If you don’t have it, borrow it!

It's official! If you don't own it, you can borrow it! Well, not everything for sure, but when it comes to notable features outside your garden that you can see from within, they're fair game! We're talking about 'the borrowed landscape' here when features such as large trees, impressive buildings and, yes, even well-placed islands can be incorporated into your garden design. If you're lucky enough to have a view over fields, to mountains beyond, an old church spire, or even just a gnarled old tree in the street outside, do think carefully before you block it out with a fence or a hedge. Borrowed landscape can make your garden seem much larger than it is, a cunning device adopted by Capability Brown and his ilk to further stretch the already capacious rolling acres of rural gentry!

It's not just a question of allowing such views to impinge on your space, though. Try to adapt the plantings in your garden to lead up to and incorporate these features.

If you'd like to talk about borrowed landscape, and how to incorporate this into your garden, do get in touch!