‘We planted dahlias and hollyhocks to create a cottage garden feel’
The garden is long and thin, sunny but exposed to the wind. To make the most of the space we used pots and containers and filled them with a mix of annuals and perennials. In the ground we planted ammi majus, fennel, thalictrum and gaura to create a delicate feathery look, and in the pots we went for cosmos, zinnia, dahlias and hollyhocks to create a cottage garden feel. We also plant with pollinators in mind, putting in flowers such as viper’s bugloss. Paul Collins, retired, Bournemouth
‘It feeds my soul as well as my body’
I converted the front garden into a vegetable garden. All through lockdown, people stopped to talk to me about the garden – all the spare seedlings and veg that I grew, I gave to people passing by. I grew tomatoes, beans, courgettes, cucumbers, potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, lettuce, rocket, beetroot, kale, leeks, apples, pears, dahlias and sweetcorn – so much for a 3-metre x 5-metre space! I also sank a washing-up bowl into the ground to make a pond, and neighbours gave me some frogspawn. I love it. It feeds my soul as well as my body. Georgina Quin, gardener, Bath
‘The best addition has been an inexpensive bench’
I love our south-facing front garden – it’s not very big, but it has a beautiful cherry tree, some established shrubs and a small lawned area (as well as space for the car and bins). I’m a beginner when it comes to gardening, so I started off with some large planters filled with colourful geraniums, lobelia and pansies, but since the pandemic I’ve increased the numbers of pots and planters with spring bulbs, lavender and a variety of other plants. The best addition has been an inexpensive bench. During the first lockdown, when leaving home was limited to once a day, the bench was a godsend for feeling I was “out of the house”, and I still enjoy sitting with a cup of tea and watching the world go by. Jean Ward, education officer, Cheshire
‘My front garden is being transformed into a mini allotment’
I have always been interested in growing my own fruit and vegetables and trying to live in a more sustainable way. Being at home a lot more during the pandemic meant that I had the time and energy to begin to realise my dream. I decided to utilise the front garden, turning it from an uninspiring scrap of lawn to a worm-composting system and raised vegetable beds. It took a lot of digging and then covering the soil with cardboard to naturally create a blank canvas over the winter. Once my composting system arrived and was set up, I was able to plant some flowers and my first vegetables. Two thousand worms took up residence under their worm blankets and have begun turning my food waste into compost that will feed my vegetables – before the vegetable waste is recycled once again by the worms. As I start to produce larger quantities of compost, I’ll be adding more raised vegetable beds, and my front garden will have been transformed into a mini allotment. Sarah Mo, civil servant, London
‘I smile every time I step out the front door’
We have a small, cold, north-facing front garden, which was filled with horrible old gravel and weeds, and was a popular toilet for the neighbourhood cats. Last year, during a period of unemployment, my husband built raised beds along the front wall, and new gravel areas. I chose a mixture of grasses, small shrubs and bedding plants to put in the planters, and we’re really pleased with the result. It makes me smile every time I step out of the front door. I hope passersby enjoy it too. Melanie Vasseur, digital product owner, Dorset
I removed the lawn and added a stone walkway to my postage stamp-sized yard. I also added perennial and self-sowing pollinator plants, as well as vegetables, herbs, five fruit trees (fig, dwarf peach, pineapple quince, fuyu persimmon and mulberry), and two types of raspberries and strawberries. In summer, I put my car on the street so that I can grow tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and basil in pots on the driveway. This winter I built an ad-hoc hoop house and greenhouse to grow lettuces, collards, chard, kohlrabi, romanesco cauliflower, napa cabbage, Asian mustards and snap peas. I share the enormous amount of produce with my elderly neighbours to help all of us stay healthy and out of the shops. Gigi Pravda, retired, California
‘A coffee on the front veranda is the best part of a day otherwise spent on Zoom’
I decided I needed to either pay to replace a falling-down fence or use the money to invest in plants and landscaping. I opted for the latter, and it was the best decision ever. I brought in rocks and added lots of native plants, water features and pavers. Everyone has commented on how they love our garden, and, most mornings, having a coffee on the front veranda in the sun is the best part of a day otherwise spent on Zoom. Linda Betts, consultant, Melbourne
‘A colourful front garden helps brighten my mood’
I have a small front garden, but have tried to maximise space by filling it with plants while leaving room to store bikes and a water butt. I made planters from offcuts of wood. With not much else to do this year, I went overboard planting bulbs, and the planters are now full of snowdrops, crocuses, tulips, daffodils and more. I often spend a few minutes at the start of the day working on the front garden and enjoying it as it changes. Later in the year, I plan to grow more flowers as well as raspberries, rhubarb and garlic. A colourful front garden helps brighten my mood and it is so rewarding seeing the extra effort pay off. Mike Harris, web designer, London
‘I filled an old barbecue with plants’
I don’t have a front garden, just steps at the front of the house. I used all the pots I could find, including an old barbecue, and filled them with plants. Now everyone in the flats can enjoy the flowers at the communal entrance when they arrive home. Helen Nightingale, wholefoods cooperative worker, St Leonards-on-Sea
‘My mother can now sit out front in the afternoon sun’
When my 93-year-old American mother came to live with us, she said she missed watching the world go by from her front porch. So I set to work transforming what had been a low-maintenance concrete tile garden with a central bed featuring standard roses. I took down the front wall, and created four flower beds instead. There is now a strip of lawn, plus three different types of Japanese maple as well as some conifers. There is a new brick enclosure for our bins, creating a nook behind them for a bench, and a gate I made in my workshop. Finally, there is a pergola across the width of the garden that will soon be home to a wisteria and other climbing plants. My mother can now sit out front in the afternoon sun, with a glass of white wine in her hand. Daniel Spring, furniture maker, London
‘I was inspired by Santorini – and Gardeners’ World’
I’ve recently returned to watching Gardeners’ World, and it inspired me to start gardening. So I’ve transformed my home into a Santorini-coloured beauty, with the entrance cove containing multicoloured flower pots on white stone and a central fountain. Randall Smith, senior project manager, Florida
‘Sitting outside with a book and a coffee was so refreshing’
I have a long but very narrow balcony, which was pretty ugly and a bit of a dumping ground. Staying at home during the lockdowns gave me a desperate need for a little outdoor space in which to potter. After a good clean and some rubbish disposal, I bought a fake ivy trellis and lots of pots – the balcony is in full shade almost the whole day, so it was a challenge to get the right plants. The outdoor rug was the most expensive item and the whole thing probably came in under £200. It was great to have a tiny green oasis – working from home meant I needed an alternative to my office/living room and sitting outside with a book and a coffee was so refreshing. This season I am planning to add more plants in hanging baskets – roll on summer! Maria, charity worker, Nottingham
‘Neighbours used our old path in their own lockdown project, so nothing went to waste’
Ever since we moved in more than 10 years ago, we’ve been meaning to do something about our front garden, which had a “lawn” of moss, a horrible poured concrete path, a decaying bike shed and weeds everywhere. Thanks to lockdown, we finally got round to it. I spent a tough weekend hacking out the old path with a pickaxe and digging over the weedy lawn before getting stuck into the landscaping. It’s now low-maintenance, looks great all year round and we can fit all our bikes in the bike shed. The old bike shed went to the South Downs as an equipment store for a fellow beekeeper, and the old path was reclaimed by neighbours for their own lockdown projects, so nothing went to waste. We even found some original paving bricks buried in the concrete path, so built them into the design. Ian Tester, civil servant, Kent
