Creating Effects
Builder's merchants and many garden centres stock a variety of attractive paving materials to suit most tastes and styles, and these can be laid to create all sorts of patterns, formal or informal. As well as different materials, surfaces can vary in texture. Big slabs are suitable for large areas, while bricks and pavers are better for smaller areas. A mixture of different paving materials will introduce variety and interest to a scheme.

Concrete Paving Slabs
Large slabs made from concrete are a popular choice for patios, paths and drives. They come in a range of sizes, textures and colours, and are easy to lay once a solid foundation has been prepared. Slabs, especially circular ones, are suitable for use as stepping-stones set in a lawn or in gravel.

Natural Stone
Although this looks splendid, it is very expensive and difficult to lay. It can be dressed, that is cut into regular shapes with smooth edges, or random, with irregular outline and thickness. The latter is suitable for crazy paving and looks much better than broken concrete fragments.

Bricks and Pavers
Concrete or clay pavers and bricks are very striking when they are laid in small areas. They are especially suitable for visually linking the garden to a brick house. They can be laid in intricate designs. Pavers come in a wide range of sizes, colours and thicknesses and have different finishes.

Laying Paving
Paving needs to be laid on to a firm base. The area will have to be excavated to a depth that allows for hardcore, mortar and paving. Hardcore needs to be only 5-10cm (2-4inches) thick for foot traffic but about 15cm (6inches) if vehicles are to be driven over it. Concrete and brick paving slabs can be bedded on mortar, but clay pavers must be bedded on sharp sand using a plate compactor.

Plants and Paving
A few strategically placed plants will greatly improve the appearance of the paved garden without requiring too much extra work.

Plants in beds alongside the paving can be encouraged to fall onto the paving to soften the hard edges. Containers are useful, too, to break up a large expanse, or to introduce colour where there is no bed for planting in. but if you design the paving with integral planting areas or raised beds, the plants will need less watering than they would in containers.

Planting a Border
The simplest way to grow wildflowers is in an existing border, either on their own or with some other herbaceous plants and shrubs. This can work especially well if you combine wildflowers with the many garden plants that are forms of wildflowers, such as carpeting ajuga reptans and self seeding poppies and forget-me-knots.
Wildflowers can be sown or planted in the same way as other plants, but they will not thrive in ground that is fertilized.
On cultivated ground the ranker weeds tend to take over and smother the plants you want to encourage, so it is worth clearing the area of weeds first. Then you can sow the wildflower mixture or plant out perennials in the spring.

Colonizing a Lawn
You can scatter the wildflower seed directly over the area, but the competition for the grass will be intense. For better results, sow the seed in trays, prick out and grow the plants in pots first. Plant them out in spring, when the perennials are strong enough to compete with the existing grass.
Once the perennials are established, they will self-sow, which is always more successful than simply scattering seed yourself.

Converting a Field
If you are lucky enough to have a field and want to turn it into a wildflower meadow, your task is much harder.
Before you can start sowing or planting wildflowers you will need to spend a whole year mowing the grass at regular intervals to keep it short. This will kill off most of the invasive grasses, and leave only the finer ones. When the grass is under control, you can proceed as for a lawn.

Clearing New Ground
For those with a smaller area to convert, another effective method for establishing a wildflower area is to clear it completely, removing all traces of perennial weeds. Then sow a wildflower and grass mixture formulated for your area, as for a border. There are several suppliers for this type of seed.

Maintaining Wildflowers in Grass
Wildflowers in grass should be cut once or twice a year. The best time is in summer once the main flush of plants have seeded. Remove the cuttings to prevent feeding the soil.

You will have to sow self-seeders initially, of course. Decide on a position where the plants can multiply freely without becoming a nuisance. Suitable places are among shrubs and herbaceous plants, especially in a mixed bed, or in beds restrained by clear boundaries, such as a bed in a lawn. Sow only into well-prepared ground that is completely free of weeds. You may have to weed twice initially to ensure clear soil.

Maintenance of Self-sown Plants
After initial sowing, and each subsequent year, pull out any weed seedlings before they compete with the sown seedlings. You should be able to identify the desirable seedlings by the larger number with the same kind of leaf. As the seedlings become larger, hoe between them to control weeds. Once the plants meet, you should be able to stop weeding.
Where seedlings have self-sown too thickly, you may need to thin the plants in spring.

