrow border is the worst.

[@Gardenninja]

Thanks so much. Yes the skinny border is my biggest pet hate!! Happy gardening. 🥷🌿🤘

[@MyFocusVaries]

Great tips as usual I know it took me a while to realize I never needed one plant. I needed three. O five. Or seven! My garden fail early on was buying planters that were too small--no room to grow, too hard to keep watered, and they didn't have enough visual impact.

[@Gardenninja]

Hi Candace. Good to hear from you again! Yes! Think we’ve all bought small pots only to realise you spend more time watering them than enjoying them!! Great tip with the multiples too!! 🥷🌿😉

[@GB-qu1kq]

@@Gardenninja I made exactly the same mistakes. Getting better!?

[@DHIRAJKUMAR-xn6bc]

Nice idea

[@AngusMcMaiden89]

Man you are my inspiration, so much good tips, but more importantly, social d for life !

[@Gardenninja]

Hahaha don’t bring me down!!!! 😉 Glad you’re enjoying my content mate!! 🥷🌿🤘

[@sussiq8812]

Totally agree.

[@thedave7029]

always enjoy your videos over the years. have a great week mate. Dave - Liverpool 🙂

[@Gardenninja]

Thanks Dave! Hope the scouse sun shines bringing your garden on! Have a great week too! 🥷🌿🤘

[@wemuk5170]

Another great video from GN! Thanks so much - really reassuring in the right direction. Our now-planned garden will have height, consistency and an odd [solely birdwatching] function. We don’t want any seating in it, as our garden is for the birds & bumble bees we watch from our extended kitchen cum family room. Everything we plan to plant are few-coloured magnets to them. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about the skinny border, is there? It’s a long raised concrete border that will be too costly to smash! Likewise the ill-proportioned skinny path is also an already-there concrete path. Does anyone have any idea how to widen skinny concrete border & skinny path without costly hard landscaping?

[@Gardenninja]

Hi Wem, Thanks for the great feedback. It's always good to hear back from Ninjas. What I'd recommend it creating another border in front of it. To give the illusion once planted of a far deeper border. No need to break out the concrete divide but cut a border in front of it. Working with what you've got rather than against it. Hope that helps. Happy gardening. Lee

[@wemuk5170]

@@Gardenninja What a great idea! Thanks very much, GN!

[@donnageorge-henderson5419]

Hmmm, maybe I need to expand my back fence border as it's only about 60cm.... I was thinking about doubling the size to put in the shrubs and small trees, so think it's not going to be a straight 1.2m, curvy to 1.5m in places to slow the eye down and create little bulges of interest. Great tips :)

[@Gardenninja]

Ooh I love that term ‘bulges of interest!’ 🥰😂🥷🌿🤘

[@christopherhills1609]

Excellent video, again. How about a video or two, or three about your favourite perennials? One for spring, another for early and mid summer and another on late summer/autumn??? Very few programmes on specific perennials it seems.

[@Gardenninja]

What a fantastic idea Christopher. I’ll add it to the list! 🌿🥷🤘 Happy gardening! Lee

[@hoppyb6113]

Hi Lee. Just wondering if you could help me with my roses. Two of my roses are being decimated by little dark green caterpillars. All the leaves have gone. I go fairly regularly to see if I can see them but it’s very rare can I see them. I don’t want to use pesticides…what can you suggest please. Keep up the good work

[@Gardenninja]

Hi Hoppy. It sounds like rose saw fly. Which can be a pain to treat! They lay their eggs in scars on the rose. So the best way is to keep an eye out for these in spring and then run your finger down to crush the eggs. Other than that encourage beetles and birds into the garden to eat the caterpillars. Hope that helps and thanks for the kind words about my gardening guides! 🥷🌿👌 Lee

[@Cardnim]

Hi Lee. Really interesting point about FUNCTION. The only thing is, for all the examples you gave (which were great btw!) I can visualise what would be there. However, Im trying to evolve my garden to be a really wildlife centric one. Have you any thoughts on how to tie the function of "wildlife" in to a design? Ta! \m/

[@Gardenninja]

Hey Cardnim. Very good question and this is where good design(ers) are worth their weight in gold. I would work out the function of how you want to engage with wildlife first. So would it be a seating area to observe wildlife. A meadow for you to walk through wildlife. A coppice of trees for birds that you could listen to? Etc. Think of the function as ‘for you’ and then the style as wildlife. Ie plants, habitat etc. Hope that helps! 🥷🤘🌿

[@Cardnim]

@@Gardenninja Fantastic idea and great advice Lee. Last January I started a few things - put in a wildlife pond, bird boxes, bee boxes, bug hotels, and even took a large bit of my garden and tried to make it wildflower "meadow". Some of these things worked well, others a little, and some (*cough* wildflowers *cough*) were a disaster :D But I never thought of them as a cohesive plan, just individual 'bits'. Your idea of first thinking how and where I want to engage with the wildlife makes way more sense. I'll try to work something like that out. Cheers mate. Love your openess, passion and enthusiasm!

[@BarriosGroupie]

For me, fail #3 _lacking function or focal point_ is crucial because this will determine how well the garden is used long term. I'd add: _ignoring garden's micro climates_ as in putting a vegetable patch in a shady part of the garden because it's convenient.

[@Gardenninja]

Hi Barrios. So true this is one for a potential 5 planting fails!! 😉 Thanks for the heads up! So many time I see peoples gardens with paths to no where or no function! Happy gardening. Lee 🥷🌿🤘

[@carriegauntlett4000]

I’m currently creating a Japanese courtyard area, which is in a sheltered area that only gets morning sun and need an evergreen for the corner to hide an ugly meter box on the wall, any suggestions?

[@Gardenninja]

What about a nice Viburnum davidii. Evergreen and not too fussy for a Japanese garden! 🥷🌿🤘

[@carriegauntlett4000]

I’ve already got one of those in another area, anyway I went to the garden centre today and in the clearance area I got a Edgeworthia Chrysler Grandiflora!!! I have no idea what or where it comes from.....But I liked the size and shape even though it has lost most of its 🍁 so I’m taking a chance with it... Doesn’t that make life so much more exiting don’t you think 🤗🥰🐌🦋🌴

[@alanbennett91]

How's Barry doing

[@Gardenninja]

Fab thanks Alan. What’s not to love when he’s got this garden to run riot in!! 😂🥷🌿🐶

[@mrknittle532]

Hi Lee! What are the stacks of bricks with the cages around them called? Closed caption is saying, "gay beans", but I don't think that's correct...lol.

[@narlpunx]

It's a gabion

[@Gardenninja]

Hahaha I love that. Gay beans. Nearly. A gabion!! 🥷🌿🤘

[@mrknittle532]

@@Gardenninja Thanks!! I just found your gabion building video from three years ago. I may try my hand at a few of them for visual interest in my garden.

[@MyFocusVaries]

Gay beans must be a synonym for cool beans LOL!

[@mrknittle532]

@@MyFocusVaries I thought the same! I grew up in the cool beans era. I may need to begin using 'gay beans' in my vernacular...lol.