The Plotting Shed

This week H and I challenge garden convention. Why are gardens described in a certain way, what should your garden be and why the horticultural industry and garden media make gardening more difficult than it needs to be. We have decided to subvert garden convention by launching the 'Garden Liberation Front' - freeing millions of wanabee gardeners from nonsensical constraints and conventi...

Ever wondered why when you create a garden, it never seems to deliver what you had hope? After all you've got the lovely green lawn, flowers borders by the fence and space for the kids to run around... so why isn't the garden the space you'd hoped for? Garden design needs to change to reflect how you want to use the garden - not what's in the garden. This week Rachel introduces...

 Here at PlantPlots we like to view gardens from you, the users, perspective; consequently, what the RHS thought was the best garden at the Chelsea Flower Show 2021 was not the one the RHS chose - and here's why... See the RHS Chelsea Flower Show  Balcony Gardens   and  Container Gardens - - do you agree with us?  #itsmygarden Let us know email rachel@plantplots.com; or message us on Facebook...

Welcome back to the Plotting Shed. Our new 12 episode series packed with lots of brilliant garden design discussion. Learn how to design and create your garden easily, affordably and in ways that are good for you; your garden and the environment. This season I am introducing H (Helen) to the team, where we will discuss lots of thought provoking evolutionary ideas to help make your gardens better....

This is the 3rd and final episode detailing my trip to Hampton Court this year. So what are and those elements from the show we should all be emulating and bringing home, and what were those parts we think shouldn't be. And then there was the plane crash! Read more about this on the Plotting Shed Blog Support the show Support the Show - Thank you PlantPlots.com Watch our videos facebook.com/p...

Garden Shows are full of Show Gardens but should these really be called gardens? Are they gardens and if not why not. The trouble though is the RHS, Experts and the Media, extol the virtues of these displays as 'gardens' ; which dupes the non-gardening public into believing these can and should be copied. In this episode Rachel discusses why non-expert garden owners get duped into possib...

RHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2021 - We came We saw We thought...! Well the Plotting Shed is back!! I had to take some time away from Podcasting as my Garden Design Business has taken off this year. So apologies if you missed me :) - but I have been flat out designing gardens! But we had a little window of opportunity and took a day of to go to to the RHS Hampton Court Flower show  and this is wha...

Over the last few weeks Rachel has discussed how to make designing and creating a border, but what makes a garden really interesting? Is there a hidden X factor that transforms your garden space into one you love being in?? How to avoid a boring garden part 1 The Plotting Shed podcast is taking a little break now (mainly as I am snowed under with garden design commissions)  I will be back in a few...

How can anyone plan a planting scheme for the garden and make it look fab - if you don't know much about plants! Well Rachel provides a simple method that will help you work out how to create an impactful border. It involves boxes and working out your wardrobe.... Intrigued, well listen in. Read the post at  PlantPlots.com   or you can grab a copy of her book 'I Want to Like my Garden&ap...

How to design a Natural looking Garden - it sounds easy doesn't it, the garden should look like Mother Nature intended.  Getting it right tho' is a bit more tricky, but visit PlantPlots.com to see the advice Rachel gives on getting your garden to look natural, informal and gorgeous. Oh, sneak preview - it involves thinking like a river! :)    I would really appreciate any feedback on you...

How do you work out what type of garden you need or want and what does having a contemporary garden really mean? Are you choosing style of garden you have by basing your decision on a  misconception? What is a contemporary garden anyway! Support the show Support the Show - Thank you PlantPlots.com Watch our videos facebook.com/plantplots Pinterest/PlantPlots

Making the most of your garden is not about packing lots of interest into a garden.  Adding 'designer features' or finishing touches won't make the best use of the small space. WHY; well its all about knowing which parts of the garden are useful and which aren't. The useful areas are for you to occupy, the unused parts host everything else. If you only fill those areas of the g...

