Garden - basic re design

[kerry19834]

I am the worlds worst gardener in terms on concept and what works well, layering plants etc. I just have a mix of plants which don;t work well togther. I want some help thinking about lay out I have apostage stamp size garden and love cottage garden.

Are there any online services which can help or would paying a local gardner to help be a good idea.

I have 2 sligthly raised beds 1.5m by 30cm due to clay soil and then some roses in the ground and labvender in a curved bed currently,

The raised beds are full of lots of ranodm things which dont work rtogtehr

You can buy pre designed beds of plants from crocus online. I found that was a really helpful starting point when I started gardening.

Or you could post a pic on here and people could suggest things

You want a garden designer rather than a gardener. A good design will probably be a thousand rather than a few hundred pounds but it could easily be worth it for a space that you love and can look after easily.
Gardeners range from untrained people who trim hedges and have no knowledge of plants through to horticultural trained people who are brilliant so be careful if you employ a gardener that they have the right skills for what you need.

Some designers will do an hour's visit and give you lots of ideas and suggestions. A small outlay but could save money in the end by not wasting money on unsuitable plants. All gardeners on the Gardener's Guild website are at least L2 qualified.

I was going to suggest this too, however if the raised beds are only 30cm wide they won't look like a proper bed - you'd just about fit in an espaliered tree or climbers against a fence? Or do you mean 1.5m square and 30cm high?

Thanks for the advice. I actually asked chat gpt and it's come up with a good planting design

Do you want to share it for a sense check? I love chat gpt but sometimes it comes up with really stupid ideas.

That's unusual. It's generally pretty awful.

On the subject of gardeners vs garden designers - you can always ask to see someone's portfolio or for recommendations, which would help as well?