Free resources to help you plan, design and maintain your own garden
As joyful and important as they are, we need to acknowledge that maintaining a planted outdoor space usually costs money. The price of some plants, compost and access to water can be prohibitive, not to mention the privilege of time and resources to acquire the knowledge you need to make your garden a success. For those who are new to gardening, this can feel like a barrier, so I wanted to share my top FREE resources to help you plan, design and maintain your own garden.
Use your local library
I’m a huge library fan. My local library runs events, talks, community noticeboards, offers affordable printing and access to the internet for free. Importantly, they also have a pretty great selection of gardening books. As well as more traditional books from the RHS, guides on planning your garden and best sellers from familiar tv presenters, they also regularly acquire new titles and non-fiction reads which have an impact on how I think about outside space. One of my favourite recent library borrows was Frances Tophill’s A Year in a Small Garden which followed her first year of owning her own small garden. I really applaud Frances’s trial and error approach to garden design, where she minimises spend and takes time to let the garden space develop organically, understanding that some things will work and some won’t. It’s a great book to read to minimise any stress you might be feeling about tackling a new gardening project.
Download the Libby app
Now that you are a library user and have a library card, it’s time to download the Libby app. If you have a mobile phone and a library card from any UK library, you can use this free app to access magazines for absolutely nothing. Not only can you get new, premium gardening magazines to read on your phone or tablet, but you can also access years worth of titles too - so if you are wondering what plants might look good in your garden in winter, just click back and access last year’s magazines to see what plants they are talking about that month.
Libby is my most used app and I also use it to access magazines from other countries too. It isn’t always the most user friendly experience and it can sometimes be hard to find specific titles via the search function, but given that you don’t pay a penny for it (and you can use it to rent audio books and general library books to your phone as well), it’s still a huge win. I also find that some plant suppliers such as Crocus will also have discount codes for ‘readers only’ published in these magazines, so it’s often worth having a look through a recent title if you’re thinking of placing an online order.
My recent Libby app magazine rack.
Subscribe to helpful newsletters
Pump up your inspiration resources by subscribing to e-newsletters from your favourite designers and gardeners, either directly from their websites, or via Substack. While some content can be hidden behind a paywall, key snippets from weekly or monthly emails can help steer you towards a style of planting you really love. Newsletters can also help you to dive more deeply into important information which can help you to garden with more ethical, societal and environmental awareness.
I recommend articles from Radical, She Grows Veg, Jo Thompson and Between.
Rebecca Jones’s Substack - Between
Follow key accounts on social media
Instagram, TikTok and even LinkedIn are all flooded with content which can inspire your planting and how you to layout your outside space. It can become overwhelming and even slightly depressing to see image after image of gardens which aren’t like your own, but there’s no doubt that social media can be a great resource for spotting plants and emerging designers, as well as activists and campaigners who can help you to understand how your love of gardening can fit into your community.
I recommend trying to follow gardeners, groups and wildlife initiatives you feel a particular affinity with, as well as considering those in your local area. This can help you to understand what plants might thrive in your climate, or what type of wildlife you might come across. Here are just a few of the people I love following on Instagram:
Use AI design tools
An arguably controversial suggestion but there can be no doubt that AI is here to stay and is making an impact on garden design. There are an increasing number of free AI-driven garden design programmes including Ogrovision and Neighborbrite which can help you visualise how your planting space could look in the future. While I haven’t used any of these tools personally (and know I would miss the interaction with clients to create a truly loved and personalised space), they can be a useful jumping off point to help inspire your design.
If any of these resources help inspire you to make a change to your patio, borders, garden or window boxes, get in touch to chat more about how we can bring your plans to life.