1) Scatter annuals randomly. Avoid sowing too thickly, otherwise you will have more thinning to do. Rake the seeds in, first in one direction and then in the other direction if possible.
2) Sow perennials such as lupins and columbines in small pinches about 45cm (28 inches) apart. Rake some soil over the seeds.
3) Keep the seeds watered until they germinate and are growing well. If there are spaces between plants you could fill the gaps with a decorative mulch to suppress weeds. You will need to thin the plants out if a group have germinated together.

Self-Sowing Plants

Annuals Perennials
Calendula Aquilegia
Eschscholzia Digitalis
Limnanthes Foeniculum vulgare
Lunaria Lupinus

Many garden centres and stone or builders merchants sell a wide range of gravels in different sizes and colours. You will find the appearance changes according to the light and whether the stones are wet or dry.

Making a Gravel Bed
You can set a gravel bed in a lawn or within an area of paving. In a large lawn a winding ribbon of gravel, designed to imitate a dry riverbed, can look very effective. If the garden is smaller, a more compact shape, perhaps oval or kidney-shaped, may be more appropriate.

Cut out a shape using a half moon edger (edging iron) and remove the turf about 10cm (4 inches) deep with a spade. If you want to grow drought-loving plants, dig in plenty of course grit. For growing more hungry plants, add well-rotted manure or compost. The gravel needs to be about 5cms (2 inches) deep. Keep the gravel well below the surface of the lawn, otherwise it will spill on to the surface of the lawn and damage the mower. Choose a size that will be noticeable if it does stray.

Large Gravel Areas
For anything larger than a small island bed, consider laying a plastic sheet over the area to suppress weed growth. If the gravel garden is low-lying or in a hollow, provide a sump for excess water to drain into. Ensure that the surface is quite smooth before laying the sheet, and overlap the joints. Tip the gravel over the plastic sheet and rake it level to make a 5cm (2 inches) layer.

Planting in Gravel
Many plants will grow well in a gravel bed, but for a low-maintenance garden choose drought-resistant plants that wont need watering, even in dry spells. Scoop back the gravel and plant normally, but avoid planting too deeply and keep the gravel away from the immediate area around the stem.

If planting through a plastic sheet, scoop back the gravel then make cross-slits through the plastic. Enrich the soil with garden compost or fertilizer and plant normally. Fold back the sheet and replace the gravel, taking care not to cover the crown of the plant.

Beds And Borders
Attractive, well-filled beds and borders bring a garden to life, but they are potentially time consuming. You can reduce the amount of work involved simply by choosing low-maintenance plants and keeping them weed-free by mulching, perhaps with a decorative chipped bark, or with chemical controls. Whatever planting style you choose avoid using plants that grow rampantly, need constant cutting back or frequent pruning, and any with lots of seeds that germinate readily where you don't want them to.

Foliage
Interesting foliage often acts as a backdrop to flowers, but it can also be used on its own. The enormous range of greens as well as purples, bronzes, silvers and striking variegations makes it entirely possible to create unusual effects using foliage alone.

Evergreens are especially useful because they don't shed leaves like deciduous shrubs do or die down leaving dead matter to be cleared away as do perennials. However, deciduous shrubs produce some stunning autumn effects, which are particularly useful when the number of flowers is declining in your border.

Incorporating Flowers
However attractive foliage may be, for most people a garden would not be complete without flowers. Happily, many will perform well with little attention, and there are a number of different types of flowering plants to choose from. Traditional seasonal borders are replanted twice a year with bedding plants to take full advantage of spring and summer flower colour. They are packed with colour but require most work and are best avoided if you have limited time. Using more permanent plants instead will involve less time.

Annuals are less work for the gardener as many can be sown in-situ. They are invaluable for filling gaps with bright summer colour. You sow them in late spring and they flower in summer, and many will self-seed for years. Pot marigolds, nasturtiums, love-in-a-mist, and different types of poppy, including Californian and common field poppies, are all good self-seeders. Any seedlings that appear in the wrong place can simply be pulled up. When the plants have finished flowering they can be removed.