Garden sizes have been shrinking over the decades and many gardens are now not much bigger than a large room! The problem is we still occupy the same amount of space; it just feel we are being squeezed into a small garden! How to solve the problem of making a garden appear larger and feel bigger than it is - simply affordably and without being a garden design expert. How to make a garden feel bigg...

How to Design a Garden around problems you can't change!   Garden design would be SO much easier if gardens didn't throw curveballs in the mix! So what methods can you use to create a well designed garden when you can't solve certain problems like a really awkward shapes, concrete paths, boring sheds, or overbearing trees.  At PlantPlots we try to find ways that make gardening easie...

The Plotting Shed kicks off the 2021 season with a podcast on the theory of garden design. But because Rachel always aims to make gardening and garden design as easy as possible. This podcast will not bamboozle you with designer speak! - If words like form, function, balance and proportion leave you scratching your head- then listen in.  Rachel will help you work out what design means so you can w...

Part 2 of a 2 part podcast detailing the steps you can take to un-muddle your garden.  Over time many gardens evolve and morph away from the original layout and design, so what easy steps can you take to bring order and gorgeousness back! Read the post associated with this podcast Support the show Support the Show - Thank you PlantPlots.com Watch our videos facebook.com/plantplots Pinterest/PlantP...

Part 1 of a 2 part podcast detailing the steps you can take to un-muddle your garden.  Over time many gardens evolve and morph away from the original layout and design, so what easy steps can you take to bring order and gorgeousness back! Read the post associated with this podcast Support the show Support the Show - Thank you PlantPlots.com Watch our videos facebook.com/plantplots Pinterest/PlantP...

Formal Gardens, what are they and how to create  fabulous formal designs in small back gardens.  Good garden design is all about making your garden a place YOU ENJOY being in. And the great thing is - it doesn't have to be expensive either. For more simple practical affordable garden design ideas visit plantplots.com .  We really do make gardening easier Support the show Support the Show - Th...

There are 3 basic elements when designing a garden border.  View the designs from the podcast What makes it stand out from it's surroundings Concentrating on the off season more than the summer flowering and Joining the borders of the garden together using similar but not identical elements. Create a garden that is full of life. Download our free garden border planting plan that attracts lots...

and how to ensure the garden is not only a functional usable space but is also a well designed and attractive place to be in too as well. In this episode Rachel discusses the transformation of a small suburban garden, that needed access to the shed but that needed to provide a welcome escape from the hustles and bustles of modern life. See the transformation Read her amazing book  'I Want to...

Dealing with a shallow sloping garden  is relatively easy, but you have to be bold. The garden must take on the slope and first and foremost provide a practical solution to the contours. You simply can't sit at a sloping table - the wine glasses will topple over! Some landscape levelling has to be done, site the main seating area in the nicest part of the garden and work from there. How will...

2020 has been an absolutely rubbish year. Lockdown has meant more time stuck at home staring at the garden fences. So here are 5 simple changes you can make that will make your garden more interesting.  Just in case there's another lockdown!! For lots more brilliantly simple garden design advice read my amazing book  'I Want to Like my Garden' - it really is a garden-changer!  Suppo...

then it will always be better! Garden design is not about creating amazing show stopping gardens, it is more about solving problems so the garden works to your advantage. And the best time to plan is when the garden looks it's worst!  if it looks good on a bad day, think how much better it will look on a good one! Read my amazing book 'I Want to Like my Garden ' by Rachel McCartain...

We underestimate the cleverness of trees. Find our what trees are really capable of (and the butterflies and bees too); it will change how you think about your garden. A 'not to be missed' podcast - this really is a revelation! Trees talk to each other Trees need their sleep How do butterflies taste Bees can do mathematics! Support the show Support the Show - Thank you PlantPlots.com Wat...

I have always been a lover of garden mirrors. Mirrors are a great design tool, available in every shape and size, but mostly because; a well placed mirror in the garden can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary! What's so great about garden mirrors? Mirrors have 4 main functions in any garden,  To reflect sunlight into dark spaces They add depth to a garden Mirrors can be used to help...