With many different growth habits, sizes and flower shapes and colours, herbaceous perennials bring an extra dimension into the garden. Choose those that you can plant and forget, at least for a few years. They will flower year after year.

Shrubs are among the best plants for borders. Most will grow for years without any attention, but those that grow too vigorously (such as buddlejas and many roses) or that are tall and difficult to manage (such as lilacs) are best avoided. Fortunately, there are so many well-behaved shrubs, that a low maintenance border is easy to achieve. Potentillas flower for months, as do hardy fuchsias, though these may be partly cut down in cold winter. Mahonia and hebe are also reliable.

Designing The Garden
A sense of tranquillity and areas for contemplation are important elements in a Japanese garden. The design must be kept simple and uncluttered, concentrating on outline, shape and contrasting surface textures, while the use of plants is restrained, resulting in a garden that satisfies the senses but requires minimum aftercare.

Focal Points
Rocks and stones have a special importance in many Japanese gardens. They can be set in an area covered with fine pebbles, which are an ideal labour-saving ground cover. When wet, they change colour and catch the light.

Choose some special stones of varying size, colour and character, and arrange asymmetrically in one or two areas in uneven numbers. Traditionally, the pebbles are raked into variations of parallel lines and snaking spirals centralised on the main rock features. Gravel can be substituted for pebbles as a cheaper option. You can inset a walkway of large paving slabs or sawn tree-trunk pieces in the gravel.

Minimal Planting
In an authentic Japanese stone garden, the only plants might be mounds of green moss providing a softening contrast with the stones and rocks, but other types of Japanese-inspired garden include a few more plants, chosen for their interesting form or grace. These can be planted through the pebbles or in large simple containers. If mosses, which thrive in moist conditions out of direct sun, cannot be encouraged to grow, try moss like plants as an alternative, such as Sagina Subulata, S. Procumbens, or, in mild areas, the ground-hugging carpeter Soleirolia Soleirii.

A Water Feature
Water, the essence of life, should always be present. In a real Japanese garden, it would be fresh running water, but for the low maintenance gardener even a bowl filled with water is calming in a garden and offers birds the opportunity to drink. A bubble fountain washing over pebbles or a running stream effect would be ideal.

Traditional Ornaments
In Eastern philosophy, traditional garden features have their own significance within the strict rules and special meanings of the garden design. Bamboo wind chimes create soothing sounds, while a rounded lantern and a linear bridge are pretty, and useful for introducing contrasting shapes. You could introduce different ornamentation to suit your own preferences, with the purpose of providing contrasting shapes and colours.

If you would like to create a garden that is inspired by the Mediterranean countryside simply pack it with tough, self-sufficient plants that are colourful, attractive to bees and butterflies and wonderfully scented. You may also want to stock it with many aromatic edible plants that are useful for the kitchen. You might start off with a small patch or bed, but the benefits of this style of labour saving garden are such that you may consider converting a larger area.

Mediterranean plants are resilient and drought-resistant. Their constant adaptations for survival in hot, arid areas – aromatic vapour, shimmering foliage, tough or spiny leaves and silvery hairs – also make them unappealing to pests, and their tough constitutions help them to resist disease.

Basic Groundwork
All of the above make Mediterranean plants ideal candidates for a low maintenance garden, as long as the ground is prepared so that they will thrive in temperate climates.

You will need to add plenty of grit or gravel to the soil to give it sharp drainage so that the plants do not have to struggle in wet, compacted ground, where they would inevitably rot as their roots need dry conditions.

A top layer of gravel or stones will work as moisture-retaining mulch that also keeps foliage crowns dry and absorbs heat for the benefit of the plants.

Designing The Garden
This kind of garden requires no planning to ensure that the colours and textures compliment one another. The plants naturally team well, forming a magical tapestry of wonderful partnerships.

The predominant shrubs and sub shrubs are evergreen, with grey and silver tones, sustaining the garden through the quieter winter months. In spring, flowering bulbs pop up in bright reds and yellows. Summer explodes with foliage and flower.

Suitable Planting
Select only those types of plant that will survive with minimal attention and enjoy the sharp draining conditions of your garden.

There is no need to add fertiliser or manure when planting. Most Mediterranean plants are adapted to grow in poor soil, and if it is too rich they will produce weak, sappy growth. In poor soil they will generally grow tougher and flower more freely. Simply cover the surface of the soil with gravel and water the plants well until they establish themselves. After their first season, you will not need to water them. In severe summer drought, you can revive any stressed plants by dousing them with water; if watering is impractical, cut back the plants severely and they should revive.

Containers
Following the age old Mediterranean tradition of growing special plants in pots you can grow a few brightly coloured geraniums against a whitewashed wall, or perhaps a fig tree if you have a very sunny, sheltered corner in the garden.

Now you can sit back, relax and enjoy your Mediterranean garden. Your senses will be tantalised with wonderful colour, texture and smells.

Many bulbs will flower reliably year after year, with the clumps improving all the time, and once they have been planted they need very little attention.

Most summer-flowering bulbs, such as alliums and lilies, are best planted in groups in a border, but the easiest way to grow many spring and autumn flowering bulbs is to naturalize them in grass. This eliminates the need for annual replanting and means that you don't have to cut that part of the lawn until the leaves have died down naturally.

It is better to keep naturalized bulbs to one small area of the lawn so that the rest can be cut normally and it won't look too untidy.

Caring for Bulbs
Naturalized bulbs and those left in a border for many years will eventually need dividing to prevent overcrowding, which would lead to deteriorating results. Lift large clumps when the leaves have just died back, or any time when the bulbs are dormant. Separate the clump into smaller pieces and replant. You do not have to separate into individual bulbs.

Naturalizing Large Bulbs

1) To create a natural effect, scatter the bulbs on the grass and plant them where they fall. Make a hole for each, roughly three times their own depth, using either a trowel or a bulb planter, which pulls out a neat plug of grass and soil. Insertion will be easier if the ground is moist rather than dry.
2) Place a bulb in the hole. Crumble some soil from the bottom of the plug and let it fall around the bulb to make sure it will not be left in a pocket of air. Press the plug back into position.

Naturalizing Small Bulbs

1) For small bulbs and corms it is sometimes easier to lift and then replace the grass. Use a spade to slice beneath the grass, and then roll it back for planting.
2) Loosen the soil with a fork, and work in a slow-acting fertilizer such as bone meal. Scatter the bulbs randomly as a uniform pattern will look unnatural in grass. Small ones can be left on the surface; larger ones are best buried slightly.
3) Aim to cover the bulbs with twice their own depth of soil under the grass, firm it well with your hands and water thoroughly.

There are varieties to provide year round colour and most have attractive foliage, which often changes colour according to the season.

If you have space, heathers look best planted in bold drifts. Depending on the size of the bed, plant them in groups of perhaps ten or twenty of each variety. If you make your selection with care, you can have some in flower virtually every season of the year. They can also be used in combination with conifers to create striking effects.

Limited Maintenance
The only attention heathers need is an annual trim in mid-spring; cut out old flower heads as well as any dead, diseased or damaged shoots. Apply a slow-release fertilizer after pruning.
Heathers can become woody with time and may require replacing after some years.

Planting Heathers
Make sure you choose the correct type of heathers for your soil. Winter flowering Erica carnea varieties, which are more correctly known as heaths, will grow on neutral or even slightly alkaline soil. True heathers, such as Erica cinerea and Calluna vulgaris varieties, need an acid soil.

When planting, it is important to prepare the soil thoroughly, and adding peat to the planting area will benefit all types. Plant through a sheet of black plastic or a plastic mulching sheet to keep weeding down to the absolute minimum. Then you can mulch on top of the sheet with a more attractive material such as chipped bark or gravel.

1) Prepare the soil thoroughly before planting. Add plenty of organic material such as a compost or well-rotted manure, especially if the soil is dry or impoverished of nutrients. If planting in spring or summer, rake in a balanced general fertilizer. If planting in autumn or winter, wait until spring to apply fertilizer to avoid scorching tender roots.

2) Start planting at one end or at the back of the bed. Space the plants about 30-45cms (12-18 inches) apart. The planting distance will vary according to the species and even variety, so check first. Plant with a trowel and press the soil down firmly with your hands to exclude any air pockets.

3) Use a mulch of peat or composted chipped bark to suppress weeds, conserve moisture and improve the appearance of the soil while the plants are still young. Over time this will rot down and provide nutrients for the growing plants and may need topping up every few years.